PORTSMOUTH ALTERS CODES TO CLEAN UP COMMUNITIES

PORTSMOUTH -- Neighborhood crime fighters have new ammunition in the
war on drugs and neighborhood eyesores.

New city codes make ``drug blight'' a public nuisance. It means code
enforcers, in partnership with the Police Department, can cite
buildings used as drug havens, regardless of the condition of the
property.

If the drug problem continues, the building could eventually be
demolished, said Fred Brusso, the city's code official.

This is one of several code changes suggested by a citizen task force
that began meeting with Brusso last fall. The changes also help rid
neighborhoods of eyesores, such as junk cars, old sofas or washing
machines sitting outside.

The new codes, approved by the City Council earlier this month, are
expected to take effect Monday, Brusso said.

The task force was created after representatives of five
neighborhoods -- Olde Towne, Park View, West Park View and Port
Norfolk -- met with Brusso.

Madalyn Grimes, vice president of the Port Norfolk Civic League, said
neighborhood leaders had already met to discuss common problems and
concerns.

``I think it boiled down to codes enforcement,'' she said.

They went to Brusso to ask how they could help.

Brusso decided to bring representatives of other neighborhoods into
the discussion. The task force helped prioritize problems and looked
at state laws to see how city codes could be strengthened.

A priority was how to deal with properties that serve as drug havens.

Changes to the code, which were approved by the council this week,
detail steps that would be taken against the owners of such
properties, Brusso said.

``I don't want people to think that it means we're going to tear it
down immediately,'' said Brusso. ``It may mean the building would
have to be closed for some time.''

Demolition, as always, would be the last step, he said.

The state law on drug blight was passed in 1994.

Grimes hopes the code amendments will help her neighborhood deal with
repeat offenders who clutter curbs and yards.

Brusso said one man in another neighborhood had pulled a run-down
easy chair out a second-floor window onto the porch roof and was
sitting there, drinking a beer.

``He looked like he was just surveying his domain,'' he said.

No more.

The code definition of debris has been modified to include
non-weather resistant items, including upholstered or wood items that
rot and mildew, Brusso said. It also makes it a violation to store
electrical appliances, such as freezers and washing machines, outside.

Similar improvements were made to cut the number of notices required
for weed violations, a change Brusso expects to help with repeat
offenders.

``Reasonable notice'' is now one written notice per calendar year, he said.

``All we have to do now is issue the notice and if it is above 10
inches at anytime for the rest of the calendar year, we can just have
a contractor go in and cut the grass.''

In addition to the cost, the offender must pay an administrative fee,
which was raised from $75 to the state's maximum of $150.

Brusso estimated that the staff time required would be cut by a third
and response time by half.

The code amendment also reduces the number of notices that the city
is required to issue and the time it takes to dispose of derelict
vehicles. Now, covering an inoperative motor vehicle is no longer
enough, Brusso said. The cars must now be shielded behind a solid
fence or shrubbery.

The code will also help the city recoup some of the costs of towing
and auctioning the cars by adding a $100 administrative fee to the
$45 tow fee and the $10-a-day storage fee. Liens would be placed on
the properties from which vehicles are towed. There will be a $50 fee
for each vehicle disposed of by public auction.

And the city has deleted the exemption for antique automobiles, which
were defined as anything 25 years or older.

``I understand there are some people restoring cars,'' said Grimes.
``But they don't leave it out in the weather anyway.''

Robert Cutchins, president of the Shea Terrace Civic League, is eager
to see the derelict cars removed from his neighborhood. So is Grimes,
who once counted 90 junk cars in her neighborhood.

``I can look out my back door and see three of them,'' she said.
``Now they're under a tarp, but one of them has been sitting here for
four years. So you know they're definitely not going to fix this
car.''