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Politics & Government

Stricter Code Enforcement Could Be Coming to Gulfport

Some residents say the city's current policy of "soft enforcement" for code violators is too lax. The city council is investigating.

How to keep Gulfport looking cleaner thereby being an attractive community to live and work in was the main focus of discussion at a workshop of the Gulfport City Council on Aug. 9.

With the economy still stuck in neutral if not trending downward further, communities are turning over every rock in order to remain competitive, and in some cases throwing the rocks away.

Partly because citizens are hurting thanks to high unemployment and the current housing crisis, some communities, such as Gulfport, exercise what is considered a "soft" enforcement of code restrictions.

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A few citizens of Gulfport complained in the workshop that such a practice is, in fact, hurting the city. In short, when codes are not strictly enforced, people take advantage of the city, and the city suffers in that others wouldn't want to move to a town and start a business if a number of houses have clutter in their yards, cars parked in the front yard or lawns unkept and uncut.

Lee Stapella is one such resident. Speaking to the council Tuesday, she called the soft enforcement of city codes "a failed policy" and said it is a culprit in sagging property values, keeping property values "artificially low."

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Stapella also said the soft enforcement and the eyesores some allege it creates are counterproductive to the city's vision of bringing tourists into the city.

"What is the use of the trolley to get visitors here?" Stapella asked. She added the soft enforcement is a "wrongheaded policy."

Doug Hudson also spoke against the soft enforcement, saying it handcuffs city code enforcement officers. Often, he said, homeowners or landlords who live out of town have found it is cheaper to let the city mow lawns of private properties by simply ignoring their parcels. If a resident or a landlord lets the lawn go, he said, despite complaint from the city and potential fines, it's still cheaper to let the city mow the lawns rather than outsourcing lawn maintenance.

Various city council members including Mayor Mike Yakes noted that in years past residents resisted strict enforcement of codes, which is why the city reverted to a soft enforcement policy.

City Manager Jim O'Reilly said he could devise a new enforcement policy in which specific regulations would be strictly enforced in quicker timeframe and others would be soft enforced, but he needs direction.

After nearly two hours of debating what may or may not fall under a soft enforcement umbrella, the council decided to table the discussion in order to give O'Reilly a clear direction to institute new enforcement procedures.

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