Johnstown vows new focus on codes

Sep. 19—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Finding an effective way to curtail Johnstown's problem with code violations has long eluded city officials.

In August alone, 190 property maintenance code violations were issued in the city. A total of 1,226 violations were cited and 150 properties were condemned this year through Sept. 6, in a municipality with approximately 18,400 residents.

At any given time, there are 300 or so properties with code complaints against them.

As of January 2019, code enforcement officers surveyed 871 vacant properties — with more than 170 of them owned by people who live out of state, according to a 2020 report released by the ad hoc Blight Task Force.

"It's a struggle," Johnstown City Manager Ethan Imhoff said.

Lindy Yutzy, a West End resident and frequent critic of how the city handles codes, said the negative effect of so many unmaintained properties is "a cancer that's eating the city slowly."

But steps are being taken that the city's administration and City Council hope will help address the issue, including the hiring of Dave Williams as the new codes manager.

Williams said he knows the work will be "a lot, but I'm up for the challenge as well."

"It's difficult to snap your fingers and stand up a department immediately," Imhoff said, "but we're in the process of professionalizing the code enforcement department and building up the capacity of that department, so we're having better outcomes and we're able to remediate more properties at the end of the day."

Johnstown City Councilman Ricky Britt said taking care of code issues is "just a matter of correcting things that haven't been done."

"The citizens deserve better," Britt said, "and we, the City Council for the City of Johnstown, we plan to give them better. Their gripes are understandable."

'I would say it's a downer'

Unkempt properties — with uncut tall grass and weeds, abandoned vehicles and run-down buildings — can have a negative impact on a neighborhood and a city, both economically and mentally, for the people who live near the eyesores.

"I would say it's a downer," said Jim Martinek, who lives near several properties with code issues in Johnstown's Minersville neighborhood. "Other people aren't about to make their house look nice when everyone else's house looks kind of crappy. ... If it comes down to codes, and what makes me not want to do more to make my house better, it's property value. I don't want to put $10,000, $20,000 into a house that's not going to be worth $10,000 or $20,000 because my next-door neighbor doesn't take care of their property."

Yutzy believes that the code problems negatively affect real estate values.

"I can see if you come out here and you look at that house," she said, "and, on both sides of you, you have grass up to the second window and a pile of garbage and an old car in the yard, do you want to buy that house? No."

Yutzy has brought countless code complaints to the city.

"I realize they think I'm a thorn in their ass and probably senile," Yutzy said, "but I have a passion for Johnstown. I know the people here. I'm four or five generations here, and now I'll be the last one — and that's sad. No one in my family even wants my house because of where I'm living."

'Clean up the process'

Williams took over the codes department in early August after spending six years in City Hall. Speaking broadly, he said his goal is "to clean up the process and get that code violation or that particular property to an end point. Ultimately, we just want it to come into compliance and be maintained."

The code department has $258,372 in its budget for 2022, with the majority of that figures being used for salary and wages at $211,800, along with fringe benefits and operating costs. The expenses cover Williams, three code officers and seasonal laborers to mow grass and take care of other issues during the warm months. Meanwhile, only $6,500 in fines is expected to be collected.

One of the code officers' duties is to issue citations. Property owners given a write-up can work with the city to remedy the situation.

"A lot of them are issues with people just either ... aren't in town, or set up as a LLC, potentially," Williams said. "We run into a lot of different issues from that perspective. The homeowner ones, where they are present, a lot of times, it's, 'Hey, I apologize. I didn't get to it.' They take care of that violation and we'll void it out of the system, so they don't have to pay that $50 fine, or fee, that we sent out with the citation. If they take care of it within 10 days, then we'll void that citation."

Seasonal laborers have mowed approximately 200 lawns this year.

Johnstown also operates a vacant property program, in which owners pay $300 per year into an escrow account that the city can draw from when work needs to be done. Approximately 125 owners are currently participating. Ten of the structures are slated for demolition.

Williams also wants to increase the amount of violators taken to magistrate judges for hearings and the number of rental inspections conducted.

"We have the seasonal laborers," Williams said. "We get those code violations to an end point, whether that be collections or through the magistrate. The vacant property fees would help, and also the rental inspections. I think a combination of all four of those things is a positive for the city. I don't think we've really had the tools to enforce them."

Several other steps have recently been taken by the city, governmental agencies and private organizations. A new ordinance regarding junked cars and abandoned vehicles has been enforced since Sept. 1. The city has budgeted $2 million of its American Rescue Plan money for home repairs.

The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority, the city, donors, the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and the 1889 Foundation have worked together to demolish blighted structures in neighborhoods across the city. The JRA, the 1889 Foundation and Allegheny County-based Hosanna Industries launched Project Resurrect Johnstown earlier this year to help in-need homeowners preserve their properties by providing free repairs.

Taking a property owner to the magistrate can be one of the most effective tools a municipality has for addressing code violations, but Johnstown has not been using that legal remedy.

"No recent cases have been taken to the magistrate," Imhoff said. "The city has not taken cases to the magistrate for a few years. Prior to this year, there was high turnover in the code enforcement staff. As a result, staff did not have a working knowledge of the local judicial system needed to successfully prosecute code enforcement cases."

Imhoff continued: "If the consequences are just a fine and a lien that nobody's going to pay off, that's a different situation than if you could possibly go to court and lose your property. ... We're going to build up those relationships with the judicial system and start taking more of these property owners to court with the goal of creating an atmosphere where out-of-state owners know that, if they come into Johnstown and they purchase a property, they need to take care of it — and, if they don't, there will be consequences to that."

Preliminary steps have been taken, including a meeting between Imhoff and Cambria County President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III to discuss codes.

"So I can assure city residents there will be cases going to court soon," Imhoff said. "Another enforcement tool that will be deployed soon is sending habitual violators who don't pay their fines to collections. Some of these enforcement measures take a little time to lay the groundwork, but I'm pleased we're finally at a point where we've completed the background work and are ready to move forward."

City officials also recently attended Altoona's codes court. On the first Thursday of every month, two magistrates in Altoona hear only codes cases. Williams said Johnstown might "mimic some of their things they do" in Altoona's codes court.

"Having the cases held on one day allows the code officers to spend one whole day prior doing all their preparation, getting the photographs, documentation, everything that's needed for court," said Rebecca Brown, director of Altoona's Department of Codes and Inspections. "There is a lot of preparation involved, but, again, having the one day, it really helps the codes officers with obviously everything else that they're required to do in their duties with their inspections and, of course, their scheduled inspections as well."

Brown said between 50 and 60 cases are usually held during a codes court session.

"When we get to the level of a summary citation, the whole process seems to have more teeth than just issuing a re-inspection fee or just issuing a notice of violation," Brown said. "When the court does become involved, it takes it up a notch, so we have seen more compliance since the summary citation process. It's definitely not foolproof. There are always going to be those people that avoid court, just like they avoid us — the city."