Month 00, 2006

Artesia News

Just another day with Artesia's code enforcement team


The hotel room was a mess, with wires hanging out of the walls, toilets and sinks missing, and the entire floor uplifted.  This wasn’t the problem, though, as this was just a renovation.  The concern is that no permits were done through the city.

 

Code Enforcement Officers Gilbert Duron and Daniel Pitts surveyed the scene, taking notes; every now and then a flash of light would brighten the room as photos were taken.

 

Most residents never see code enforcement officers, but when city codes are violated they can be counted on to be there.  In this particular case, a hotel was renovating its entire bottom floor without permits.  I was riding along with Duron and Pitts to document one day in the life of two code enforcement officers.

 

Dan Farley, a county building inspector, also arrived at the hotel.  “I’m here to inspect building code violations,” he said, “and to see if building permits are needed.”

 

Pitts said that he or his partners usually become aware of code enforcement cases through residents.  “We get calls, sometimes anonymous, sometimes they’ll identify themselves.  Generally, a lot of residents will notify us about work going on in the city that might not have building permits, and so we inspect it.  If they need permits, then we refer them to the Planning Department.

 

Duron said Code Enforcement became aware of the possible violations at the hotel while they were inspecting something else in the parking lot.  “As we were coming through, we noticed they were remodeling.  So we checked with Planning, and Planning was not aware that this was going on.”

 

Okina Dor, Associate Planner, arrived on the scene with his intern, Rogelio Ramirez.  Dor said that city planners get involved to investigate whether permits are needed, to see that the design is on par with city code, and “to make sure there are not long term residents living at the hotel.”

 

Once in a while, code enforcement officers run into resistance.  That’s when backup is needed.  Artesia’s Sheriff, Sergeant John Burton arrived in time to aid code enforcement officers and planners while they inspected whether tenants were living at the hotel longer than they were allowed. 

 

“I’m here to assist our code enforcement officers in the inspection of properties, to look for criminal activity … and to keep the peace should it become necessary,” said Burton

One man wouldn’t answer the door when the onsite manager politely asked, or even after code enforcement officers and city officials explained they needed to inspect the room.  Minutes went by.  Duron said, “This is when the sheriff becomes necessary.” 

 

Sergeant Burton, a man with thick, burly arms like oak trunks, approached the door and knocked loudly.  “Open up, this is the Sheriff’s Department.  We need to inspect the room.”

 

Immediately, the door opened and the tenant said, in a high-pitched voice, “What the [heck] is going on?!?”

 

That’s when Duron, a former sheriff himself, said, “We’re just here to inspect the property for a code enforcement violation … it’s just a quick in and out.”

 

The man complied.

 

As we headed back to City Hall, I discovered that I had a greater appreciation of the role of the code enforcement officer. They can be annoying, it’s true, but their job is vital in making this city a great place to live and work.

 

As Pitts said, “If you want to avoid a code enforcement case, it’s very important that you check with the city first before building something.”

For more information or to report a possible code enforcement violation, call (562) 865-6262.



        

An unpermitted demolition.                                                                     Confronting unauthorized demolition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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