The Cortez City Council Tuesday night was informed by building and code officials about blighted structures in the community.
Building official Sam Proffer wanted to get councils input on what, if anything, the council wanted to do to eliminate or help decrease the problem.
Proffer presented the council with a slide show detailing numerous structures in various stages of decay and deterioration.
Proffer said the litter and blight of homes results in criminal activity, and also added homeowners refusing to take care of their properties cause other homes to drop in value.
The city building department was being reactive to blight concerns, responding when there are neighbor complaints or tenant disputes.
As a result, Proffer asked the council its thoughts on being more proactive.
Code Enforcement Officer Jim Shethar said 97 percent of the people he contacts concerning blight issues only need a nudge to take responsibility for their land, but the other 3 to 4 percent do not have any intention in cleaning up their properties.
He said after citing a property owner, there is not much more he can do, and noted it could take months before the property owner is mandated to show up in court.
Cortez Police Patrol Lt. Andy Brock said there are success stories where homeowners received the message and cleaned up their properties.
He also said not every situation is the same, and added common sense needs to be used such as determining if there is an able-bodied person at the residence who would be able to do the repairs or clean up the home.
Shethar said he thought the city ordinance against blight needed to be more streamlined to tell residents in violation that they have been targeted and are now obligated to clean up their land.
Proffer said the building department can start being more proactive in looking for homes needing to be cleaned up if this is what the council wants.
We have ideas if you are comfortable in being more proactive, he said and discussed changing ordinances over the next few weeks or months to give them better enforcement.
Proffer, after being asked how trash or litter is defined and what is included such as abandoned vehicles, said those decisions are left up to the judge.
City attorney Mike Green said the two sanctions the municipal court can give are fines and jail time, but added the jail time could be suspended if an effort is made to clean up the property.
After the council gave Proffer its blessing to be more proactive, he said if the building departments encounters speed bumps it can look at the process again to determine what changes should be made.
The council in its work session also briefly discussed recreational vehicles or trailers being parked at residences for extended periods of time while visitors lived in them.
Shethar said when homeowners are asked about the RVs, the city is often told that the person or people living in them are just visiting.
Resident Jim Garner told the council this situation occurred in his neighborhood where an RV with New Mexico license plates remained parked on a lot of a nearby home for about one year before the people living in it eventually left.
Reach Michael Maresh at michaelm@cortezjournal.com
