Ugly NRH Creative Code Enforcement!

By Ron West – September 21, 2004

Code Enforcement Office writes own regulations and enforces non-existent ordinances!

This is one of those stories that none of us wants to believe. The job of code enforcement in any city is a somewhat thankless task. This city office is charged with enforcing the legally enacted ordinances of our city. They are charged with carefully following the laws and making sure that the citizens of the city are in compliance with the laws.

While it should be unnecessary to state that this office has no power to write laws or ordinances – which is fact – it is important for all of us to recognize this fact to understand the current abuse of power that is occurring right now in our city.

The abuses are being directed at small businesses across our city and deal primarily with the enforcement of a “dreamed up” section of the sign ordinance that supposedly deals with pole signs that are located beyond the 200 feet from Highway 820. The problem is that there is no ordinance currently existing that deals with such signs.

Under the “dreamed up” section, small business owners are not allowed to repair or reface existing poles signs. In a number of cases Code Enforcement people have demanded that existing pole signs be cut down. Under the same “DU” section, only “monument” signs can be erected with a permit from the city. If a small business does not comply, the Code Enforcement Staff will write citations including threats to pull the business owners “certificate of occupancy”. This threat is not provided for in any known city ordinance.

Recently, the City Council turned down one business owners simple request to replace an existing Texaco pole sign with a new face saying Shell – after Shell acquired the Texaco franchises. The business owner even offered to completely rebuild the station if he were permitted to redo the sign. After declining the owners request, City Manager Cunningham, offered to “work with the owner” to put up a “monument” type sign and offered city funding for part of the sign. Let me restate that, Cunningham offered some taxpayer money to build the kind of sign he wanted for this business. He, of all people, should know the exact wording of the city ordinances.

After careful evaluation of the ordinance, Code Enforcement staff has acknowledged that there is no such regulation but they have “added their own footnote” because they know the “intent of the council”. Foolish me, I thought the ordinances themselves were supposed to show this “intent”.

How to they get by with this? First of all they deceive the small business owners and tell them they are in violation or will be. They threaten citations and write unfounded citations that must be defended by the business owners. They know that most small business owners have neither the time nor the money to fight the city. Attorney Staples – if actually challenged would just increase his income due to this abuse of power.

But wait, there is more. One local business owner just called their hand on this unjust enforcement and had his existing pole sign painted with his business name on it. He has retained legal council to fight the city and should prevail. When the sign was up, the Code Enforcement people came by and wrote one of their citations. This was as expected but what happened next was not. Code enforcement called the Fire Chief and sent out the Fire Department for an unscheduled “inspection”. When you don’t play by their made up rules, you need to be prepared to truly fight the “establishment” in all of its many faces.

For a city that claims to be “business friendly”, the NRH Code Enforcement Office under current city leadership is anything but business friendly. Look for your selves at all the pole signs that need repair or replacement in our city. Know that if you own business property and it has an existing pole sign, it is a negative to the value of your property. New owners under the “DU” sign ordinance cannot use the sign at all. Know that some of your tax dollars are going to “beautify our city” by assisting those business owners who are duped into cutting down totally legal pole signs with the building of the barely visible “monuments” to existing city leadership. NRH is developing a reputation as a “most unfriendly city” for business. If you don’t believe this, visit virtually any business owner up and down Grapevine Highway or Davis Blvd.

Code enforcement must be brought under control and given instructions to follow the law and not write their own. The people in Code Enforcement or elsewhere in our local city government that have enabled this violation of our rights and laws to happen, need to be replaced. Only legally drafted existing laws should be allowed to be “enforced”.

It is also incumbent on our local courts to make sure they know the laws they are charged with enforcing. Often, courts rely on city officials without individual review of applicable laws. In NRH, this is a dangerous and abusive practice.

Small businesses in our city deserve our support and patronage. If you visit one of the many businesses with “out of date” pole signs in front – let them know you support them and that you know the city may be treating them unethically and unfairly.

City government and code enforcement should not be a three headed monster!