Nuisance ordinance reviewed

Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010

By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter 02/04/2010

The Lake County Commission discussed the county nuisance ordinance on Tuesday, along with the need for a building inspector.

State's Attorney Ken Meyer reviewed the nuisance complaint process. When complaints are received by the Lake County Zoning Office, Meyer said, the first step is for Zoning Officer Deb Reinicke to conduct an on-site inspection without trespassing onto the property in question.

If Reinicke's inspection determines a nuisance exists, Meyer said that she is required to send a courtesy letter to the landowner to notify the landowner of the issue and see if it can be resolved. If no action is taken by the landowner, Meyer said, a certified letter is sent with a formal request to comply within 15 days. That deadline, he said, is subject to extensions if progress is made by the landowner.

If nothing is done, Meyer said, an abatement notice is sent and the county can take steps to resolves the issue.

Criminal or civil charges can also be filed.

Meyer said that he questions whether more than one complaint should be received before this process is followed so the county can first determine if a complaint is a public concern.

Meyer said about 90 percent of complaints are resolved by letter.

Brant Lake Development Association board member Jan Nicolay said one her board's frustrations with the complaint process is the lack of communication back to the person who filed the complaint.

"We never hear back whether anything has happened," she said. "There should be a response level back to the person who filed the complaint."

Commissioners agreed some response should be made, but made no decision Tuesday.

Building inspector

Commissioners also took time to discuss the possibility of a building inspector. Board members seemed to agree that having a professional building inspector on call for inspections would be a cost neutral solution. Fees paid for inspections at the time building permits are issued would be passed on to the inspector when inspections take place.

Todd Kayes, executive director for the First District of Local Governments, said those additional inspection fees could be as much as $400 to $500 on top of the building permit fee charged for the construction of a new house, which would require maybe three inspections throughout the process.

But, commissioners did hear that building inspectors primarily concentrate on the structure itself and not its location. That means county concerns about ensuring the placement of a home within the allowed setbacks wouldn't be checked by the inspector.

Kayes said that might be something better suited for a code enforcement officer who would look at enforcing nuisance and zoning issues.

While commissioners noted a definite need for an inspector, they said it would mean an additional cost to the county.

"It doesn't fund itself," Commissioner Dan Bohl said. "But it pays for itself by what it saves."

No decisions were made, but commissioners plan to discuss the issue further.

©Madison Daily Leader 2010