Officials from the International Code Council defended Jonesboro’s decision to pass a property maintenance code. During a public meeting, Mark Roberts said the property maintenance code is very similar to what has passed in at least eight other Arkansas cities. He says the entire International Property Maintenance Code is not what passed in Jonesboro, because the city adopted it to meet their needs. Roberts says the code is a set of standards that ensure that all residential buildings are as safe as possible:
Roberts told the group the wording of the code comes from several other codes, such as the International Building Code, the International Plumbing Code and the International Residential Code. Lt. Todd Nelson of the Jonesboro Police Department’s Quality of Life Division explained how the code works. If someone was to complain to officials about a possible violation, code officers could come to the house to see if the complaint is valid. Officers could then discuss those concerns with the owner and then give them between 60 days and 180 days to fix the issue. If the owner disagrees, they could then appeal that decision before an appellate board. If the appeals board still agrees with the original complaint, it could order the issue be taken care of. If it is not, the last step would be court action, where fines could be imposed by a judge. Fines and right of entry by code officers were concerns that were brought up by some members of the public. Nelson explains about the fines
Nelson also addressed a concern about the right of entry into homes, and said that consent by owners would be the only way that officers could enter into homes.
Jonesboro resident Dr. Bob Warner asked Nelson about the right of entry and how it is already on the books in other codes in Jonesboro:
Todd Nelson. The property maintenance code will take effect March 15th in Jonesboro. Nelson says additional education meetings about the code will take place, including one that will be held on Tuesday , February 23rd at seven at the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at Arkansas State University. Opponents of the code turned on over five thousand signatures last week to try to get the issue on the ballot for voters to decide in an election that could take place in May.
