The Human Side of Code Enforcement

Code enforcement is foundational to well-functioning local governments, but many municipalities lack the resources to enforce codes and ordinances effectively. It’s foundational to Strategic Solutions, too. As a company that provides the capacity and know-how to support communities’ code enforcement efforts, we know that a shortage of trained code enforcement officials in Western PA contributes to this dilemma.

Following is a glimpse into the work life of Pat Kelly, our code enforcement expert who came out of retirement to support some of our clients.

Many people think of code enforcement as a matter of tending to unkempt yards, broken fences, and dubious porch roofs. They’re not wrong, exactly, but code enforcement is also a public safety measure that can prevent catastrophes, and may even be the difference between life and death. Whether complaints are routine or severe, Pat knows that code enforcement is ultimately about people.

Even in cases that involve routine matters such as high grass or trash, Pat’s case files show multiple attempts to resolve them without issuing citations or taking property owners before the magistrate. Sometimes this takes months, but Kelly says it’s worth it because code violations aren’t necessarily a result of negligence.

“You usually don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives,” Pat says. “Sometimes they just can’t keep up with maintenance for personal or financial reasons.”

Proactive code enforcement helps prevent abandoned properties like this one.

Code enforcement is a team effort. Recently, it was the police who notified Pat about a woman living alone in unsanitary conditions, and his investigation revealed that she was in poor health and unable to care for herself, let alone her property.

“Situations like that need a totally different approach,” Pat says.

He connected the homeowner’s family with Lawrence County’s Area Agency on Aging and worked with them to relocate her to a care facility, then referred the family to a restoration company that could address the conditions inside the house. No citations were issued.

Starting his career as a steel fabricator, Pat joined the Public Works Department in Dormont Borough, where he later became a code enforcement officer, and finally retired as a plan reviewer. Coming out of retirement to do code enforcement is not atypical for many of the officers he knows. Pat believes that one reason there aren’t a lot of young people working in the field is because there are few opportunities to learn code enforcement.

“No trade schools that I know of teach it,” he says, noting that training someone for the job may take six months or more.

Pat’s detailed case files include photos, letters to property owners, verified mail receipts, and notifications about possible fines. They also may include excerpts of codes and ordinances that educate property owners about the law, but also help to build a case for a municipality to take action, should the case reach the local magistrate. Pat’s busy schedule reflects how great the need for code enforcement is. In the past three years in one small township, he has “closed out” 393 out of a total of 456 complaints.

As reminder, Pat says code enforcement “is also important to keep assessments and property values up,” which benefits the whole community.

Houses with architectural value are often lost to neglect.

Technologic advancements that enable code enforcement officials to assess properties in real-time and track repeat offenders across municipal lines are important, as are new inspection laws for rental properties, but code enforcement in Southwestern PA still needs more qualified professionals—more Pats.

We do a lot of planning at Strategic Solutions, but as we often say, Planning is good, doing is better. Some of what we do is high-profile, like helping to make park improvements or economic development projects a reality. Other times, what we do is less visible, like helping municipalities create and enforce the codes and ordinances that keep people safe and neighbors peaceful, and protect the assets that add value to our communities.