Cape Coral City Council discussing code enforcement process

Cape Coral City Council members met to find new ways to get citizens to comply with the city code. This will make a positive change in the community.

Garbage is piled up, cars are parked on the grass and mold is collecting on properties. These are the things that Cape Coral code enforcement deals with every single day.

Richard Carr is the Cape Coral code compliance manager. “Not everybody sees these but if you’re impacted by this it’s an issue,” Carr said.

As the city grows, so does the number of complaints. “Our code officers carry on any given day about 35 open cases,” said Carr. That’s too much.

The city recently created a new self-certifying enforcement process. Instead of code enforcement having to investigate every complaint, staff sends out letters for minor violations.

But, the new Mayor of Cape Coral wants to find other ways to take the load off of the staff.

John Gunter is the Mayor of Cape Coral. “I’d hate to see our fire department respond for a fire and someone who is inside the house can’t get out or would take longer for the fire department to get in so that was probably the biggest concern that I had,” he said.

The city manager will now work with city council on a plan to make their new code enforcement wish come true.

Council members presented a variety of recommendations for code enforcement staff. The city plans to do more research and bring it back to the council for further discussion.