Here’s what the General Provisions say about property ownership and care for that property:

Sec. 130-2. Maintenance and inspection of property.
(a) Required. Every person owning or occupying public or private property in the city shall maintain the property free of any condition that may render the premises or property to be unhealthy, unsanitary, unsightly or unaesthetic to the occupants thereof, the neighborhood or the community at large.

Based on the descriptions of various properties provided by the author of this article, it would be pretty easy to conclude that the owner of the property is not in compliance with this broadly stated requirement.

So who’s responsible for upholding the City’s Code of Ordinances? Well, let’s look just a little further in that big book of Codes shall we?

Here’s what we find:

(c) Inspection of premises. The commissioner of public works or any duly authorized agent of the department of public works or other city departments may enter on and inspect any and all public and private property in the city to determine by inspection that those properties are or are not free of any condition which may be in violation of this section or chapter. For the purpose of this duty, the sanitation code enforcement officer, including code enforcement officers, route supervisors, assistant sanitary area supervisors, sanitary area supervisors or subsequent classification titles performing the same duties, are eligible to apply for status as code enforcement agents under section 98-1. In order to enforce code provisions and issue citations, these employees must apply for and receive status as a code enforcement agent.

So it seems like there are a number of city employees who could possibly be considered code enforcement agents, and who would have the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of the City Code of Ordinances.

But who are they and where can we find them? It’s not likely that we’ll find their names in the Code of Ordinances, so where else might we look? Hmmmm, here’s an idea – the Bureau of Code Compliance – and here’s where they hide out:

http://www.atlantaga.gov/government/planning/codescompliance.aspx

Their mission is:

To ensure safe and sanitary conditions in housing and commercial properties through effective code enforcement efforts.

Mission accomplished? Appears not, at least not where Inman Park Properties has a sign in the yard. So what’s up with that?

The City Code is pretty clear, and the mission of the Bureau of Code Compliance is also very clear, so what part of the connection is missing?

How is it that in a five minute drive along Moreland Avenue, a roadway easily found by Code Compliance Officers, and I’m sure frequently traveled by the same, properties like the Wrecking Bar, the Gordon School and the spaceship bank building can continue to crumble, become infested with vermin, wildlife and other questionable forms of life – and not be seen by the keen eyes of the Code Compliance officers? Are they wearing Inman Park Properties Blocker Shades? Or is there some other shady somethin, somethin going on?

Clear code requirements, clear mission statement, clear line of sight to the properties, clear signs on the properties saying who the owner is, clearly unoccupied (at least by paying tenants), and clearly an easy case to take before a judge – which is where these matters end up when Code Compliance does take action. It’s all so clear – and yet clearly nothing is being done.

Your assignment, Mr Henry, should you choose to accept it, is to do some investigative reporting – and I do mean investigative – to find out why the City does not take action using powers that it clearly has, to deal with these, and many other commercial code violations scattered across the City?

Who’s interests are being served by the “commissioner of public works or any duly authorized agent of the department of public works or other city departments”, who have the power to enforce the City’s Code of Ordinances?

Who’s election campaigns have received contributions from property owners like Inman Park Properties, and how have they responded to requests from their constituents for City action to deal with these decade old (and longer) code violations?

Your assignment is a dangerous one, filled with “no comment” and “I had no idea” responses delivered with straight faces. Your challenge is clear – are you up to it?

We’ll monitor the Loaf to hear of your success – or failure – to get the real story. Good Luck with your mission!

Buzz

I have to say I’m a little surprised by this article as you usually take such a level and balanced approach to the stories you write. While admittedly the fall of a real estate empire and the loss of historic buildings makes for an interesting story, the havoc and misery that Mr. Notrica and many other such developers have wreaked upon the residents and business owners of many Atlanta neighborhoods gets no mention.

As someone who lives within line of sight of several of Mr. Notrica’s “investments” and sees their actual, daily impact on the safety and quality of life in my neighborhood, I can honestly say this story misses not only the mark, but the point.

It is time for the city to hold Mr. Notrica and others of his ilk accountable to their financial obligations (i.e., unpaid taxes) to the laws which they are not above (i.e., building and health codes) and to the most basic of ethical standards (i.e., stop supporting those who do not share our values).

Please do this story, and our community, more justice in your reporting.

Step 1 – Buy an interesting or significant property

Step 2 – Fix nothing

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Should add here that while his properties are falling in on themselves he still trys to charge top-dollar for a lease. Why? He doesn’t want to rent them he wants to show a loss and if the loss is big enough his write-off can actually generate a profit. This also helps him purchase neighboring properties at a more desirable rate as his vacant slums drive down those property values as well.

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Step 3 – Leverage the property to the hilt borrowing against the asset for 2,3,4 or more times what it is worth.

Step 4 – Buy additional property with borrowed monies, rinse-repeat

He’s crashing because his main source of income is gone, borrowing on his vacant and rotting property.

Some intrepid reporter or Assistant DA needs to investigate his dealings. When folks borrow like he has against property there is often fraudulent assertions in the associated paperwork.

He’s a crook of the highest order and Atlanta would be much better off without him, good riddance dirt bag.