Duluth To Start Neighborhood Blight Reduction Program (HOA, houses)

[newcastle]

The Duluth Fire Dept along with Solid Waste Compliance are about to begin a blight reduction program.

Beginning August 15, individual City of Duluth Fire companies will begin covering their respective districts, inspecting residential and private properties for:
·Abandoned, unlicensed vehicles
·Excessive accumulation of junk
·Houses needing excessive maintenance
·Excessive accumulation of solid waste
·Visible house numbers (address)
·Vacant and unsecured buildings
·Overgrown yards
·Overgrown vegetation which blocks sidewalks and street intersections
·Dilapidated garages/sheds

Well, it's about frickin time-only about 80 years overdue! They could pretty well close their eyes and just place their finger anywhere on a Duluth map and start at that spot.

[aluminumpork]

I agree. Hopefully they are as tough on slumlords and nasty college houses as they are saying.

[Kid Cann]

When I was an Intern for the City of Duluth I started this implementation. Glad to see it take off.

[Kid Cann]

I used to do inspections for an unnamed suburb in the Twin Cities. We would do inspections and issue letters to any home that had ANYTHING that wasn't tied down to the ground. So, you name it. ANYTHING. Even one piece of 2x4 on the side of the garage. I would issue a letter saying they had 15 days for it to be gone. When I went there 15 days later and it was still there, They'd get 1 more letter for 7 days. If not gone after those 7, we'd go and issue a fine of $45. If the fine was not paid in 45 days, they would be taken to court and have a judgment put on their public record if they didn't show or didn't pay.

It's an excellent way for a city to ensure that a) the property values are retaining and maybe even increasing their value. b) great way to promote healthy living c) way to generate revenue.

I think Code Enforcement is awesome. It's a little on the side of Big Brother, but for pete's sake people, if you store your junk in a) your garage b) your shed c) a storage shed rented from a place d) your attic e) your basement.... if you don't have room in any of those places, then it's probably not a valuable item, so toss it.

So that was the biggest thing with the junk on properties. Home owners basically saying "I didn't have anywhere to throw it away"....Um, ever heard of a dump?

Also, Housing Maintenance should come with that too. We did housing maintenance.... meaning any home owner with chipping paint (>25% paint missing), bad roofs, broken windows, missing facia, broken doors, missing siding, you name it. They'd get the same letters, but fines were $100 not $45. So, a major incentive for homeowners: Spend $45 on a bucket of paint or $100 on a fine. You choose.

[Kid Cann]

Oh yeah, and the big one was long grass. People thought it was so great that the 'city' would come and mow their law. Some people would even wave and say "Thanks!" as they mowers would leave... Little did they know they'd get a $60 bill in the mail a week later... hehehehe.

[acrylic]

I dunno, Duluth's yards aren't as bad as I've seen some. But it's good that they're starting this now.

Here in Arizona, they're way too reliant on HOAs to enforce these things. I think it should be a city thing, and subdivisions shouldn't be so restrictive. But what can ya do?

[Beenaroundabit]

This can be good and bad. Good to get rid of junk cars and obvious signs of decay. But having lived under several HOA's, I know that some rules can become unreasonable - and some of the people enforcing them can get a bit overzealous.

Not that it will be like this here. Just saying that things like this CAN get nit-picky if common sense is forgotten. Also, some people simply can't afford certain repairs. How far will the city go in fining people who not only can't afford to paint their homes, but can't even pay the fines for not painting?

[aluminumpork]

Originally Posted by Beenaroundabit

But having lived under several HOA's, I know that some rules can become unreasonable - and some of the people enforcing them can get a bit overzealous.

The city of Duluth knows it's demographics. They know how many low-income and/or elderly live in Duluth. I highly doubt they'll be setting their expectations as high as a HOA may expect.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by newcastle

The Duluth Fire Dept along with Solid Waste Compliance are about to begin a blight reduction program.

Beginning August 15, individual City of Duluth Fire companies will begin covering their respective districts, inspecting residential and private properties for:
·Abandoned, unlicensed vehicles
·Excessive accumulation of junk
·Houses needing excessive maintenance
·Excessive accumulation of solid waste
·Visible house numbers (address)
·Vacant and unsecured buildings
·Overgrown yards
·Overgrown vegetation which blocks sidewalks and street intersections
·Dilapidated garages/sheds

Well, it's about frickin time-only about 80 years overdue! They could pretty well close their eyes and just place their finger anywhere on a Duluth map and start at that spot.

Good thing I don't live within the Duluth city limits...

Keep your hands off my property!

[Kid Cann]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

Good thing I don't live within the Duluth city limits...

Keep your hands off my property!

Well, that's one of those things you should expect when living in city limits. If you want 'City' amentities, you should respect the fact that there are standards and rules to live by. If you want cars in your front yard, and junk on the side of your house, move to the country where people don't have to see your junk.