BANI Newsletter- July 2010

A version of the following article appears in "The Higher Standard," the newsletter for the Builders Association of Northeast Indiana. www.ba-ni.com.

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Summer is here, and that means code enforcement season is in full swing! We’ll talk briefly about what code enforcement is and how we do it in this article.

The Steuben County Plan Commission is in charge of enforcing several county ordinances: the Zoning Ordinance, Subdivision Control Ordinance, Abandoned Motor Vehicles, and Public Environmental Nuisances.

The procedures used to enforce the above ordinances are generally similar but do vary in some details. An ordinance violation complaint may be started by a member of staff or a member of the public. When a complaint is initiated by a member of the public, staff must visit the site to confirm the violation and document the existing conditions.

If a violation does exist, a letter is sent to the property owner of record, as maintained by the Steuben County Auditor’s Office, notifying them of the violation, the necessary remedy, the potential fines for noncompliance, and the date the problem must be resolved by. Our ordinances provides property owners ten calendar days to correct the problem. Typically, though, we will allow up to fourteen days.

Violations for building without an improvement location permit receive stop work orders, requiring all work on the project to stop immediately. Allowances can be made to continue some work in order to secure the structure to prevent hazardous conditions.

Individuals who disagree with the Plan Director’s determination that there is an ordinance violation may appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals within 10 days of receiving the notice.

When the condition is not remedied within the required time, the Plan Commission may take action. We can file a case with the courts compelling the property owner to correct the problem and/or correct the problem on our own or with the help of private contractors. Property owners are fined $75 per day after the deadline has passed and are responsible for paying all costs incurred by the Plan Commission plus 25% to cover administrative costs.

By nature, code enforcement is more like a cabin cruiser than a jet ski. The Plan Commission Office has been working to modernize and streamline our code enforcement procedures to reduce the length of time until resolution, improve follow-up, reduce losses to the county, and ensure equal treatment for all individuals.