Live Chat Alert - How to ensure that all properties in the city are safe and well maintained

Tuesday, 24 August 2010 19:00

Tweet
OK. You've put a lot of work into making your home a nice place to live, but maybe there's a home or business near you whose owner doesn't seem to care so much about theirs and it's impacting the quality of life for you and your neighbors. Who do you turn to for help?

In most cities, the answer is something like Hampton's Department of Codes Compliance. On Tuesday, Codes Compliance Director Steve Shapiro will be the guest host for "Virtual Lunch with Mayor Ward."

The weekly live online chat takes place from noon to 1 p.m. every Tuesday on the Hampton Commons website, http://hamptoncommons.com, and in this case will offer property owners and residents an opportunity to ask Shapiro questions about how his department works, not to mention what they can do to try to keep their neighborhoods safe and desirable.

The issue of blighted properties in Hampton has become more pronounced since the 2008 economic downturn, and residents as well as city council members have expressed concern about the fact that some blighted properties have remained in poor condition for long periods of time.

"The changes in the current economy are factors we have never seen before," Shapiro recently reported to the council. "I have been here for 26 years and I have never dealt with the issues we have to deal with now. We literally have people that are choosing between whether to put food on their table or painting their house and it's obvious what that choice is going to be," he said.

Nevertheless, the department reports that over the past year and a half, it has still achieved a better than 91% success rate in bringing out-of-compliance properties up to code.

So what can be done about the rest? Shapiro told city council that while he's inclined to move towards a zero-tolerance policy, some of the most problematic properties are in foreclosure or have been abandoned, placing their ownership in legal limbo.

To help ensure blighted properties don't fall off the city's radar, Shapiro recommended using improved technology to help manage the inspection process, as well as rotating inspectors through neighborhoods every few months so that properties are regularly scrutinized by fresh eyes.

Among the department's other responsibilities are the management of building permits and inspections and according to their website (http://www.hampton.va.us/codes/), "improving the appearance of the City, the health of our waterways and implementing strategies for orderly land development."


While the "Virtual Lunch with Mayor Ward" online chats are primarily for Hampton residents, anyone can "sit in" by browsing to http://hamptoncommons.com. Also, anyone can send ideas for chat-session guests or topics by participating any Tuesday.

Previous chat sessions are available HERE. Readers will find them to be entertaining and informative.