Normally, upon receipt of a complaint, the Code Enforcement Officer investigates the situation on the day of complaint. If a valid complaint is found to exist, the Officer attempts to contact the vendor or occupant at that time. If the occupant is at home, they are advised of the issue and asked to take appropriate action to remedy the situation. If the occupant is not available, the Officer will leave a Courtesy Notice of Violation advising the occupant of the nature of the problem and the City Code governing the violation. A time period of 7 days is usually given to remedy the situation. If at the end of that period, compliance has not been achieved, the occupant is sent a Certified Letter advising them of the situation and ordering them to remedy the situation within 30 days. If at the end of that time period compliance has not been achieved, the Police Department is contacted to issue a Summons to Appear in Municipal Court.
In the event the property is unoccupied, the Code Enforcement Officer will research City records to determine the name and address of the property owner. When the property owner is identified, a phone call is made to the owner to notify them of the situation and request them to remedy the situation. Once again, they are typically given 7 days to remedy the situation. If this is not done, they are notified via Certified Mail of the violation and given 30 days to correct the situation. If at the end of this time period compliance has not been achieved, an attempt to serve the owner with a Summons to Appear is made.
Delays in this process may occur for several reasons. In the case of vacant properties, the Officer must research utility and tax records to determine the actual property owners. In some cases, a title search is required to determine ownership.