County puts foot down on trashy property
By Pat Jenkins
The Dispatch
Pierce County is tightening the screws on trash-laden or blighted homes and other properties that spoil surrounding communities.
The County Council, addressing the issue of public nuisances, last month approved funding for more personnel to enforce regulations. The council also added money for cleanups of problem sites and directed the Planning and Public Works Department, the agency that oversees anti-nuisance efforts, to create an online feature for the public to track progress against public nuisance sites.
An ordinance putting those efforts in effect was approved May 16 in a 5-0 vote by council members, including Jim McCune, whose district includes south Pierce County.
The ordinance affects only unincorporated areas of the county. Cities and towns have their own regulations.
Councilman Doug Richardson described the new measures as the latest effort in what has been "a top priority of the council." He said neighborhoods "have been suffering really bad conditions" from garbage, broken down vehicles, and abandoned, burned-out or boarded-up structures that have "a negative effect" on nearby homeowners.
"We are providing the resources" the county needs to combat nuisances, Richardson said.
Those newly approved resources include the hiring of two additional full-time employees by the Planning and Public Works Department – a code enforcement officer and a building inspector. A combined $175,000 was added to the 2017 budget to cover that cost.
Also authorized was $50,000 to help pay for cleanups of blighted property.
Planning and Public Works' website will give citizens a "very transparent" way of being updated on the status of nuisance abatement actions, Richardson said.
The council also asked County Executive Bruce Dammeier to consider creating a "community response team" to focus on high-profile and chronic nuisance sites.
In previous years, council action involving nuisance enforcement included:
• Giving building officials broader authority to address nuisances, including a maximum time that a structure can be boarded up and the authority to place liens on property and condemn hazardous structures.
• Funding each of the last three years for property cleanups.
• Limiting appeals by property owners, setting civil penalties, and clarifying landowners' responsibilities.
• Transferring certain enforcement authority from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department to the county, which consolidates all nuisance actions when seeking court orders against properties.
• Setting requirements for a property maintenance plan for any period a structure is boarded up.
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