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Welcome to Cedar Hill

June 28, 2007

I had the opportunity to attend a block party this past weekend in one of Cedar Hill’s neighborhoods. The folks who lived on this block sat out chairs, set up tables and cooked hot dogs. An ice chest contained bottled water and soft drinks. Children played outside with each other as the adults visited.

I really enjoy those events. It is nice to see neighbors making an effort to get to know each other. This type of community spirit is refreshing.

It also gave me the opportunity to talk with residents about any concerns they had about Cedar Hill. Most people I talked to were pleased with Cedar Hill and its direction. But one concern was repeated by several of the neighbors — code enforcement.

These homeowners kept their yards mowed and trash-free and their homes well-maintained. Their fences did not have missing slats. You could tell that they took pride in their homes.

They observed that a few others on adjacent streets didn’t take quite the same pride in their homes.

I suppose you can’t make people take pride in where they live. Sure, we could pass more ordinance, but that doesn’t really solve the problem. We already have plenty of code enforcement ordinances.

What we need is a change of attitude. That’s really the only way to have sustainable change. External codes are not very effective at changing internal attitudes.

And a new attitude starts with education.

Wouldn’t it be nice if each new resident in Cedar Hill received a Welcome Packet when they moved in. The packet would start off with a welcome message from the Mayor. You know the type, “Welcome to Cedar Hill. We are glad you have chosen to make Cedar Hill your home. …”

A list of city departments, phone numbers, and a flyer about our city’s website (which is about to be revamped) would be nice too.

As it relates to the beauty of Cedar Hill, we would also include a “Top 10 Code Enforcement Rules.” Let’s tell people in plain English what our rules are for grass, weeds, trash, fences and junk cars, for example.

Is trash blowing around your neighborhood because people throw it in trash cans without a trash bag? Let’s let people know that their trash should be bagged.

Is animal control an issue in your neighborhood? We should let people know what our rules are for barking or unleashed animals.

These things are not complicated and I think most people would appreciate knowing the rules.

Maybe just knowing the rules will cut down on some of our most common code issues. How much? I don’t know — 30 percent, 20 percent. Hey, even 10 percent would be a significant accomplishment.

And it would be a lot cheaper than the alternative — many hours of staff time to handle complaints, inspect the property, send out warnings, track all the outstanding violations, issue a citation, follow up to see if any change has been made. You get the idea.

We should take advantage of opportunities to avoid that process if possible.

I would imagine citizens would be happier too. It is much better to know the rules up front than to be surprised later.

So, let’s all work together to change attitude. To instill pride in our community. To work alongside our neighbor, to establish a better, cleaner, Cedar Hill.

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