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Saying it's 'hurtful' and 'creates fear,' councilors shelve Neighborhood Compliance

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Doris St. Pierre speaks during the public comment section of last night's meeting. (Courtesy image)

ROCHESTER - The Chestnut Street resident who was sent a violation notice from the city for a little chipped paint and a few cupped shingles told her story last night during an emotional City Council meeting that ended with the immediate suspension of the city's controversial Neighborhood Compliance Initiative.

Doris St. Pierre, who has lived in her Chestnut Street home for 47 years, told councilors she has never been late paying taxes and was "infuriated" when she received a notice of violation from the city ordering her to fix such minor repairs.

"You people don't realize how hard it is to live in that neighborhood," said St. Pierre, who lives near the Fairgrounds. "I go out every day and find poop bags, beer bottles and rocks on my property. I try to keep it clean."

Based on her emotional testimony, councilors agreed the city should suspend the program while they figure out how to fix it. Several councilors made official motions to vote on the suspension, but Codes Chief James Grant said his department had already suspended the program while modifications are worked out.

The Neighborhood Compliance Initiative directed code compliance officers to walk specific neighborhoods to find and process code violations, a process that in the past had always been complaint driven.

Codes officials urged the change due to the so-called "Broken Window Theory," which reasons that run-down neighborhoods lead to blight and crime, because it appears no one cares about how the place looks.

But what councilors didn't like was that minor repairs like peeling paint and a few cupped shingles are being treated with the same iron fist that mounds of trash or garbage normally are.

Calling it a "hurtful" strategy that "creates fear," City Councilors roundly condemned the initiative which has been in place since June.

Steve Beaudoin, R-Strafford District H9, who brought up the plight of St. Pierre at a codes and ordinances meeting earlier this month, called the policy "adversarial," noting fines of up to $550 a day for noncompliance.

City Councilor David Walker, who has been a vocal critic of the Neighborhood Compliance Initiative, said he didn't dislike its objective - to spruce up neighborhoods and improve assessed values - but he did object that the initiative treats minor and major violations the same.

"This persecutes our constituency," he said.

Joe Devine, the city's chief compliance officers, countered that while 104 violation notices had gone out since June, none had received citations or fines.

But criticism of the violation notice's terse language, which one councilor described as "an angry letter," didn't sit well with council members; City Manager Blaine Cox agreed the city could do better on the "front end" of the policy.

Councilors decided to take it up at a future City Council workshop and work on a better approach that would include a tiered strategy for dealing with complaints based on egregiousness.

There also seemed to be general consensus among council members that they had to be mindful of older homeowners who might be on fixed incomes and make sure they are aware of any programs that might be available to help with funding for needed repairs.

The council was also assured that while the Neighborhood Compliance Initiative has been put on indefinite hold, all other code enforcement activity will continue as usual.

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