Survey Overview

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Background

 

The Community Based Services Division has conducted a City Wide Survey in 2009, 2010, 2011 and we will be doing the survey again for our 4th year in 2012. The survey is conducted as an attempt to acquire actual numbers of the properties, in the City where Code Violations are present on the property either in violation of the Minimum Building and Structures Code 2.01 or the Public Nuisance Code 8.30. This provides a benchmark for property conditions.

 

Timeframe

 

The survey will begin February 1, 2012 and is to be completed by March 1, 2012.

 

This year each inspector will conduct the survey in the same area they did in 2011.

 

Consistency

 

This year prior to the survey a small geographical area in Sector 1 was chosen as a test area. Each inspector inspected the same area in the same manner as the windshield survey and the number of violations in each category was recorded. Community Based Services Division staff will have a meeting regarding the test area prior to the survey to discuss comparison of numbers and consistency in our inspection interpretations. Representatives of the legal department will actively participate with the Code Enforcement Staff to ensure that there is more predictability in the recommended application of the Nuisance Code on specific circumstances.

   

In 2011 a fixed grid was established for the entire City so that locations remain the same year to year.

 

Each Inspector is assigned an area in which to view each property within the area and gather the number of violations within his or her assigned area. The information gathered is then input into computer maps and available by year on the GovMe system.  The maps show number of violations that were observed at the time of the inspection. This survey is used to compare stats from year to year and show the number of cases the Office of Community Based Services has worked on in a given year compared to numbers according to the categories on the survey.

 

Resources

 

One thing we will do differently this year is to send an informational resource graffiti card.   Staff will be logging in the addresses of the properties, both commercial and residential, in which graffiti violations are present. Graffiti resource sheets will then be sent to the site address.  The postcard is being sent as an informational tool to the property owner only, as an opportunity to correct the violation.

 

Conclusion

 

Over the last three years, the City has developed a city-wide windshield survey process to track progress over time as well as to identify resource needs. We believe that the windshield survey can better be utilized as a training and communication tool. As a measure of success for Code Enforcement, community clean ups and individual responsiveness; we would expect to see decreased numbers of violations each year. We would eventually expect the number to level off. We anticipate always having some type of case load. With approximately 80,000 parcels in the City we anticipate dealing with about 5% of the parcels per year or about 4,000 cases. Throughout 2012, improved consistency will continue to be a goal of Code Enforcement Staff. Representatives of the legal department will actively participate with the Code Enforcement Staff to ensure that there is more predictability in the recommended application of the Nuisance Code on specific circumstances.