Glendale approves ‘fix it or ticket’ approach to code violations
The Glendale City Council unanimously approved a new system for fining code violators this week.
Under the current system, code enforcement officials send out multiple letters requesting that violations for everything from hoarding to trashed lawns be fixed, which can be followed up with extensions.
If the violation remains — a period that can span months or sometimes more than a year — the city could take perpetrators to criminal court. But that process can be lengthy, so the City Council approved a new ticketing system Tuesday night.
The price tag for the tickets are set to gradually increase the longer it takes to fix the problem. The city currently charges fees for sending code enforcement officials to review violations, but it doesn’t have tickets.
First-time violators could be slapped with a $100 to $400 citation, according to a city report. Subsequent fines for the same offense could climb to between $500 and $2,000. If violators ignore the tickets, they could find themselves answering phone calls from a collections agency, facing a judge in small claims court or dealing with a lien on their property.
It could still take nearly six months before the city implements the new process. Officials still need to order tickets, train staff and set up guidelines for the new process.
-- Brittany Levine, brittany.levine@latimes.com
Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @brittanylevine.
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