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City Wants Input on New Codes

April 13, 2005

Open forums scheduled to hear from residents

By LOYD BRUMFIELD
News Editor, Todays Newspapers

Cedar Hill has long hoped to update what it considers outdated code enforcement regulations.

Now the city is embarking on a series of public meetings to get input from neighborhood representatives.

The first one was held March 29 at the Cedar Hill Recreation Center, and the second one was held April 5, also at the recreation center.

“Almost everyone who was invited attended,” said Cedar Hill City Council member Wade Emmert, who has been selected by Mayor Rob Franke to head up a citizens advisory committee on code enforcement issues.

“Just about all of the homeowners associations had more than one representative present.”

Emmert hopes to have one meeting a week and hopes to report the committee’s findings within 30-60 days to give city staff enough time to work on proposed changes before they are present them to the council.

Emmert hopes to keep the meetings to about a two-hour length.

“That two hours is spent going through the various homeowners ordinances and addressing homeowners’ concerns,” he said. “We want to make sure our residents’ concerns are addressed and that we use their input as we finalize the new ordinances.”

The city has been studying its codes extensively.

“We’re in the process of revising our codes, and it’s something that’s been needed for quite some time,” Emmert said. “The staff researched it and came back with a completely revised set of codes.”

City council members Daniel Haydin and Clifford Shaw also attended the meeting, along with Senior Code Enforcement Officer Stacey Graves, Neighborhood Services Coordinator Patty Bushart and others.

“We heard good compliments about our existing staff and the way they handle residents’ concerns, but residents have concerns about outdated ordinances concerning dilapidated fences, uncut grass, directional signs, junk vehicles, outside storage — sheds as well as the outside storage of materials — landscaping issues and other miscellaneous issues,” Emmert said.

Current regulations state fences are in violation if they lean to a certain degree, but missing or damaged slats aren’t addressed.

That will probably be changed under new regulations, Emmert said.

Trash, especially loose trash that blows around yards and is never picked up, is also a big concern for residents.

“All the homeowners were passionate about their neighborhoods and what they want their neighborhoods to look like,” Emmert said.

Loyd Brumfield can be reached at cedarhill@todaynewspapers.net.

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