Beverly P. Johnson, administrator, Department of Neighborhood Services and Community Development, announced new hours for Environmental Court. Beginning April 26, Environmental Court, which handles the docket for all housing, overgrowth, litter and abandoned vehicle code violations, will convene at 9 a.m. every Thursday. Previously, court began at 11 a.m.
Also, Neighborhood Services will now request fees and court costs for the majority of litter, overgrowth, and vehicle code violation cases that are not corrected within 10 days and housing violations that are not corrected within 30 days. Environmental Court Judge Paty has agreed to support Neighborhood Services’ efforts to bring properties into compliance more quickly.
“We have so many cases going through the court system over and over because they are not being assessed fines and court fees” said Ms. Johnson. “It’s time to make a change in order to clear up some of the backlog.”
Property owners notified of a violation should correct the violation within 10 days (30 days for housing) or sooner, if possible. When the violation is corrected, owners may contact the inspector for a property re-inspection. If the code violation has been corrected, the inspector will close the case and the property owner will not be charged fines. Property owners who are not able to correct a violation within the specified timeframe should contact the inspector immediately to discuss a workable timeframe.
Fines and court costs will be charged to those with code violations any time a property has to be abated by the City, when the property owner takes no action or does not take action within the agreed timeframe, or when a trip to court is required to get compliance. Additional costs may be charged for those cases requiring multiple court trips. Exceptions will be made for the elderly or persons with serious illnesses when no family members are available to help correct code violations.
For more information, contact Donna Thomas, Chief Neighborhood Code Enforcement inspector, at 425-3700.