Code Compliance: Difficulties and Ideas for Small Towns By Kyle Slaughter, Salt Lake City, Utah “Although this article is directed to small-town leaders, the principles inherent in code enforcement strategies can benefit leaders, planners, and code enforcement officers in any community.”
or code enforcement practices. As a result, over-worked elected officials with full-time jobs have to squeeze enforcement and compliance activities in between soccer practice, choir, and spending a few precious moments with their children. While uncomfortable in any setting, the issues related to small town code enforcement are not as prevalent in larger cities. In these communities, full-time officers and others are hired with the sole objective of investigating code infractions and enforcing compliance. This highlights the importance of small towns having strategies that work for their unique situation. So, Why Enforce? The difficulties listed above beg a very important question: “If enforcement is so hard why should small towns (or anyone for that matter) bother enforcing code at all?” It’s a fair question. The answer lies in the fundamental elements of community vision and planning to become the community its leaders and residents have always wanted.
The Enforcement Issue Small towns face enormous hurdles in enforcing code. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise; after all, in the small communities that boast the best sense of community in America, it isn’t very popular to tell people who have been your family’s neighbors stretching back three generations (and who are almost always related to you), to clean-up their tire pile, get their old trucks off the street, or cut down their dying tree. The difficulty is compounded by the lack of barriers between elected officials and the public—in small towns, everyone is considered a neighbor. Everyone knows everything about everyone else. Additionally, many small towns don’t have a single full-time employee or staffer, much less someone with an understanding of the town code
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Without a municipal code, and subsequent code enforcement and compliance measures, the general plan lacks the teeth required to attain the community’s vision. Code enforcement is part of the equation that transforms a town from a politically designated area into the ideal community.1 “Code compliance is recognized as a key component of fighting public health threats like Zika virus by reducing standing water from old tires or broken down vehicles to eliminate breeding habitat for mosquitos and other disease carrying pests.” Rural community vision statements often declare the importance of maintaining their rural atmosphere while
SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
