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Code Enforcement Sweep Targets Ybor Neighborhood

Tribune photo by KATHY STEELE

Most property owners cited by inspectors will receive letters warning them to clean up or repair property, or else appear before a hearing master or the code enforcement board.

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By KATHY STEELE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2009

TAMPA - A two-day sweep by Tampa code enforcement inspectors produced more than 300 new cases involving more than 500 violations in the V.M Ybor neighborhood.

Most violations were for trash, overgrown vegetation and inoperable vehicles, said code enforcement inspector Mike Williams. Some building owners were cited for structural problems.

The sweep Monday and Tuesday was the first for the neighborhood in about two years. Code enforcement director Jake Slater said residents' complaints prompted city leaders to take action.

Most property owners cited by inspectors will receive letters warning them to clean up or repair property, or else appear before a hearing master or the code enforcement board. Civil citations, which are more serious, were issued for four properties, mostly involving repeat offenses for overgrowth and trash, Williams said.

This week's violations are in addition to 230 open cases involving 525 violations in the area where the sweep took place.

Tampa City Council members last year approved a mechanism to impose the civil citations, similar to parking tickets, in cases involving "irreparable" or "irreversible" violations such as chopping down a protected tree. Repeat violators also can be issued citations which are hand-delivered or posted on the property and recorded in court.

Streets included in the sweep are between Nebraska Avenue and 15th Street, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Interstate 4. About 10 inspectors participated.

"We're really having a problem with the foreclosures," Slater said. "People are walking away from their homes. It's frightening."

Throughout Tampa there are about 1,800 completed foreclosures. Slater said many more homes are vacant and headed to foreclosure.

In most cases, owners are responsible for securing their property. But occasionally city workers board up structures for public safety.

The city is searching for better methods than using plywood, which inspectors say often is a welcome card for vagrants or thieves looking to scavenge items such as copper wiring.

A new option to keep intruders out of a vacant structure is to use modular steel-plated doors and window guards.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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