THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997          TAG: 9702120457
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   42 lines

CHESAPEAKE APPROVES RAZE/RENOVATION PLAN FOR BLIGHTED BUILDINGS THE CITY'S EFFORTS INITIALLY WILL FOCUS ON THE SOUTH NORFOLK REGION.

City officials now have the option of tearing down or renovating buildings where drug use is a persistent problem.

By unanimously amending the city code Tuesday, the Chesapeake City Council created a tool to fight both blight and drug use throughout the city.

Carl E. Hall, director of inspections, said the law will apply to the entire city but initially will be focused on South Norfolk, where a neighborhood preservation program is under way.

This area of town has suffered in recent years. Local housing, once some of the finest in Chesapeake, began to deteriorate. Drugs slowly crept in, as did crime.

Through the South Norfolk Neighborhood Redevelopment Project, the city is placing additional funds and focus on revitalizing business and housing in the area. Since December, six of the 18 sectors in the area have undergone initial exterior inspections, Hall said.

Of the 940 inspections done so far, 48 percent of the structures have been found in violation.

The new ordinance includes two phases of enforcement. If the police are unsuccessful in eliminating a drug problem in a certain building, the Department of Inspections will notify the building's owner by mail and ask that the drug problem be solved. If nothing occurs, the city will again notify the building's owner, warning that it will take corrective action.

The owner may then ask the courts to intervene. If the courts refuse, the city can secure, repair or demolish the building.

Demolition, according to City Manager John L Pazour, will be used only in extreme cases.

The new ordinance is intended to help housing inspectors and police. The initiative came from the inspections department, said Hall, and the police department concurred.

Norfolk and Virginia Beach have similar ordinances. Hall said Chesapeake never had a need for such an ordinance before now. ``We're a growing city,'' he said.

KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE CITY CODE AMENDMENT ORDINANCE