SPRINGDALE : Code officers come out in force
Posted on Monday, October 15, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/204530/
SPRINGDALE — This time last year, residents here could park their cars in the front yard and display temporary signs for months, and landlords didn’t have to tell the city what properties they owned and where they were located.
All that has changed.
A trio of laws passed this year have Springdale’s fourman code-enforcement team thoroughly searching through an 82-page list of rental properties, writing tickets for illegally parked cars and issuing warnings for banners planted in the right of way.
Between February and the end of August, code officers issued 622 warnings and 24 citations for illegal parking on lawns.
By late August, 448 landlords had listed 1, 955 rental units on a registry kept at the city secretary’s office.
A ordinance regulating the size and placement of temporary signs and banners took effect Oct. 1. By Oct. 8, code officers had issued 98 warnings.
“That’s called progress,” said Alderman Jesse Core, a vocal proponent of the new ordinances.
Code officers typically make a city sweep shortly after an ordinance takes effect, issuing a large number of warnings and citations. The sweep is intended to spread the word that a new law is in place and is supposed to identify those who don’t want to comply, Chief Building Official Mike Chamlee said.
On the sign ordinance, for example, of the 98 businesses that were told to take their banners down, only 20 applied for 15-day permits. “I expected more people to want to keep their banners up,” Chamlee said. “Some places would have three or four, and some would only have one.” The ordinance allows temporary banners to stand for 15 days. Once that time has elapsed, a business must wait another 90 days before erecting another temporary sign, which cannot be placed in the right of way. “Just driving down Sunset Avenue, I can see a difference,” Chamlee said.
MORE RESTRICTIONS ? Kim Eskew, executive vice president of Harps Food Stores, said his Springdale-based chain has been affected by the sign ordinance. Code officers made Harps take down its roadside signs promoting a Halloween pumpkin sale.
The ordinance also could hamper Harps’ annual Christmas tree business, soft-drink promotions and spring lawn and garden specials.
“Being able to communicate our prices from a distance is important to us,” Eskew said. “[The ordinance ] will have some impact on us.”
Core is thinking about pushing an amendment to the sign ordinance to include size restrictions on window signs and the permanent signs that tower over West Sunset Avenue.
“We are not about to put this to a vote,” Core said. “We are gathering information.”
Core plans to make singage an issue during CityFuture II, a three-day planning summit beginning Wednesday at the lodge at Mount Magazine State Park near Paris, where elected officials, school administrators and business leaders will plot longterm goals for Springdale.
Eskew predicts strong opposition to increased restrictions on signs.
“It’s not indicative of the type of business climate that’s in Springdale,” Eskew said. “You can go too far out of the way.”
City records show that the first citation for parking on the lawn was issued to Denys Longeria-Almaraz on Feb. 12, four days after the ordinance took effect.
Of the 24 cases that went to Springdale District Court, 23 ended with guilty verdicts and fines assessed against the violators. The last case is scheduled for trial in November.
Most of the recipients, Chamlee said, complied with the ordinance and were not cited. Those who failed to comply were ticketed.
Dudley Tadlock, an east Springdale resident, was cited Aug. 19 because his vehicle was parked behind his carport. He had to pay $ 25 in court costs. The $ 500 fine was dropped.
“I think the ordinance stinks,” Tadlock said. “They gave me the notice and told me I had a week to move it. I moved it the next day [to the front yard ], and they ticketed me anyway.”
The vehicle now sits under his carport.
ONE PHONE CALL Supporters of the rental registry touted it as a tool for police and code inspectors who needed to contact owners of derelict properties during emergencies. Code enforcement used the registry last week. What appeared to be the remnants of a small methamphetamine lab were discovered the morning of Oct. 9 in the garage at 510 Mount View, a vacant house in east Springdale. Chamlee said he went to the registry, found the registered agent and contacted property owner Arvil Moss. Instead of sending out certified letters to Moss’ mailing address in California, Chamlee spoke with Moss on the telephone and gave him a choice: Hire a hazardous materials crew to clean the carport or tear down the structure.
“The registry was handy,” Chamlee said. “The code-enforcement guys have used it in the past.”
The registry includes the names of 1, 955 properties, including apartments and duplexes, and 448 landlords.
Moss, owner of 10 Springdale homes, said he appreciated the telephone call.
“I’m glad they let me know about that,” Moss said.
Chamlee said that he and his staff will continue to enforce the new ordinances as well as those that have been in the city code for years.
Chamlee asked for a fifth code-enforcement officer for 2008.
“It’s a great deal of work, and we’re a bit understaffed,” he said.