The City Council has acted to shore up the Community Development Department’s ability to make property owners obey the law by creating the position of code enforcement officer.
The $30,500-a-year job will be filled by an employee of the Public Works Department whose position was eliminated to make room in the city’s salary structure.
Community Development Director Michael Donahue said the city’s spate of construction has kept the department’s three-person staff too busy to investigate alleged violations of landscaping, zoning and safety standards in existing buildings.
In other action, the council approved amendments to the city’s historic-preservation ordinance giving the citizen commission guidelines in deciding whether a redevelopment project is appropriate for the downtown historic district.