THE ISSUE: The number of abandoned, run down buildings has surged in downtown Crestview
LOCAL IMPACT: Blight is not just unsightly; it deters potential investors, which stunts economic growth
CRESTVIEW — Proactive instead of reactive: Mayor David Cadle said that's the goal concerning code enforcement.
‘DOWNTOWN IS A HOT TOPIC’
Cadle said he wants to see the city rid itself of excessive trash, debris and dilapidated buildings.
The city’s blight discourages residents and makes Crestview unappealing to potential investors, Cadle said.
City Council members agree that problem is out of control.
“We need to put some teeth into enforcement,” City Council President Joe Blocker said.
He said the council needs to take steps to improve the city’s overall appearance, but he said the city should remain fair to property owners.
Commercial properties also must receive more scrutiny, Councilman Doug Faircloth said. He cited several downtown buildings in disrepair and infested with vermin.
“We need to clean them, or tear them down, or do something,” Faircloth said.
A walk through Main Street shows several abandoned commercial properties, many with rental or sale signs in the windows.
Although they are vacant, most don’t appear to be rundown, aside from the need for a pressure wash or paint job.
However, what about these buildings’ structural and interior conditions?
Code enforcement officers, perhaps ironically, can’t enforce building codes, Code Enforcement Department Supervisor Senida Oglesby said.
This means the department can’t deem properties unsafe or condemned — a common misconception.
Therefore, live electrical wires in abandoned buildings, for instance, fall outside code enforcers’ jurisdiction. The building department monitors and cites building code infractions.
IT TAKES TIME
So, what is the city doing to eliminate the blight?
“There is a process and we are running the process,” Growth Management Director Teresa Gaillard said. The growth management department oversees building inspections and code enforcement.
Citing building codes and condemnation is a time-consuming procedure, according to Gaillard, who said this process often takes longer than people would expect or prefer it to take. However, her department and the city are formulating a “plan of action,” she said.
Building inspections and deeming structures unsafe are also capabilities of the fire marshal, according to Gaillard.
While true, the fire department focuses on ensuring residents’ protection, Fire Marshal Rodney Lancaster said.
Codes enforced by the department deal primarily with occupied buildings that might pose a threat to safety or wellbeing, he said.
Therefore, many building code violations fall back to the building department, he said, despite the fire department’s ability to declare a building “unsafe.”
‘THEY ARE ATROCIOUS’
Downtown isn't the lone problem area. Homes and former businesses beyond Main Street face similar calls for condemnation or cleaning up.
“I’ve seen some of the buildings and they are atrocious,” Councilman Shannon Hayes said. “We got to do something about cleaning up our city for our residents and those that might want to be.”
Some of these matters, again, fall beyond the reach of code enforcement officers because they relate to building safety, according to Oglesby.
That's a shame, one resident says.
"The powers that be should give code enforcement more power to get these things up to code," Joan Bencheck says. "Houses on Pearl Street should be checked out … Maybe a few fines would get them in line.
"Code Enforcement does a great job and they should not have their hands tied."
Until then, education is also an issue, as many residents are not aware they are violating city codes, Oglesby said.
“Most of our job is educating people about what they can and can’t do, even if it’s on their property,” Oglesby said, adding that violators include senior citizens and impoverished residents who lack the means to correct code issues.
The department has had success despite these concerns, according to Oglesby. Code enforcers had a 99 percent success rate in obtaining compliance during the last fiscal year, responding to over 800 code violations she said.
All of which is handled by a small staff.
Crestview employs two full-time code enforcement officers and operates one city vehicle, according to Oglesby. The department’s second vehicle was totaled in a car accident in November 2016 and is in the process of being replaced.
Blight and decayed buildings exist in Crestview, as they do in most cities.
Correcting these issues has no quick solution and requires the work of several departments within the city government.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Clean it up or tear it down?