Property Maintenance Code

You may have seen a City of Alliance vehicle with "Engineering and Building Department" written on the side driving up and down your street very slowly. Inside that vehicle is Beatrice Hoopes nicknamed "Bee".  Beatrice is the City’s Housing Specialist, responsible for both the citywide inspections for the Property Maintenance Code and for the inspections and work write-ups for the Housing Rehab Program. You may also see "Bee" occasionally stopped along the street taking pictures. The City is keeping documentation of conditions to use for future reference.

About six years ago, members of the Alliance Housing Task Force, along with some City Council members, undertook a project. The project undertaken was in response to deteriorating housing conditions, particularly on the east side of the city. After much debate (and that’s putting it mildly), the Alliance City Council was finally presented with legislation aimed at improving those conditions. Part of the legislation calls for a citywide "sweep." That means you will see the Engineering and Building vehicle driving up and down every street in the city, not just the east side, evaluating exterior housing conditions, house by house.

In order to rank the exterior condition of a particular property, there is a rating scale used. Possible ratings range between one and five, with five being the worst. If a property receives a 4 or 5 rating, an interior inspection will also be done. At this time, over 40% of the city inspections have been completed. Many of the violations are minor in nature, such as missing spouting, peeling paint, or broken steps.

After a visual exterior inspection has been made, there is a form filled out by the City for every house. These are then filed by street name and house number. If there are violations, Reo then gets on the computer and finds out who owns the property. The property owner will then be sent an "Exterior Violation Notice" from the Code Enforcement Official, Penny Flitcraft. Generally, the property owner will be given 90 days to correct the violation. Penny and Reo will always work with folks needing an extension in time to complete the needed work. Reo says, "I love to work out a plan with folks to direct them to an area of assistance so they can find the help they need." The Engineering and Building Dept.’s phone number is 330-823-5122. If you get a letter about a code violation, please call them to see what can be worked out.

Why are we doing this you ask? Picture this. You pay good money for your house. It’s your home and castle. You’re proud of it, you keep it repaired as best you can, mow your grass, etc. But the guy next door lets his house go to pot, doesn’t fix a thing and the place looks like a junkyard. What does that do for your property value? For the neighborhood? The City wants to assist our residents to have pride in their neighborhoods. We think the Property Maintenance Code has made a difference and will continue to make a difference.