A Strong Collaboration with City Services
Safe & Sound and the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) continued to build upon a strong collaborative foundation in 2011, improving the quality of life through existing blight reduction projects, while piloting new initiatives to address some of the more pressing concerns in Milwaukee.
A total of 657 property owner notifications were issued in coordination with DNS. Both housing code warnings and exterior blight warnings were issued, achieving an impressive compliance rate of 81.8%. This high level of success in gaining voluntary property owner compliance is in part a result of the support and resources provided by Safe & Sound organizers. Every notification is posted at the residence and accompanied by a copy of the notice. A letter outlining the abatement process and a housing resource sheet are then mailed to the property owner.
Depending on the violation, an abatement period of up to 90 days is provided for the owner to remedy the problem. Safe & Sound focuses primarily on issues which are lower cost and related to blight and safety that can be addressed by the property owner. Issues such as: broken windows and doors; unsafe steps or a missing railing; a damaged fence or soil erosion. Nuisance warning notices are conducted year round to reduce yard waste, garbage and other non-structural blight and generally achieve a high compliance. Blight issues are expected to be remedied in two weeks and often include: junk vehicles parked on the grass; strewn garbage; or furniture and debris piled in the rear of the house.
Following the abatement period our organizers will re-inspect each property verifying compliance. Non-compliant properties are referred to DNS for further action and possibly fines. Exterior blight nuisance notices accounted for 344 of the total 657 warning issued, 289 of these warnings were abated by the owner for a compliance rate of 84%. Housing warnings are written once or twice per year maximum due to the longer abatement period allotted for residents and property owners to gain compliance. In September, Community Partner organizers re-inspected all 313 properties given notices and found 249 properties, or 79.5% compliant with the recommended repairs. The remaining 64 properties were referred to DNS for additional follow-up.
While some property owners don’t like to be reminded of necessary repairs, others are appreciative of the neighborhood wide effort to address minor fixes and the knowledge gained of local housing resources, such as the Community Warehouse. For example, while surveying the Midtown neighborhood, Tim Schermetzler of Safe & Sound wrote a housing code notice for needed repairs to a front porch. After receiving the notice at her door, the woman, a long-time resident of Midtown, called Tim because she was initially worried and upset about the posted warning. Upon receiving the call Tim explained the process, referring her to a few local housing resources and explaining that she would also be receiving a letter with additional resource information. The woman was very appreciative of the resources, however she indicated that the reason her porch was in disrepair was because she felt unsafe spending time in front of her house. She didn’t want to invest in repairs when she didn’t even feel safe sitting out there. The woman discussed her concerns including loitering, drug dealing, heavy traffic and gun fire. Tim took this opportunity to introduce her to other Safe & Sound services including block club resources and the Community Prosecution Unit. Throughout the summer Tim worked with the woman to mobilize other residents on her block creating a block club and beginning to address the nuisance concerns in the neighborhood. Residents appreciated Tim’s continued support. Over the course of the summer the woman repaired her porch and sent Tim pictures of the completed job. Along with the pictures, she wrote that because of the progress on her block she feels more comfortable spending time on her newly improved front porch.
