A Harrisburg resident asks a question during last night’s meeting about city codes and codes enforcement.
Who do you call when a neighbor is dumping trash illegally? And how do you find out if the apartment next door is an unlicensed flop house?
City officials answered these questions and others in a meeting at Hamilton Health Center last night, where residents were invited to ask about the city’s code enforcement process. A similar event was held one night earlier at Camp Curtin YMCA.
Councilman Cornelius Johnson said the purpose of the meetings was to correct public misconceptions about the codes process and gather ideas for amending Harrisburg’s code handbook. Here’s what emerged as common questions throughout the evening:
Illegal dumping
Dumping trash on city streets and vacant lots is a criminal act that requires response from the Harrisburg Police Bureau. But since Harrisburg’s non-emergency police line routes to the Dauphin County dispatch, some residents said they’ve been referred to the codes office instead.
If you see illegal dumping in your neighborhood, Johnson recommends calling Harrisburg’s 311 number during normal business hours. Ask the switchboard officer to direct you to Harrisburg police and log your complaint there.
Blighted properties
Harrisburg has more blighted properties than it can manage. City codes officials can board up properties that are unfit for human habitation, but residents report that squatters break into the sealed homes and establish residence there.
City Codes Administrator David Patton said that his department is fighting blight with a limited budget. The city maintains a list of condemned properties slated for demolition, which currently has more than 250 properties on it, Johnson said. He estimated that the city’s $120,000 demolition budget only allows it to tackle between 17 and 25 properties a year.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city hopes to significantly increase the demolition budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Raising it to $250,000 from its current $120,000 would allow the city to demolish closer to 30 or 40 properties, he said.
Patton asked residents to remain vigilant in reporting blighted properties. The codes office triages its demolition list and acts first on the properties that pose the greatest public safety risk. If squatters have broken into blighted properties, file a complaint with the codes office so they can seal it again.
Filing a codes complaint
Johnson said that the city clearly needs an electronic system for submitting codes complaints. Right now, residents can download the paperwork to file a complaint online, but must submit the form in hard copy to city hall. Johnson said that creating an electronic submission system is a long-term goal. He also hopes the city can implement a way for citizens to track the status of the complaints they’ve filed.
Finding property owners and rental licenses
If you want to know who owns a property, you can search its address on www.dauphinpropertyinfo.com. Sometimes, however, the owner listed on the deed is a company that no longer exists or an investor who has changed his contact information. If the property is a rental unit, you can try to search the owner’s rental license through the city’s Mercantile Office.
There is more information about codes enforcement on the city’s website.
