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It could be time for new coat of paint

If a housing code ordinance passes, homeowners could be fined for not keeping the exterior of their houses neatly painted and free of dirt and mold.

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published July 5, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - Owners of homes with peeling paint may soon find new inspiration to add a fresh coat: city code enforcement officers.

City council members tonight will hear the first reading of an ordinance that would require owners to keep homes painted and cleaned of dirt and mold.

The ordinance would add painting to the existing minimum housing code standards, which addresses such things as broken windows and loose roof shingles.

"I think it's certainly a step in the right direction," said Mike Nastasuk, New Port Richey code enforcement administrator.

Owners of commercial buildings already have rules they must follow about keeping the exteriors painted, but the city code had nothing to say about painting requirements for residences, City Manager Scott Miller wrote in a June 28 memo to the council.

The proposed ordinance says, in part, that homes or apartment buildings must be painted or whitewashed when paint begins to "blister, peel, chalk or otherwise deteriorate in a noticeable manner."

The residences would have to be pressure washed or otherwise cleaned if the exterior surfaces begins to show "buildups of mildew, moss, mold, dirt, soot, rust or other removable accumulations."

Three code enforcement officers would be in charge of making sure owners comply with the requirements. Nastasuk said the officers would stay busy because there are a number of homes that need either a fresh coat of paint or a pressure wash.

"We see them consistently," he said. "There's a lot of buildings that would fall under that."

The process for getting homeowners to paint their residences would be identical to the process the city already uses to get them to do other things like replacing rotten wood siding or broken-down porches, Nastasuk said.

Code enforcement officers would get in touch with the owners and set up a timetable for the repairs to be made. If the repairs are not made by the deadline, the city would issue a final notice of violation. Eventually, the case would be scheduled for a hearing before the seven-member code enforcement board.

If owners are still in violation, Nastasuk said, the board has the authority under state law to charge them up to $250 a day. But Nastasuk said he neither expected to see code violators dragging their feet nor the board issuing fines that high.

"Rarely in a case like this would an action like that come to be," he said.

The city offers matching grants of up to $1,000 for home improvement projects, including exterior painting.

Jodie Tillman covers New Port Richey. She can be reached at 727 869-6247 or jtillman@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 00:28:45]