Recently, the Stockton Record published an article, ‘Lodi Takes Proactive Approach In Blight Fight…’, regarding Lodi’s attempt to fight blight in the community. What I found interest is that the attempt is being done ‘Door-To-Door (Campaign Part of Code Enforcement’) as a means to accomplish this feat.

This attempt is to provide informational brochures explaining the common violations, laws, and how to report any problems. All of which is being done in a proactive sense, unless there is an immediate safety issue evident and then a violation citation will be issued. This is a valiant effort on the part of Lodi, but considering the resources available, this process could be done more efficiently and with better results.

First of all, if there is a violation, the property owner should be immediately notified, a citation issued, and the problem monitored. If the blight issue continues, fines would then be justified, and compounded until the issue is resolved. The key here being the property owner is identified, notified, and held accountable for the bight occurring at (on) the property. By holding the property owner accountable, results are more likely to occur quickly. Apartment units should not even be a code enforcement issue in that there is a property manager either living on the property or in the area.

Considering the technology available, databases and the internet, identifying the proper owner is just a matter of typing in an addresses and a key stroke away. It is rational to think that the city of Lodi has access to these types of resources. There is no reason why we have to pay a code enforcement officer to walk the streets providing brochures for an issue that needs immediate attention.

To make my point, please see the pictures I have provided in the Photo Galley of this site of a house in Lodi that meets some of the ‘10 most common violations’ provided in the Record’s article (click on the below PDF to read the story). The address is 835 S. Central. The property Parcel ID is 04714034(and was obtained online). I did not provide the owner’s name because I do not have access to a database with that information. However, if I were so inclined, I would have called the County Recorder, provided the property information and obtained the owner’s name.

There is no reason why the citizens of Lodi have to be subject to blight conditions in their community. I say we go active and get this issue resolved.

blight.pdf (882 KB, 19 downloads)