Can city government be too responsive? (part 2)

According to the South Bend Tribune, Common Council member Charlotte Pfeifer, D-2nd, has proposed a sweeping ordinance to address the issue of vacant and abandoned homes in the city of South Bend.

Ms. Pfeifer proposes extensive record keeping and notification to the city as well as the imposition of registration fees - particularly concerning abandoned homes.

I have little quarrel with intent of this program, but the enforcement requirements appear staggering.

The premise behind this proposal seems to be that the Code Enforcement Department is ineffective because it doesn't have enough to do. But as the photos indicate, Code Enforcement already has more on its plate than it can handle.

The first photo is of 516 E. Dayton. The window on the right is broken out and the porch is collapsing. The yard is filled with litter and as far as I know, no one's been in the place since the tenants left in the summer. About a month ago, I checked with Code Enforcement to see if there was an active file on the property. There was not.

The other photos are of structures (one house, two garages) which have been in the general condition you see for ten years or so. That's right - ten years. All these building are within a couple blocks of each other.

It makes no sense to dump a huge amount of additional work on an overmatched department. What would make sense would be to dedicate some additional resources to enable that department to effectively implement the measures currently at its disposal.

Given the circumstances, Ms. Pfeiffer's proposal - if enacted - would be voluntary at best. What is more likely is that it would be ignored. A perfectly good idea could well end up making city government appear ineffectual.

Let's start at the beginning. Let's figure out what we need to do to enforce existing ordinances, and then move on. It's likely to cost more money, but if that's what we think we should should do - so be it.

Don Wheeler