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In the News and its Progress (Sandy Springs Spotlight)
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| Abandoned homes kept up to code |
By Amy Wenk
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The recession has forced people to vacate homes and fall into foreclosure; budget-busted builders have abandoned half-finished construction sites.
It's unfortunate for the individuals and for the community.
The spike in economic hardships has left many neglected residences in Sandy Springs, especially south of I-285. Oftentimes the vacant properties become overgrown or infested with varmints.
"It's a safety risk because a vacant property is an attractive nuisance for crime," said Marcus Kellum, the chief of the code enforcement department. "It can be a safe haven for the wrong type of person."
The department has seen code enforcement violations skyrocket. Last year the average number of cases rose from about 150 a month to between 250 and 300 a month.
"People are losing their jobs and not having the funds to take care of the little things," Kellum said. "But we need to take care of the little things because that is how you preserve the community."
Because about a quarter of the cases were at vacant properties — in November the number in that category peaked at 100 — the department enacted the Vacant Property Enforcement Program last summer.
Instead of having the city's four code enforcement officers track vacant properties in their assigned districts, one officer, Walter Osorio, was placed in charge of all abandoned residences.
That helps direct customer complaints and gives residents, city officials, property owners and lending institutions a single source in terms of management, Kellum said.
As coordinator of the program, Osorio identifies and maintains a database of vacant properties in Sandy Springs, coordinates compliance and enforcement efforts, and communicates property status on a monthly basis to city officials.
The program has significantly reduced vacant properties with code violations.
In July, there were 53 known vacant properties in the city, and 29 of them had code violations like overgrown grass or unsecure premises. As of April 30, there are five vacant properties with violations out of 76 tracked.
That improvement has come despite more properties being abandoned each month.
Under the program, 27 owners of vacant properties received citations to appear in Municipal Court, and 14 cases went before the judge. There have been 45 abated violations, and 52 vacant properties are now occupied without violation.
The department has coaxed the demolition of 10 blighted properties since July. The city does not pay for the demolition.
"The property owners understood that the city was serious about ensuring that these properties were maintained," Kellum said. "The whole purpose of what we do is compliance. Enforcement is only the tool that we use in order to achieve that compliance."
But it's not always an easy job to track vacant properties.
"The challenge is finding the owner," Osorio said. It gets complicated with the increase in foreclosures because the officer needs homeowner cooperation to contact lending institutions to remedy violations.
The ultimate goal, Kellum said, is to have no vacant properties with violations.
"There are now municipalities very interested in copying the program throughout the metro Atlanta area because they have heard of its success," Kellum said. "When something's good, I am willing to share it."
Last Updated ( Monday, 25 May 2009 09:32 )
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Members:
A Board meeting will be held on January 6, 2010 in Athens GA at CVIOG in the green room. Meeting will begin at 10:00am
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 December 2009 16:31 )
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Newsletter. Alright GACE Members it is time to put out another Newsletter and I would like your help.
If any member has anything they would like to have published in the upcoming newsletter please contact me & let me know :)
It could be anything to do with Code Enforcement maybe your jurisdiction has adopted a new law, or maybe you have been recognized for a job well done let me know I would love to have it in the newsletter. Also if there is any ideas you may have for a section in the newsletter let me know I'm thinking about maybe adding a Letter to the Editor column but I would NEED TO HEAR FROM THE MEMBERSHIP to have anything to put in there. Please visit the top legislation tap for Legislative update
. Proposed By-law Amendments to be voted on at the April 2009 Spring Conference in Columbus GA.
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PROPOSED BY-LAW AMENDMENTS
. G.A.C.E IN THE NEWS THE ENFORCER NEWS LETTER IS NOW ONLINE
Download PDF
CHECK OUT THE COMMITTEE BROCHURE
Download PDF GACE BROCHURE
Download PDF
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Welcome… The Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Code Enforcement is excited to present this new website for your use as a vital tool in your work as Code Enforcement Officers. This site has been developed to help you stay up to date on what is happening with your organization as well as networking with your peers in the work force. Networking is vital to stay current with things that affect our duties. Please utilize this valuable tool and make suggestions if you have any.
. The GACE Spring Conference 2009 is just around the corner. We’ll meet April 14-17 at the beautiful Columbus Ironworks in Columbus, Georgia. Because we are all feeling the effects of the budget crunch, you’ll be pleased to see that we’ve been able to fulfill our goal of lowering the registration fee.
. The committees of GACE have been working hard to streamline GACE as we move into another decade of training Code Enforcement Officers throughout Georgia. The Certification Committee, along with Carl Vinson Institute of Government (CVIOG), has made significant changes to the curriculum by lowering the elective hour requirement from 12 hours to nine hours and raising Level II to 21 hours of elective credit.
. The LJR Committee has worked hard negotiating with Georgia legislators, GMA, and ACCG on the following proposed legislation, which we hope to have passed during the 2009 legislative session:
. 1) definition of the code official
. 2) obstruction and hindering a code official in the line of duty is a crime
. 3) code enforcement training board to certify the GACE curriculum
. The committees are working together to promote Code Enforcement Day at the Capitol.
. I encourage each of you to visit the GACE website often, where you will find information on membership, legislation, forms, and a forum for GACE members to network with one another. Even though the strains on budgets are evident throughout the state, our goal is to maintain a secured level of training and networking that benefits the profession of code enforcement.
. I look forward to seeing you at the spring conference, where we will honor those who are graduating and celebrate our common goals of educational growth and promotion of our expertise in the code enforcement profession.
. Have a safe and blessed trip to Columbus for the 2009 Spring Conference. Yours sincerely, Angel Gray 2008-2009 GACE President
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. Thank you for participating in this great organization. There is great potential for GACE and together it can be achieved. Thank you… Your 08-09 Board of Directors
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