For months now (in some instances years), my neighbors and I have been crying out about blatant code violations over looked by Code Enforcement, while others are enforced with vigor.
Today if you drive East down McClure Street (towards the new Peoria Zoo) you will notice that the area is looking much nicer. The City has come in and cut grass and has started to give people notices for violations.
Thank you City of Peoria!
(By the way: Don't miss the Grand Opening for the new Zoo)
8 comments:
Zoo opening... and cracking down on code enforcement... Hmm... coincidence?
I am glad to hear the City has cleared things up on McClure. Of course, that cost will be born by all of us, because the person that does not cut his or her grass also does not pay the city fine or the bill for cutting the grass.
That is part of why Peoria finds itself in such a big "sink whole." It has SO . . . many citizens not stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility and doing their fair share.
Thank God the city is finally doing something. McClure used to be one of the most beautiful streets in the city.
As a kid I found McClure sort of enchanting because of all of the beautiful trees. Unfortunately, a lot of the trees are being butchered now by the City.
The majority of properties with violations are owned by landlords who are not putting money back into them for simple maintenance.
When I was a kid I loved going to my grandpa's house on E. Maywood because that part of town was so beautiful. The area was full of well-kept bungalows and manicured yards. I agree that absentee landlords are one of the East Bluff's biggest problems now.
I am sure eventually someone will complain that renters destroy property and that landlords can't afford to keep repairing the property, etc. I agree, but I, also, wonder why so many people continue to want to be landlords--maybe it is still a moneymaker???
It's only a money maker if one just collects rent from month to month and puts nothing back in to the house itself. Thats what an absentee landlord is. I'm a landlord who keeps up his properties. They look good inside and outside. So, in my case, no there isn't much money in this business.
I am sure there are some bad landlords, but I have had some involvement in the past with housing code violations and by far the most flagrant abusers of the system are the banks that own properties that are repossessed and/or in the process. The former owner has vacated but the bank refuses to take responsibility for the property. Many are out of town financial institutions making it difficult to find the right source to contact to rectify the matter. My impression is that this mismanagement is intentional.
The other culprit, are owners themselves. Many may own the property outright, because it was passed down through the family, but the owner has no source of regular income in which to maintain the property. Even if the City is vigilant about monitoring properties, these owners are unable to make the necessary repairs because they have no funds and many times do not possess the wherewithal to obtain and understand the repairs estimates, etc. There are very few sources within the community for these people to be able to obtain financial assistance in order to make the repairs needed.
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