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Sweep targets mobile homes

Authorities crack down on violations Thursday along Clearwater-Largo Road. Other parks face scrutiny.

By SHANNON TAN
Published February 18, 2005

LARGO - In an ongoing effort to crack down on code violations, city police officers and fire inspectors descended on mobile home parks across the city this week.

Police, code enforcement officers, environmental services officials and fire inspectors went door to door along Clearwater-Largo Road on Thursday, checking everything from structural problems to expired tags on vehicles. Employees from the Pinellas County Tax Collector's Office noted mobile homes that had expired registrations and decals.

Officers from the problem-oriented policing team wrote 23 citations and even arrested a Rainbow Court resident on a warrant in Hillsborough County for failing to appear on trespass violation charges.

Park manager Jackie Russell said that when code enforcement officers write up residents for infractions, they laugh it off as a joke.

"I think it's cool; they're making people face facts and go legal," Russell said of Thursday's sweep.

Some residents thought the city was merely cracking down on Clearwater-Largo Road mobile home parks that have been targeted for redevelopment. But the officers have hit Whispering Pines on 142nd Ave. N and plan on going to other parks in the city.

The joint effort was postponed because of last year's hurricanes, said Sgt. Mark Young.

Fire inspector Don Feaster inspected rental units to make sure they had smoke alarms. He wrote a violation notice when he noticed that a wooden board holding one of the meters had rotted away.

Officers woke up one resident whose mobile home decal had expired in 1998. The pungent smell of cat litter and urine alerted code enforcement officer Pete Jensen.

"People get animals, and they won't take care of them," Jensen said. One of the cats had mange and the fur on its tail looked like it had been torn off.

The soil around one mobile home was still damp. A pipe had broken, and the sewage was 4 inches deep when Jensen discovered it. He asked the residents to clean it up, but the smell of raw sewage still lingered Thursday.

Jensen pointed to the mobile home next to it. The steps were rotting away.

"There's no excuse because the park isn't any older in Largo than those that are beautifully kept," he said.

Janice Chase, who owns Grandma's Country Cottage in front of Rainbow Court, was cited by code enforcement because of the mess in her yard.

"I don't mind," said Chase. She says police and code enforcement officers are doing a good job, and residents need to call law enforcement when there's a problem.

"This was a good neighborhood at one time," she said. "We just need to pick it up again."

[Last modified February 18, 2005, 00:14:17]