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Residents hope Charlotte code enforcement can improve neighborhoods

By Elsa Gillis
By Elsa Gillis

Otis Hemphill Jr. has lived in the Hidden Valley neighborhood for more than 40 years. A few houses down from his well-manicured home is a vacant house that’s falling apart. He says it's looked like that for two years.

"Well, we've been trying to get something done about it but we can't. The city's been out here and the fire [department has] been out here," says Hemphill.

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The property is one of 33 the city has cited so far this year as a repeat and chronic offender of city code under its new system. That means in 2017 the property owner had four or more violations and they’ve already hit four again this year.

"This is not cutting your grass, this is leaving bulky items curbside, these are your health and sanitation violations, dilapidated conditions, neglected property," says Ben Krise, the Code Enforcement Division manager for the City of Charlotte.

Getting on this list means you have to pay up!

In general, the fine for a single violation went up from $50 to $150 this year, and if you're dinged as a repeat and chronic offender, you can be charged up to $500 for a violation, depending on how many you have.

"We don't want to be in the property management business and we also want to be good stewards of taxpayer money, " says Krise.

"It's one of the things that helps keep Charlotte safe, clean."

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Hemphill is hopeful the increased pressure and money makes a difference.

"They need to either push it down or rebuild it," he says.

Krise says it's too early to tell how effective the new fine system is, but it is something they are evaluating.

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