Organization Chart Code Enforcement, working in partnership with the people of San Jose, provides education and enforcement to promote and maintain a safe and desirable community consistent with health and safety regulations.
The Code Enforcement Division enforces various ordinances to promote the health, safety, and appearance of San Jose. Unlike the Building Division which enforces those ordinances pertaining to new construction, the Code Enforcement Division focuses on existing structures and neighborhood blight. Specifically, Code Enforcement concentrates on the investigation and abatement of complaints involving land use (zoning), housing conditions, abandoned vehicles, signs, fences, and general public nuisances. The Division also monitors landfill and recycling sites to ensure their proper operation and adherence to federal, state, and local codes.
Beyond enforcing City codes, Code Enforcement actively coordinates inter-departmental, inter-agency, and citizen participation in improving the quality of San Jose neighborhoods. The Division has six major program areas -- General Code Enforcement, Multiple Housing, Targeted Programs, Vehicle Abatement, the Local Enforcement Agency, and Special Programs. The Division's 94 employees process over 40,000 code enforcement and vehicle abatement cases each year.
Check Out the Code Enforcement Division website!
The delivery of services from the General Code, Multiple Housing and Targeted Programs has been organized functionally into five distinct Service Areas with borders that correspond to City Council district lines. This service delivery approach allows customers in a Service Area to deal with a single supervisor for most Code Enforcement issues and enables a coordinated application of services from the three programs.
General Code Enforcement investigates complaints about Municipal Code violations relating to health, safety, nuisances, housing, and zoning. Fifteen Inspectors are responsible for Citywide Code Enforcement activities. Once an Inspector receives a complaint he or she determines if either a warning notice or an immediate inspection is needed to rectify the problem. Warning notices are mailed to the responsible parties informing them that an alleged violation has been reported. It is the party's responsibility to remedy the problem and/or contact the Code Enforcement office. In cases where an immediate inspection is needed, Inspectors will make an appointment with the party or visit the property unannounced. Approximately nine thousand code enforcement service requests are received and resolved by the Division each year.
The Multiple Housing Inspection Program issues permits of occupancy for all apartment units, hotels, motels, guest houses, residential care facilities, and fraternity and sorority houses. Inspectors are responsible for investigating complaints about substandard housing and for conducting systematic inspections of all apartment complexes. They enforce both the California State Housing Code and the San Jose Municipal Housing Code.
The Community Improvement Program (CIP) is made up of multiple-unit residences that meet Federal requirements for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Specifically they are experiencing problems of substandard housing and blight. City services focus on working with community groups in improving housing and citizen involvement. The resources of the Multiple Housing Program and the CIP have been recently combined under one supervisor to provide enhanced inspection services to all CDBG-eligible units throughout the City. All eligible units in the City will receive proactive inspections twice as often other multiple-unit residences. In addition, eligible residences now receive building exterior inspections on a frequent and recurring basis.
The purpose of the Multiple Housing Rental Training Program is to educate rental property owners on how to effectively manage their properties for the purpose of improving the value of their investment. In addition, the training emphasizes the benefits of forming interactive owner and tenant associations for the purpose of combining efforts to improve the value of their rental properties, and ultimately decrease management problems and increase profits. The program provides over 9 hours of training in 4 sessions. Ten courses will be conducted each year with a total of 500 participants. Training segments are conducted by a professional Property Manager, a Crime Prevention Specialist, an attorney, Green Team staff and staff from the Rental Mediation program. Specific topics covered in the training class are listed below:
Targeted Programs is designed to pro-actively address code compliance problems within specific neighborhoods. In addition to going door to door for routine inspections, Inspectors conduct neighborhood clean-up projects and organize community meetings. Project Crackdown, Concentrated Code Enforcement Program, Project Blossom, and the Neighborhood Action Center, are the Targeted Programs that address these issues.
Concentrated Code Enforcement Program (CCEP) staff work in large, low-to-middle-income neighborhoods in an effort to halt housing deterioration, resolve Municipal Code violations, and bring businesses into compliance with zoning laws. The program is aimed at assisting areas of single-family and duplex structures which meet Federal Community Development Block Grant guidelines. Inspectors work intensely within the communities for six months cleaning-up neighborhoods and teaching citizens how to access available government and social programs.
Coordination with other municipal services and agencies is an important part of the CCEP. For example, Inspectors will work with Streets and Traffic to get stop signs, crosswalks, and street sweeping set-up in a community. Two neighborhoods of approximately 850 residential properties are a part of this program each year.
Project Crackdown is a partnership with the Police Department, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and Neighborhood Services. Project Crackdown neighborhoods, which have been designated by City Council, are larger communities experiencing problems with criminal activities such as drug sales, youth gangs, substandard housing, and blight. Assault, violence, and crimes against property are high in these neighborhoods. City services are focused on collaborating with community activists in developing strategies to build strength and improvement in the community. There are currently six Project Crackdown neighborhoods, two of which are Neighborhood Action Centers (see below).
Project Blossom is focused on small, residential neighborhoods with substandard housing, blight, and deterioration problems. Code Enforcement works with the Neighborhood Services Department in improving the physical quality of these neighborhoods and initiating ongoing strategies to empower the residents. Project Blossom Inspectors work intensively with local citizens in accomplishing these goals. Two San Jose neighborhoods are identified for Project Blossom per year, each project lasting for six months.
