Other communities have forced junky property owners to clean up!

From the Pensacola FL newspaper:
Mobile Co. cleans up
junky yards
Last Edited: Tuesday, 28 Oct 2008, 11:44 AM CDT
Created On: Tuesday, 28 Oct 2008, 11:42 AM CDT

Liz Nelson
MOBILE COUNTY - A kinder, gentler enforcement program seems to be working in Mobile County.

Officers enforcing the Mobile County Junk Control Ordinance are getting compliance from 88 percent of violators, according to statistics for the first five months of the program.

"The majority of these people are law-abiding and didn?t know that there was a law to clean up their property," said County Commissioner Mike Dean. "They will comply because they don?t want to do anything wrong."

Since passage of the junk control ordinance May 1, the county?s Environmental Patrol Officers issued 562 warnings to Mobile County residents who were in violation of the law.

Rather than setting the machine of bureaucracy into motion, however, the officers worked closely with these residents to get the clean-up accomplished.

Given 14 days to clean up their properties, those residents making a real effort at compliance were extended the necessary time to finish the job. The result: 88 percent cleaned up after receiving the initial warning.

"We don?t need a heavy hand," said Stephen Nodine, Mobile County Commission president. "Obviously, we can make this work through good communication and a reasonable approach."

For the 12 percent who failed to heed the warning, though, there was a price to pay. A citation was issued and these property owners had 14 days to either appeal the citation or pay the $150 fine.

During the five-month period, there were 21 property owners issued citations. Of those cited, 14 appealed their cases to the Board of Review. The Board had the choice to sustain the citation and impose a fine, or dismiss the citation if the property owner cleaned up. At this stage, too, there was accommodation for good faith efforts to clean up, or if there were extenuating circumstances, such as ill health. Of the 14 appeals, the Board dismissed 10 of them and four were sustained.

Only seven property owners cited for violations, some with multiple citations, refused to clean up their properties or pay the fine in the last five months. They will be sued in civil court for collection of the fines and for court costs.

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Why can't this happen in Estill County Kentucky? Why do we have to put up with the junky yards? Why don't more people complain? Let's put a stop to these eyesores!!!!