A recent report discussed increased efforts by the City of Columbia (29201-12,29214-30,29240,29250,29260,29290,29292) to address abandoned properties.

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Columbia SC
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Coble seeks to enforce codes
Columbia mayor will ask council to create task force to tackle violations

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble says code violations need to be enforced more quickly and carry stiffer penalties.

Next week, he will work to convince his fellow City Council members to set up a task force that would:

• Investigate ways the city could speed up the process of bulldozing abandoned homes. Last year, the city changed an ordinance giving property owners 90 days instead of 180 days to repair boarded-up properties. Coble said that’s helped, but it is still too long.

• Review state law and look for ways the city could enforce a variety of code violations — from fining those who park cars in front yards to fining homeowners who don’t keep their properties up — more quickly.

• Develop a code enforcement tracking system. Once a resident lodges a complaint, such a system would allow residents to see where the city is in resolving the case.

Another problem, he said, is that the city must track down absentee homeowners whose property has fallen into disrepair. Some live out of state. Some don’t respond to letters from the city.

The result: the homes sit for months, even years, with no repairs.

In the budget that began July 1, City Council included money for a few inspectors who will be part of a team that inspects properties for infractions and works to resolve them.

One of the new inspectors is working in north Columbia and already making a big difference, said Wiley Cooper, a north Columbia resident and community activist. Junk cars are being tagged and abandoned homes are being boarded and cited, he said.

To view the full online article, please click on the following link.

City of Columbia SC Code Enforcement