BUENA PARK : Priorities Are Listed for Code Inspectors

The city’s code enforcement office has a new priority list, approved by the City Council last week.

Unfenced pools will be top priorities, for example, but trash cans and cars parked on lawns will go to the bottom of the list.

Code enforcement officers receive about 2,000 calls a year, according to senior enforcement officer Jim Morrie. The priority list will allow the officers to devote energy to a task force established to launch a citywide attack on blight, he said.

The task force--which includes officers from police, health, public works and the fire departments--will approach property owners in deteriorating areas to resolve violations that make neighborhoods vulnerable to crime, Morrie said.

The group currently works in the Jackson-Fillmore area of the city but will expand into more neighborhoods after Jan. 1, he added.

Not all council members were enthusiastic about the idea of making any code violation a low priority, although Morrie assured them that every violator will at least receive an advisory letter.

Councilwoman Donna L. Chessen said that a car parked on a lawn would be a high priority to a neighbor living next door.

Councilman Arthur C. Brown summed up the prevailing view, however: “Is it more important to attack blight in a neighborhood where crime is growing or go after some guy for leaving his trash can out?” Brown asked.