Volunteers to Patrol for Code Violations

Despite some members’ concerns that it might be creating “vigilante squads,” the City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a program that will allow volunteers to monitor their neighborhoods for building and safety code violations.

Modeled after a similar effort in San Diego, the Neighborhood Codewatch program was proposed by Councilwoman Laura Chick, who represents the southwest Valley. It is scheduled to begin this spring on a trial basis in five council districts, including those of Chick and Valley/Westside Councilman Mike Feuer. If effective, the program will expand to citywide use July 1.

“By using volunteers from our community, we can get 75% or higher voluntary compliance” from violators, Chick told the council.

“We get a lot of complaints about quality-of-life problems, like cars being parked in front yards and illegal signs being posted,” said Ken Bernstein, Chick’s planning deputy. “In this era of fiscal constraints, she felt that we needed to find creative ways to resolve code issues.”

Volunteers will not be allowed to patrol the area immediately around their residence and will undergo a rigorous screening and interview process, Bernstein said. Those provisions are to prevent residents from getting involved merely to settle scores with neighbors.

Codewatch will notify violators by letter, a practice that the San Diego program employed successfully, Chick said. Violators failing to respond will be referred to the city Department of Building and Safety.

Councilmen Richard Alarcon and Hal Bernson voiced concerns that Neighborhood Codewatch will identify more violators, thus burdening already taxed city inspectors.

Chick estimated the annual expense of the program at $60,000 to $100,000--$50,000 of which will pay a coordinator working out of the mayor’s office.