Call me crazy, but last week's report from our village manager screamed out BP's inability to use Code to make this place better. Consider this:
Currently, there are eight violations that merit Administrative Citatioins, ie "immediate fine, no warnings, no notices, etc. ... pay up, buddy, and consider not doing that again or we'll keep taking your money." They include things like having your trash cans curbside at the wrong time, not putting the cans away, not cutting your grass, parking on your lawn, feeding hoards of wormy cats ... the real bare-bones minimal standards for a non-primitive society, let alone a tiny village with a HUGE tax rate.
Last week, of the many code violations noted, 28 fell into the categories that merit admin citations ... yet only 1 admin citation was issued. I'm no mathematician, but the calculator on my iPhone tells me that 1 of 28 is just 3.6% ... and that's a fail in anyone's book. Rather than start a never-ending cycle of courtesy notices etc that don't enact change, why not hit those 28 properties with fines and let them learn and not do that one again?
Why can't this village enforce code? Why such an epic failure of leadership on the most rudimentary things? I'm not talking about elevating us into a Coral Gables or Miami Shores ... just keeping us from falling into the abyss that is Unincorporated M-D or our neighbor, NoMi. Just meet the MINIMAL standards ... and when folks can't/won't comply, teach them the one way that everyone understands: taking their money. Funny how paying one fine teaches folks to comply to something they ignore otherwise.
PREACH!!! on my morning walk, I saw a large (30-40ft) trailer parked across a front yard, a full size yellow school bus parked in a driveway, a party limousine bus (30ft long) parked in swale, a cargo trailer parked in swale and a box truck in a driveway ...that was just within 6 blocks.
ReplyDeleteThis is not how our cute little village should look, not to mention these commercial vehicles are again- against code.
The village is such a quaint, cozy oasis turning into Biscayne Gardens. Some houses are amazing and others, not so much.
I also don’t get why the village does not want this extra income?? They’re always crying broke... here’s a means to fatten up a piggy bank for a rainy day while making the village look better = twofer!
I also saw a car up on jacks being worked on in the driveway of one of our commissioners last night... another code violation.
ReplyDeleteThe commissioners have zero standards for themselves, we obviously can’t expext them to have anything better for the village.
Which raises the questions, why are citations, or even warnings, generally not issued, and in the apparently very uncommon case in which one is, what's different about that case?
ReplyDeleteMac, there are number of residents that are telling the commission and Krishan that we need to be passive and not write tickets. We have heard individuals speak at commission meetings, Next Door, and possibly this blog, that we need to stick our heads in the sand and "live and let live". How many times have we heard residents using their "love thy neighbor" excuse while defending individuals who are continually violating our code? The cat hoarders and the front lawn parking lots are a prime example. Add that to our code officer given tasks of writing a driveway code, supposedly training a new assistant, and who knows what other tasks Tracy has directed Krishan to give her. FYI, our taxes just bought the Code Department a brand new code vehicle so that they can look good while driving around handing out notices that will get ignored.
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ReplyDeleteThe only way we elevate this community to meet the tax rate we pay is to enforce codes and laws. It's really that simple. Christina needs to be out of the office writing up violations as much as possible ... not inside writing Codes that she's not qualified to write or to redline Tracy's attempts at writing Code. Krishan is allowing that, so they're both at fault. Being a good neighbor includes taking care of one's property so you're not an eyesore to others and so you don't bring down property values. Folks who don't understand those simple concepts either are fortunate to live among "good neighbors" who already take care of things or are the folks parking in lawns, etc. Even some of our elected officials are guilty of allowing their properties to look shabby. They should be among the best-tended properties, not the worst.
ReplyDelete#prideofownership
Brad and Mac, you're not elected officials here. The people who are elected officials are not interested in elevating the Village. We can complain that the current Commission, and the one immediately before it, did not have a "visioning" exercise, but that doesn't mean they don't have a vision. They do. It's the vision in their mirrors, and a Village that is "modest." We don't have anything better, because they don't want anything better. And it's probably fair to assume that they have a constituency. Mac, one of their constituents lives more or less across the street from you, and a few houses south.
ReplyDeleteIf we don't like their vision, and we think we represent more than they do, we have to vote them out.
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ReplyDeleteRegardless of whether our myopic commissioners are capable of formulating a better vision for BP, they are REQUIRED by our Charter (ie our "Constitution") to uphold the minimum rules and regs. Those codes and laws and ordinances already exist. They must simply turn to Krishan and state with one voice, "Dude, do your job or you're 86'd. Ditto with your flunky, Christina." Provide measurements for them ... and when they fall short, give them the old heave-ho and hire someone with a backbone. I choose to maintain my property to my own personal standards, which far exceed BP Code. That's my choice, and I don't try to force that onto my neighbors. However, each of us is REQUIRED to meet the minimal standards as defined by Code, and the village admin is REQUIRED to enforce that. If they don't, they are negligent in their duties. And, when they do decide to arbitrarily enforce Code on anyone, that resident has the right to reply, "When you enforce all Codes on everyone, including commissioners who violate Code, then we can talk. In the meantime, get outta my business."
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