Code Enforcement Issues in the Village

   Junk cars, fire safety codes, new construction and messy properties; the code enforcement officer deals with all of these and more. It’s a part time job in most villages and towns in Livingston County that requires many hours of training. A code enforcement officer must possess the ability to work well with people, be fair, friendly and capable of enforcing the law.

   In the Village and Town of Caledonia, the Code Enforcement Officer, Tom Perkins, is handling a variety of non-compliance issues. Some will be resolved with one notice and some will eventually end up in court. Perkins says in most cases the issue can be resolved by working with the property owner. About one percent of the non-compliance notices he serves will end up in court.

   "I try to work with people and ninety-nine percent of the time it’s taken care of. When I just can’t get anywhere, usually then a court order is issued," Perkins said.

   David Woods, Livingston County Director of Planning, told this reporter that a Code Enforcement Officer in Livingston County has a dual role. The CEO is responsible for enforcing the Department of State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and Energy Conservation Construction Code. It is mandated that every municipality in Livingston County appoint a CEO to enforce this code. In addition, Woods, said, a CEO is responsible for enforcing the municipalities local zoning code which may include land use and other construction criteria. Training on the Department of State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and Energy Conservation Construction Code is made available to CEO’s in the county through the Genesee Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council. Even with the training in hand, the CEO has a very difficult job.

   "Sometimes you’re not popular with the residents but CEO’s are reasonable people. They just want people to comply. They have to be able to communicate with and help people understand so they will comply voluntarily," Woods explained.

   Caledonia Mayor Joe Caluorie is pleased with the code enforcement that has been carried out in the village since he was elected nearly two years ago.

   "Every business in the village has been fire inspected in the past year for safety. Our CEO, Tom Perkins, is very diplomatic with people. He tries to help where he can but when he has to, he’ll say firmly – no," Caluorie remarked.

   Perkins says an important part of his job is working with business owners to establish a plan for addressing code violations.

   "If it’s a property that’s been let go, I try to go easy and give the owner time to get the work done. It’s got to be fair to people."

   Residents generally don’t understand local zoning laws, Perkins says. For example, the zoning code defines a junk car as any motor vehicle that is not legal for road use. That includes a $50 thousand Cadillac that is parked in a homeowner’s driveway if it isn’t registered and insured for the highway. Many times a resident will have an unregistered vehicle in their driveway. Perhaps it’s off the road for the winter or is being sold. It’s a violation of village zoning code to keep the vehicle in the driveway while the town code permits that one unregistered vehicle can be kept on the premises. Many people don’t know the specific zoning code until Perkins makes a visit to their home or they receive a letter in the mail from him notifying them of the violation. That’s usually all it takes for people to comply, the CEO says.

   But what about the small percentage of property owners who simply won’t respond to notices of code violation? Perkins says these types of situations are very difficult to bring to resolution. For example, Railside LLC, an inventory warehouse located at 217 North Street in Caledonia, is one of the local businesses that the village has cited for numerous property code and fire hazard violations. Perkins says he’s tried to work with one of the owners, Casey Callan, to set up a time frame for addressing the violations, but says little progress is being made.

   "It’s a mess and unsafe. The stuff is piled up higher than the fences and the owners have done things without a permit," Perkins said, adding that the outdoor pile of debris that backs up to Lehigh Street is a safety hazard to people, especially children, in the neighborhood. He cited Railside’s owners several times. According to the CEO, some of the Lehigh Street property owners took their grievance to the tax assessor and cited the Railside loading dock area as devaluing their properties. As a result, some of them were successful in having their property assessments lower.

   Callan says he gets along fine with the Lehigh Street neighbors and allows them to use his parking lot for their personal vehicles. He says he’s addressed the safety issues but doesn’t believe the majority of the violations are valid. His warehouse stores four million items that are sold on Ebay, an Internet shopping site. The 210 foot long property runs along side of Lehigh Street. Callan calls the site in question a "recessed loading dock," and says that the tractor trailer and motor home parked there are perfectly legal in a B-2 zoned area. Railside uses the truck and motor home to store inventory. Perkins and Callan both say this case will end up in the courts.

   A Main Street, Caledonia property, abandoned by its owner, foreclosed on by the bank and now up for sale, is in such disrepair that it poses a health and safety risk to neighboring properties and the community. Perkins says the house is infested with rodents and the lawn has become overgrown with tall weeds. The interior and exterior of the structure are so deteriorated that it may be beyond repair. The village has issued several citations to the Texas bank that now owns the property, but admits that the likelihood of someone actually taking care of the violations is slim to none. In the meantime, the village can intervene to make the property safer and add the costs on to the property taxes. Until the property is sold and the new owner either corrects all of the violations or tears down the house, the eyesore remains on Main Street.

   Perkins says cases like the Railside and Main Street properties aren’t typical and says most residents and business owners want to maintain their properties. He says property owners can save themselves a lot of time by simply checking with his office before they make changes to either the outside or the inside of the property. When a code issue arises, Perkins said the goal is to work fairly with the property owner.

   "Many times people will ask their friends instead of the code enforcement office when they are starting a home project. We could solve a lot of problems before the project gets started if they would ask us first," Perkins explained.