City Commission to Focus on Making DIY Code Enforcement Issues 'Better'

At its Monday meeting, the Royal Oak City Commission voted to direct staff to come up with solutions for better ways to deal with the city's Property Maintenance Code by the time the commission meets for its strategic planning session on Jan. 18.

Mayor Pro-Tem David Poulton, who asked for the discussion of the Property Maintenance Code, told commissioners he wants to make it "better" for residents who are doing their own home improvements by allowing them to have "a little more discretion with the Building Department."

Commissioner Kyle DuBuc agreed that working on the Property Maintenance Code, which requires residents to reasonably maintain their property, would be a good area for the commission to focus on.

"We recently had a family redoing their house themselves...and (they kept) running into code enforcement issues because of delays with the project. My fundamental issue, without going into any of the details of it, is that had they done nothing there would have been no violations," DuBuc said. "There is no doubt, even part way into the project, the home looks significantly better than it did."

[Read Restoring a Royal Oak Bungalow - a Criminal Offense]

DuBuc said fines and run-ins with the city are disincentives for residents who can't afford contractors to do work on their homes.

Mayor Jim Ellison asked that Code Enforcement identify the issues that they have the most problems with and see if there is any way to "massage some of those codes." The quandary, Ellison said, is that some of the codes are one-size-fits-all.

"They have to try to enforce them evenly across the board, whether it's self-performed work by a homeowner or a contractor is doing it," Ellison said. 

The mayor said he would like the city to come up with a different kind of plan for do-it-yourself projects where homeowners would work out a written agreement or contract with the Building Department that outlines deadlines.

"It may be longer that what our code may allow, but this would give the Building Department some latitude to try to tie into a schedule that the homeowner provides themselves. If the homeowner runs past his own self-imposed dates, then that is where we need to pick up the enforcement," Ellison said.

Commissioner Peggy Goodwin reminded residents that most of the time when Code Enforcement gets involved it is because there is a complaint.

"I don't expect anyone who's been approached by a code enforcement officer for their property, whether right or wrong, to write a glowing review. They deal in conflict," Goodwin said.

Homeowners in general are not going to be happy when approached by Code Enforcement, Goodwin said.

"It's not because they have been rude. They are just doing their job."

The strategic planning meeting, usually held on a Saturday in January, helps administration incorporate commission goals into the recommended budget, according to City Manager Don Johnson.  The meeting on Jan. 18 will be held in the City Hall Conference Room 309 this year.