Neighborhood Code Compliance Program?????

This is so messed up I dont even know where to put it. SO general current events it is.

My cousin called me, and was all fired up. I cant blame her. The Neighborhood Code Compliance gestapo if you will were going around her neighborhood. I had never heard of such a thing. She said that they were going all through the neighborhood house by house checking for any issues. Checking liscense plates to make sure they had all the necessary stickers, going through their yards to make sure everything was hunky dory THEN leaning over fences and checking out the back yards! She was outside during this time because her husband and brother were working on her car. They informed her that, that was against codes, and that the buckets she had in her yard from planting were not ok either, but he would be nice and not write them up for it this time. He then proceeded to ask if he could go into their back yard and check everything out. He was shocked when my cousin told him no. They left with a note on every house saying they would be back in November to make sure all issues have been resolved.

Is this ok? This screams way too far to me. Is this legal? Can the city send these "change agents" to come on your personal property like this?

Here is a link to the website where the city explains it. Alliance for Innovation, transforming local government

Has anyone heard of this Alliance for Innovation group before?

My cousin just called the city to ask if this was legal. She was told that this program was a service to benifit her to make her aware of any code violations she might have so that she could correct them. My cousin said that she did not care for it, that she saw it as an intrusion on a law abiding citizen who has done nothing wrong. The lady at the city said her opinion was unfortunate. She also said that they were allowed to go anywhere on her personal property other than inside of her personal residence. FYI Garage is not considered personal residence so they are allowed to enter your garage.

[edit on 15-10-2009 by mrsdudara]

They've been doing that in my city for over a year now.

They place in the local paper the neighborhood that will be "targeted" next.

Then conduct "sweeps" in the area, looking for over grown grass and windows without screens and laying hefty fines to the (generally) poor or elderly people who live there.

Most of these Neighborhood Code Compliance laws were made be your local government.
Many are like the laws in my town.
The city council has been made up of local business men that have been elected to the council.

In turn they have voted in laws that help THERE businesses.
in my town the have tried laws to stop people from parking there motor homes In there back yards. This was pushed into law by a owner of a local storage company that was on the council.
He also tried to push in laws to ban people from putting shipping container in there back yards to use as storage building. (they forgot to ban shipping containers that had siding and a wood roof put on them to hide the fact that they were shipping containers.)

Another council member tryed to ban car owners from working on cars in resadental areas.
He owned two local car repair shops.

This is how many of these laws get on the book by council members trying to line there own pockets.

Surely this is not constitutional. How can it be?

This seems like something off a bad movie.

Then again I suppose if more people got involved with their local politics they could keep this from happening.

[edit on 15-10-2009 by mrsdudara]

Just wondering, can you all open that link in the top post? I sent it to my cousin and she said that website no longer exists. I can still open it. She said she also surfed for that Alliance for Innovation group and found nothing.

reply to post by mrsdudara


where i live we make a statement with click clack and you got 10 seconds to get the hell out of my yard hehe... i dont see that happening where i live

Having been in law enforcement and specifiacally having put together a "code enforcement" program i can tell you I hear a few things in this report that sound out of place, or illegal. The code enforcement officers are agents of the government and must adhere to the same constitutional restrictions as any other law enforcement. In fact , in California there is a specific type of procedure similar to obtaining a search warrant to get an "inspection warrant". But to get this inspection warrant you still have to go in front of a judge and lay out your probably cause. Code enforcement programs can be a good tool if the laws are fair and the method of enforcement isn't assinine (as it is in this instance).

As for the post speaking of councilmen passing laws that further their interests, that is flat out illegal. I forget the legal section that applies, but essentially it is a conflict of interest to vote on things that you have a personal finantial interest in. I would make a complaint to the fair political practices commision in your state, and push to have the laws revoked.

Originally posted by ANNED

The city council has been made up of local business men that have been elected to the council.



This is how many of these laws get on the book by council members trying to line there own pockets.

Just a microcosm of Washington!

[edit on 15-10-2009 by I_am_Spartacus]

reply to post by PhoenixDemon


i believe i have seen something like this crap obama had been putting together may coincide with it sure doesn't sound normal to me i know i would not let it happen

My city does have a Code Enforcement program, but it's mostly to make sure folks cut their grass and other things people who own homes should not have to be told. (BTW, they cannot force you to rake your leaves )
They enforce the civil codes on our city books. Excessive or illegal outdoor lights, urban blight, etc.
Not for things the police should be doing, like checking license tags.

They cannot enter my yard or my garage without my permission.
And, anyway we have a locked gate

I have mixed feelings about the need for such a program.
I don't like the potential intrusion, but I don't want my street to look unkempt and uncivilized.
There should be a minimum standard for how property should look.

I'm all for Code Enforcement to a degree. Case in point, a house three houses down from my place had FIVE cars in various states of disrepair in their driveway and parked along the curb. They'd been there for going on two years, leaking fluids, oil, etc. Finally Code Enforcement came by, chalked the tires on the cars parked in the street and gave a three day notice to move them. They didn't and finally they were towed away. Things like that need enforcement.

But i draw the line at invasive enforcement, like checking garages and backyards, etc.

If people used more common sense and took some pride in their residence, there wouldn't be much need for any Code Enforcement.

reply to post by OpTiMuS_PrImE


They are comming back in November to do it all over again. Making sure everyone has fixed their problems. I am pretty sure this will be the reception given. Everyone was expecting them to just drive by and look for major problems. This went too far. The thing is, I have been to her neighborhood several times and I have never seen any issues with people not taking care of their property. It crosses a big line that should never be crossed and they justify it by calling it a "service"???

I dont have a problem with code enforcment when it comes to people pileing up broken down cars and trashing the front of their house. It should be something that neighbors call in for not this "pro-active" crap.

We have city code enforcement and neighborhood code enforcement because we have a Homeowner's association.

There is nothing illegal about walking around on public grounds, checking license plates, piles of junk etc, however they cannot legally be on your property... meaning as long as it done from public sidewalks, streets and common area, both types of organization have the legal right to do so.

I understand how you could feel it was a violation but it really is for the best, especially in these times with so many foreclosures and sellers not getting the value for their house, I can see why the city would want to try to inflate the value of certain neighborhoods again.

Originally posted by mrsdudara
They are comming back in November to do it all over again. Making sure everyone has fixed their problems. I am pretty sure this will be the reception given.

If I were her, I would be checking out the times and dates of Council meetings and checking into just what ordinances are being checked.

I'd make sure they were totally within the law.

It should be something that neighbors call in for not this "pro-active" crap.

Unless I have a specific Code Enforcement issue with a neighbor that is making my life hell on earth or is so blatant that it needs to be addressed, I am not going to "rat" on my neighbors.
I don't think most people would....just too NWO for me.

Heres a news snippet that was recently in my local paper and is what I spoke of in my earlier post.

'Clean Sweep'

Operation Clean Sweep, a multi-departmental effort to address code violations in target neighborhoods, will soon be in the Greenwood Avenue neighborhood.

It will begin Monday, Nov. 2, in the neighborhood bordered by Richard Street, Seventh Street, West Saint Louis and Albert Pike Road, which falls within city board Districts 3 and 4.

The three-step program includes education, cleanup and enforcement. During the first week, two-person teams from the city’s Neighborhood Services Division will pay door-to-door visits to each property in the target neighborhood.