PROACTIVE CODE ENFORCEMENT FOR CAMPUSTOWN AREA BUSINESSES
The City Council received an email from Luke Jensen dated August 6, 2026, (attached) regarding the condition of the commercial properties in the Campustown area. Council reviewed the email at the August 11, 2026, Council Meeting and directed staff to investigate potential violations in the Campustown area.
Staff completed an initial review of the area and identified 11 properties that were in violation. To date, 10 of the 11 properties are in compliance. The property not in compliance is 108 Hayward, which will require some structural repairs that will take some time to complete. Staff drafted a memo (attached) outlining all of the violations and actions taken to resolve the issues.
The City Council reviewed the memo at the September 22, 2026, City Council meeting. A motion was approved to place the item on a future agenda to discuss proactive enforcement in the Campustown area to be performed twice per year by Inspections staff.
Staff currently enforces property maintenance concerns on a complaint-only basis with the exception of the Near Campus Neighborhoods, which receive proactive enforcement for items such as garbage, furniture, and grass height. Regular proactive enforcement has been helpful as staff is able to quickly address violations so that non-compliance is not normalized.
- Direct staff to begin proactive enforcement for commercial properties in the Campustown Business District twice per year.
- Direct staff to begin proactive enforcement for commercial properties in the Campustown Business District throughout the year.
- Direct staff to continue complaint-based enforcement for commercial properties in the Campustown Business District.
Staff believes that regular enforcement in the Campustown business district would be more effective than the current practice of sporadic enforcement on a complaint-only basis. However, rather than merely perform inspections on a biannual basis as suggested by the Council, the staff would recommend performing proactive inspections throughout the year. The additional enforcement would not greatly increase the current workload and would help set a standard expectation for the area. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council approve Alternative No. 2, as described above.