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CODE RED : BRENTWOOD ’ S CODE ENFORCEMENT AND WHY WE DO IT cKeesport rentwood
CITY BRIEFLY OF MCKEESPORT BRENTWOOD NEWS
The Borough understands that our community has a love / hate relationship with Code Enforcement . On the one hand , receiving a code violation is never an enjoyable experience and property owners can feel personally wronged , targeted or attacked for having received one for their property . On the other hand , however , our Code Enforcement exists for a good cause : to ensure property owners work with the Borough and each other to keep our community a safe , enjoyable , and nicelooking place to live .
Let ’ s say a property owner has large dogs and doesn ’ t always clean up after them the way that they should . Should the surrounding neighbors be made to live with the odor of that accumulation on a hot summer ’ s day to the point where they can ’ t even go outside ? Or let ’ s say a property owner hasn ’ t been keeping up with the front of their house the way that they should be and put their yardwork off for several weeks — if their neighbors have beautifully well-kept lawns , should they be forced to look at wildly overgrown hedges and tall grass just because one person hates yardwork and doesn ’ t want to deal with it ? The violation notices aren ’ t pleasant , but they are certainly necessary to ensure that everyone does what needs to be done to keep their neighborhood pleasant and livable for themselves and for everyone around them .
Question : Why did I receive a notice of violation from the Borough for high grass , but I see other properties with grass higher than mine ?
Answer : The Borough code requires that grass be maintained at 8 inches high or less . If you received a notice of violation , this more than likely was the result of a “ code sweep ” throughout the Borough . Our Code Enforcement checks properties for obvious violations , such as high grass , debris , and cars that are not roadready ( meaning the tires may be flat , they may have a tarp over them , or the inspection sticker may be out of date ) being left on properties , and these sweeps occur at least once per month . Please be assured that your property was not the only one to receive such a letter . The Borough Code Department averages over 100 letters each month for various property-related violations , and despite the high number of letters sent only a small percentage make it in front of the magistrate , and that ’ s because people read and follow the letters so that they don ’ t end up there !
Question : Why isn ’ t the Borough doing anything about the violation I reported , or my neighbor ’ s high hedges / high grass / debris ?
Answer : The violation and corrective action process is sometimes long and arduous . First , the property owner must be allowed a certain time to correct the violation , which can vary depending on the nature of the violation itself . If it is determined that the violation was not corrected , then the matter is sent to the District Magistrate to issue a citation and schedule a hearing . The hearing date is scheduled , and both the Borough ’ s Code
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Enforcement Officer and the cited property owner must attend . Sometimes the case is continued to allow the owner additional time to rectify the violation with a followup case scheduled , and sometimes the property owner is fined . Depending on the nature of the violation , the property owner can then appeal the decision to a higher court . Unfortunately , these magistrate hearings and resulting appeals happens most frequently with “ problem properties ”, which means these ones usually take the longest to solve as well .
Question : I don ’ t want to start problems with my neighbor . Can the Borough help me out if I report a violation with a property on my street ?
Answer : Absolutely ! All code violations are treated as anonymous complaints regardless of who calls them in . For certain types of violations , our Code Enforcement takes a trip past the property as well to verify the legitimacy of the complaint as well and determine if a violation notice is necessary . Sometimes a homeowner will call in something like one stray weed by a fence post in a neighbor ’ s yard — for something like this , a violation notice is simply not necessary . On the opposite end of the spectrum , if a homeowner calls in that a cluster of tall weeds at their neighbor ’ s house is growing into their yard , then a notice of violation can be issued and the procedures can be followed from there .
Question : I received a notice of violation , but I ’ m not sure what to do to fix the problem !
Answer : Any time a notice of violation is issued , notes are included below the code description that is being violated showing the specific issue and how to rectify it . These are usually kept short and sweet as some issues don ’ t need to be explained in long and lengthy detail . One such example is a grass violation : the notes for this kind of violation will usually say “ Please trim the grass in the front / back / side yard ” depending on where the grass is high . Some items cannot be corrected as easily , and accordingly the notes will be more in-depth for certain violations , including badly angled downspouts pouring rainwater into a neighbor ’ s yard , repairing or building a new exterior structure without a permit , or purchasing a property without obtaining the necessary lien letters and permits from the Borough , just to name a few .
Question : I keep my property beautiful , but I just got my first violation notice . If I receive a notice of violation , how does this affect me ?
Answer : If you ’ re applying for a building permit or are trying to sell your property , the violation will need to be corrected before moving forward with your application or your permit release . However , our Code Enforcement does know that sometimes property maintenance takes a backseat . Something may have come up or perhaps someone forgot to weed their front lawn right before a code sweep — and that ’ s okay ! Sometimes property owners don ’ t even know that their violation is in fact a violation until they receive a letter stating such and requesting