he Haysville Times
By Barb Walters
No one likes being told what to do with their own property, but communities must set standards for what they will tolerate within their borders. The city of Haysville has established ordinances to determine boundaries for what is allowed with regard to weeds, scrap, trash, and the like. Often, property owners get by with going past the line until citizens begin complaining about problems.
Such was the case when Code Enforcement Officer Cale Topinka went out to inspect a nuisance complaint. Upon discovering that some Haysville properties did indeed need cleaning up, it was decided to do a thorough inspection across Haysville.
“We felt we didn’t want to single out a few owners,” explained Topinka. “We wanted the ordinances enforced fairly. Some places have been out of code for quite some time.”
Some businesses that were given violation notices felt they were unwarranted due to the more secluded nature of their property. Topinka explained that all property owners had to follow the same rules as everyone else, regardless of where in the city they happened to be located.
A violation notice is not a ticket and does not carry a fine. It does, however, require the owner to clean up the area within ten days or appeal to the city council. Otherwise, the violation goes to the court system. The area can then be cleaned up by the city, with the bill for the job going to the property owner.
Cindi Curry, of All American Aqua Systems, was once on the receiving end of a violation notice. She explained that it was resolved some time ago through a visit to the city council. She expressed her displeasure with the ordinance and said it was a shame that citizens had to go through a difficult process to get the issue resolved.
“None of these ordinances are new,” stated Haysville Mayor Bruce Armstrong. “Previously, we only did abatements from complaints. We have become proactive and are making sure of equal treatment for all people.” He went on to explain that developers and others coming into town have noticed the problem and have questioned the less aggressive approach the city had been taking in handling the nuisances.
Some businesses take the ordinances to heart to avoid such problems. Gene Tiede of Tiede’s Line Construction says his business has recently spent $300,000 on expansion, including a new office and aesthetic fencing to make sure the business complied with the ordinances.