The Neighborhood Action Center is a multi-agency, multi-cultural partnership which brings together law enforcement, crime prevention, code enforcement, housing rehabilitation, and community development services to solve problems found in neighborhoods with severe drug dealing and gang activity. The Code Enforcement portion of the project provides for enforcement of municipal housing, health, safety, and blight codes. Neighborhood Action Centers are located within the project areas and provide a variety of recreational, community development, and agency services directly to residents.
The Vehicle Abatement Program consists of three sections: On-Street and Public Property Vehicle Abatement, Private Property Vehicle Abatement, and Tow Contract Administration. Vehicle Abatement Officers investigate complaints involving vehicles that violate City municipal codes and oversee the removal of these vehicles by City-contracted tow companies.
On-Street Abatement marks and tows abandoned, inoperable, and unregistered vehicles from City streets. In addition, this group oversees vehicle towing to clear streets for special projects such as targeted neighborhood clean-up, bin placements, and street construction and repair.
The Private Property Tow Program removes inoperable, abandoned, or dismantled vehicles from private residential properties and enforces the lawn parking ordinance. Citations for violations for both of these vehicle regulations are issued after official warnings are sent to the registered vehicle owners. Each year, approximately 4,000 abandoned and illegally stored vehicles are removed from City streets and private properties.
The Tow Contract Administration Program oversees the implementation of the Zone Tow Contracts by the City's six Zone Tow Contractors. The contractors are responsible for approximately 25,000 City generated vehicle tows in the six districts. This program makes sure that contract conditions are met and provides investigation of consumer complaints by vehicle owners. Appropriate charges and corrections are enforced with the contractors through this program.
The Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) monitors and regulates the Federal, State, and Local solid waste regulations at local sanitary landfill sites and recycling facilities. The purpose of this program is to ensure that each permitted facility is in full compliance with Federal, State, and Local regulations governing health and operational issues. Within the City, there are five active and seven inactive landfills. Active landfills are inspected once every thirty days while inactive landfills are inspected every ninety days.
The Solid Waste Enforcement Program is responsible for taking enforcement action against individuals and property owners who have inadequate trash service or who illegally deposit their trash. It also regulates the placement of yard waste on the street, the time period in which it can be set out by the property owner for pickup, and enforces some of the provisions of the City of San Jose Recycling Program.
Special Programs is comprised of a number of specialized programs. These include: Abandoned Buildings, Building Code Compliance, Neighborhood Cleanup, Program Administrative Citations, Proactive Sign Enforcement, staff support for the Appeals Hearing Board, and Animal Control. Each program is staffed by employees with specialized skills who work intensively to implement and/or maintain these services.
The Code Enforcement Division works with the Building Division staff to bring illegally constructed projects into compliance with Building Codes to ensure the safety of inhabitants and reduce neighborhood blight. Currently three Building Inspectors and a permit technician are assigned to this function.
The Abandoned Building Program inventories and monitors all abandoned buildings in the City of San Jose. It ensures that these properties are sealed off from loitering and from use as housing for unauthorized persons. Properties that cannot be boarded up are marked for demolition. Administrative procedures such as Public Hearings, fines, and property liens, assist Inspectors in making sure that property owners remedy the problems at their properties.
There are currently 100 properties on the inventory of buildings to be surveyed and routinely monitored. Thirty of the buildings are considered high priority because of their past histories of being broken into or having severe blight problems.
The Neighborhood Clean-up Program organizes neighborhood clean-up days in specific project areas. Garbage bins are placed in targeted areas for residents to work together in removing trash and recyclables from their communities. Approximately 40 cleanups and 1,000 bins are used annually. These cleanups are often held in conjunction with other neighborhood events to promote citizen involvement and interaction in the community.
Code Enforcement had recently expanded the use of administrative citations for the enforcement of various ordinances set forth in the Municipal Code. Citations are issued to those residents violating ordinances involving lawn parking, improper setout of yard waste, sign placement, and inoperable vehicles. Fines for first offenses range from $25 to $500. Approximately 300 citations are issued every month. The Division plans to expand the Administrative Citation Program in the near future.
The Code Enforcement Division enforces all aspects of San Jose's Sign Ordinance. In addition to responding to complaints for sign violations, The Division has one inspector assigned to proactively enforce Sign Ordinance violations. The inspector addresses billboards and other signs illegally placed by companies in multiple locations throughout San Jose.
The San Jose Appeals Hearing Board is a quasi-judicial hearing Board consisting of seven (7) members, one of which must be an attorney. The members of the Board are appointed by the City Council. The Board hears appeals of code enforcement determinations of blight conditions, illegal building activity, unsafe and unsanitary living conditions, abandoned, dismantled and inoperative vehicles, neglected vacant houses, weed abatement liens, and utility billing liens. The Board also hears appeals of police permit denials or revocations, sign removal fees, and graffiti abatement fees.
Code Enforcement is responsible for overseeing the effective operation and support of the appeals hearing board. This includes managing the agenda, meeting logistics, and caseload for the Board hearings.
The Animal Control Program is aimed at providing humane treatment of animals. Program volunteers, who work out of the Code Enforcement office, administer vouchers to San Jose cat owners for reduced cost spay/neuter surgeries. Veterinarians throughout the City participate in this program performing an average of 1,000 surgeries every year. The goal of the program is to reduce the number of unwanted animals that need to be euthanized at taxpayer expense. The Code Enforcement Division also administers the contracts with the Humane Society for animal shelter, animal licensing, field services, and animal control activities. As such, the Division oversees the Humane Society's efforts to resolve barking dog disputes, dangerous animal situations.
|
