Code breakers beware

City inspectors cracking down on bad neighbors

Daniel J. Chacón, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 3, 2006 at midnight

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Linda Stephens is embarrassed when people go to her home.

Not because she has anything to hide, but because she doesn't want visitors to see the property next door.

"This is a junkyard," Stephens said, pointing to a backyard awash in debris in the Mar Lee neighborhood of southwest Denver.

"You go outside and tell yourself it can't get any worse, but it does."

Stephens is not alone.

Denver's Neighborhood Inspection Services tackles thousands of code-enforcement violations annually, and the number is growing.

Code-enforcement cases in Denver increased more than 12 percent between 2004 and 2005 and by more than 20 percent in five of the city's 11 council districts, according to data obtained under a Colorado Open Records Act request.

The number of total inspections, including those where no violation was found, nearly doubled from 26,303 in 2004 to 51,756 last year.

There are more inspections than cases because one case can generate multiple inspections if the city has to visit a property repeatedly.

Molly Urbina, deputy manager of Community Planning and Development, which oversees Neighborhood Inspection Services, said Denver has instituted "productivity improvements" that have allowed it to do more code compliance work.

Inspectors were relieved of telephone duty in 2005, giving them more time in field, she said. Also, the city implemented a new program that gives violators 25 days to comply with city codes instead of 45.

The new program carries stiffer fines, too. It slaps property owners with a $150 fine for the first violation, $500 for the second and $999 for each one after that.

"Our staff time in court declined from 547 cases in 2004 to 179 cases in 2005" under the program, Urbina said.

Inspectors now have been able to conduct block-by-block visual inspections in addition to responding to citizen complaints, Urbina added.

Violations include everything from illegal dumping to running an auto repair shop on a residential lot. The two most frequent infractions are uncut lawns and junk cars.

Gloria Semien, whose home in the 2900 block of Kearney Street is under investigation for an "inoperable vehicle and storage issues," said she doesn't think she's in violation.

Looking at her front yard one sees a faded green Suzuki Sidekick with boards leaning up against it, a big hole and a pile of dirt in back of the Suzuki, a canopy frame with its canvas covering an unknown object on the ground, and an array of containers.

"All of this is outdoor stuff," she insisted. "It may not be organized in a way you consider pretty, but I don't care what you consider pretty."

Her home is just inside District 11 in northeast Denver, which includes Montbello and Green Valley Ranch. The district generated more than 2,300 investigations last year, more than any other district in the city.

"We have intentionally stepped up the enforcement of city codes in the district in direct response to our constituents," said Councilman Michael Hancock, who represents the area. "They made a request that we do everything we can to enforce the zoning regulations."

Hancock said violations in his district range from kitchens being built in basements, ostensibly to house another family, to chickens being slaughtered in garages.

"I think there was a goat being slaughtered," too, he said.

The district is refusing to let existing problems get worse, Hancock said.

"We took a very aggressive approach to enforce the city zoning codes in the neighborhoods so that we can improve the health and the safety and the appearance (of the area) because it was going downhill and going downhill fast," he said.

District 9, which includes lower downtown, Globeville and Sunnyside, had the second-highest number of cases last year, a step down from the No. 1 spot in 2004.

Councilwoman Judy Montero said her district has a lot of filings because residents care how their neighborhoods look.

"There are more complaints because we have more neighborhood involvement," she said. "We have several neighborhood groups that have made it very clear they want more accountability from Neighborhood Inspection Services."

About 85 percent of cases in Denver are triggered by citizen complaints, said Julius Zsako, a spokesman for Community Planning and Development. The city's 23 inspectors generate about 10 percent of the workload by scouring neighborhoods and 5 percent comes from police officers, City Council staff and others.

Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, whose District 8 in north Denver had the fourth-highest number of code-enforcement investigations last year, said the city needs more than its current 23 inspectors.

"Believe me," Wedgeworth said, "they definitely have enough to do."

Aurora has three fewer code-enforcement officers than Denver but has been conducting more inspections, according to records. The city logged more than 86,000 inspections last year and more than 90,000 in 2004.

"We are proactive," said Ron Moore, Aurora's division manager for neighborhood support. "We respond to complaints and proactively check neighborhoods for violations."

Denver's District 1 Councilman Rick Garcia said the city's inspectors meet with neighborhood representatives in his office weekly. The district in northwest Denver saw more than 2,000 investigations last year, a 23 percent increase from 2004.

Like Hancock and Montero, Garcia said the jump could be attributed to neighborhood involvement.

"You're going to produce more numbers because customarily what happens is that Neighborhood Inspection Services responds to the calls they get from residents or people in the community," Garcia said.

Garcia and other council members praised the work of the city's neighborhood inspectors.

"I think it's absolutely critical that we have a program and a group of dedicated inspectors," Garcia said. "It's essential to, I think, quality of life and the well-being of our neighborhoods."

The biggest increase in cases — 47 percent between 2004 and 2005 — was in District 4 in southeast Denver. Still, the district had the fewest number of cases of any district.

Councilwoman Peggy Lehmann said her district, which has the third-highest average household income among the city's 11 districts, has newer housing and is "very suburban."

The 47 percent increase may be the result of a "terrific" inspector who is assigned to her district and who, her constituents know, will follow through on complaints, she said.

"They're also getting smarter about what to report," she said.

Stephens, who is embarrassed for people to visit her home in southwest Denver, said she's reported her next-door neighbor for years, but nothing changes.

"You get scofflaws that absolutely ignore everything you do," said Kent Strapko, the city's zoning administrator.

Since April 2005, the city has issued the property owner nine citations, levied $7,650 in fines and now is considering legal action.

Stephens said she's seen huge rats and a family of snakes, some 5 feet long, in her neighbor's yard.

"I'm waiting until they're long enough to eat my dogs," Stephens said as her mischievous poodles, Cocoa and Ginger, played nearby.

Stephens' next-door neighbor, who declined to be interviewed, said the old chairs, bicycles, motorcycles, strings of Christmas lights and other stuff scattered throughout her property belong to an ex-boyfriend.

"At least I got rid of him," she said.

chacond@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5099

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