Code inspectors issued 269 warnings to property owners in the first week of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s code violation drive.
According to the Tampa Tribune, investigators found abandoned cars, uncut grass and individuals operating a business in a residential area. Many violators had multiple citations.
Buckhorn began his 30-day campaign against code violators after disclosures that William “Hoe” Brown while the chair of the Tampa Port Authority, operated an illegal trailer park on his Seminole Heights property. Brown had the park dismantled July 9, two months after the city told him it was against city zoning ordinances.
Tampa City Councilman Frank Reddick asked Tampa Police and Code Enforcement officials to explain how they intend to reduce the number of violations like Brown’s. Many of the targeted neighborhoods are in Reddick’s district.
Reddick also said the city should help low-income residents to meet city codes. Although many of the citations were for investment properties, few were for those owners of multiple properties. Some residents didn’t have the resources to bring the property to code, like mowing tall grass, for example.
“I can understand senior citizens can’t get things done as quickly as Code (Enforcement) would like” Reddick told the Tribune. “But those who totally overlook the law, those are who we should be going after.”
