The city of Morro Bay is too lackadaisical in its approach to code enforcement, according to a report released Tuesday by the San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury.
In response to a citizen complaint, the grand jury conducted an investigation into the Morro Bay code enforcement process. The grand jury report faults the city for simply responding to individual complaints, rather than operating an organized system involving a full-time code enforcement officer.
The report states it takes too long for citizen complaints to reach the appropriate staff member, and staffers are often too busy to respond promptly to alleged violations. Likewise, the city’s inter-departmental tracking system only lists the complaints that the Morro Bay code enforcement committee is addressing.
The committee tends to meet every other month, and is comprised of representatives from the police, fire, building and public services departments, as well as the city attorney’s office. Often, members of the public take their complaints directly to council members or the city manager.
“Individuals may, and reportedly do, telephone or e-mail the mayor, any city council member, city manager, city hall or any city department with complaints and comments,” the report states.
The report also states that code enforcement in Morro Bay often appears unfair and inconsistent because it only targets specific violations alleged in complaints.
CalCoastNews has received numerous complaints about Morro Bay code enforcement, though they almost entirely pertained to allegations of selective enforcement. Several residents and businessmen have alleged that city officials repeatedly targeted them while ignoring other alleged violators, particularly those with political connections.
The grand jury recommends that Morro Bay hire a full-time code enforcer, establish a proactive code enforcement process and use a municipal software system to track complaints. Morro Bay Mayor Jamie Irons must respond to the grand jury report.
There’s a lady who calls the County and City on anyone who leaves their trash cans out or has a boat sitting for a very short time. I would like to know who the Law Firm was that sued the County Code Enforcement because she built three illegal garage-conversion rentals!
She’s the lady who probably started the entire mess, I was wondering if anyone knows who the Law Firm was that sued the Code Enforcement so the County can help her remove all the illegal square footage she built. I’ve been looking and want to see the same woman harassing all our neighbors have all that square footage removed!
Why would the County allow her to build these or do they even know she built them? If somebody knows who it was that sued the County, I would enjoy hiring them to get her to remove all three illegal garage conversions ASAP. Don’t you hate hypocrites, they all love everyone else following the rules except themselves, she’s probably going to tell me how evil I am because her husband runs one of the local churches and “Ministers of God don’t have to obey the Law, just ask her!”