I was reading the notes from the last OKC City Council meeting.

One item struck me:

The council approved an agreement to hire a p/t urban development specialist to provide technical assistance for improving the area between NW 8th and NW 13th streets from Classen to Lincoln.

First off, I live in this area and would love to see it improved as there are many code violations and dilapidated properties in this area. Secondly, it could help revitalize the MidTown area even faster and get some of these neglected properties up to code and hopefully developed. I personally think they should have made this from NW 5th on but NW 8th is a good start.

That is interesting and somewhat promising.

That area still represents a pretty big hole between the neighborhoods just north and the CBD to the south. There has been some real progress made but as you pass through that area, big chunks are still hauntingly (and depressingly) vacant and/or rundown.

And I agree it should extend down to 5th or even 4th. From that point northward is where you find tons of un- or under-utilized properties.

we have proactive code enforcement down here in Norman, with special boundaries for 'high problem' areas, you know like the ones with a flea market in the front yard or whatnot! however i have noticed that the proactive policy is more like randomly proactive.

"tons of un- or under-utilized properties"

when i was last in the city, i was amazed at how much near downtown is neglected and forgotten. its sad, that stuff should be gaining land value due to the resurgence of mid-town and downtown. what am i missing, seems like a no brainer...?

blangtang, OKC has a similar program where it is "proactive" in certain areas. When Mick was first elected he was pretty firm on it although now (and I've expressed it to city inspectors, council, Mayor and action center) that it is more "randomly proactive" at best and sure isn't as strict as they use to be and give too many exceptions to the rule it seems. I know of a house in the downtown area that has holes in the roof and walls patched up by plastic tarps and other obvious code violations. I've reported it for over 2 years now but the city doesn't seem to care.

yes, but you dont wanna be 'that guy' who is sitting on his stoop, phoning in the 'code' violations every other day. I'm sure its frustrating, and all. I think thats why the whole code enforcement becomes political more than anything else.

I know they 'crack down' here when the fall semester starts...especially around the campus... they'll give u a ticket for parking across the sidewalk, for parking in the lawn, etc. but then the rest of the year its pretty much complaint based.

i have no idea what the solution is. but i do like the area close to downtown okc! i rode the bus to OKC a week and a half ago and my brother picked me up and showed me the area where mcnellies and what not was located. it was packed on a thursday at 5pm. i like that area and can see it gaining momentum, which is great!

I only imagine that area picks up with the revival of downtown and rising gas prices cause people to reconsider their suburban commute lifestyles.

Code Enforcement in Oklahoma City has long been lacking. Or, I should say, pro-active, code enforcment.

Several years ago, some individual City Council members would tell city staff to lay-off proactive enforcement within their ward, that they didn't want to be bothered with the inevitable phone calls such action would create. The city policy, therefore, has now become, that the inspectors only act on propeties that have been called in.

One of the problems is the city's apparent indiffence to the issue. For our apprx. 620 sq. mi., there are only 5 zoning inspectors. The Neighorhood Inspections Dept. has more than that, but the department leadership and inspectors themselves, aren't serious about taking on the job.

Also, when tickets are issued, the Municiple Counselor's Office is slow to act because they don't see these types of violations as worthy of the time it takes to prosecute. And even then, the Muni Judges have to actually enforce the Code, and levy fines, which is seldom.

An organized call-in, or some sort of ground root effort, such as constant (I mean contant-daily, sometimes more than once) phone calls to the Mayor's oOffice, City Manager's office and the City Council, from many folks, would get their attention. Maybe attending, en masse, several Council meetings, under the part of the agenda 'Citizens to be Heard,' asking for serious action on the issue and not letting them off the hook until they agree to serious enforcement.........

It can be very hard for a municipality to adopt a pro-active code enforcement stance, and I think it's uncommon just about everywhere you go.

For example, I live in a nice town in California called Thousand Oaks and am just amazed what is allowed. There are homes in my neighborhood with weeks over my head and trash in the front yard... Not to mention dozens of illegally parked RV's, trailers, etc.

And when I've called the city, they are almost reluctant to even act and they certainly never follow up. Come out once, perhaps a small change is made and then things go back to where they were.


I think the only answer is an involved citizenry. I concentrate on my immediate neighborhood -- often talk with my neighbors and make sure they understand the rules -- and hope that others do the same in their section of the world.