Historical December 1989 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
The Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood is scheduled for a door-to-door inspection of the exteriors of all property by the City’s Building Division beginning in the spring of 1990. Currently, building inspections occur randomly or in response to specific complaints. “Door to door” simply means that every building in our area will be inspected over the course of next spring and summer. Building inspections cover these major areas: exterior walls, foundations, windows and doors, porches and steps, gutters and downspouts, chimneys, roofs, garages, yards, side lots, fences, sidewalks, trash/outside open storage. Homeowners will receive a “Property Maintenance Checklist” brochure along with a letter from Operation ConServ about this inspection program in the next few weeks.
The checklist will help owners assess the condition of their property and determine what repairs, if any, are needed. Additional copies of the brochure are available at the Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council, 6010 Kingsbury. Inspectors will look for violations of the city’s building code.
These codes require basic maintenance of buildings and property to insure safety and prevent deterioration. Keeping property up to code protects the owner’s investment and directly contributes to the maintenance and improvement of our neighborhood.
Two agencies, Neighborhood Housing Services and the Urban League, offer loan programs to assist low income home owners with building repairs and maintenance. NHS lends money exclusively for exterior repairs; the Urban League will make loans for both interior or exterior repairs.
For more information call the SDCC, 862-5122.
The door to door inspection will occur at the request of the Skinker DeBaliviere Planning Committee, Operation ConServ, Skinker DeBaliviere Community Council and 28th Ward Alderman Dan McGuire in response to recommendations made by four of the planning sub-committees.
The security, housing, commercial district and historic district review committees all recommended strict code enforcement for our proposed Neighborhood’s One and Five year Strategic Plan.
The planning steering committee will complete a draft of the neighborhood Plan by the end of the year.
The Planning Committee, ConServ, SDCC and Alderman McGuire agreed that neighbors should have as much advance notice of the inspections as possible and be given the opportunity to abate violations before they are cited, arrange for financing if necessary, etc.
Please see the related article about our local Historic District by Katie Kurtz.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1989.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1989_12.pdf, printed page(s) 1; PDF page(s) 1.
