Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations

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Column: July 18, 2004

Code Compliance 

Norman Pace, McANA Director for Warren Township, wrote the following article for a special Indianapolis Star Focus on Neighborhoods.

Code Compliance is an ongoing source of aggravation for Neighborhoods even though the City of Indianapolis continues to improve its performance in this area.  One aspect of Code Compliance is the inspection of new houses as they are being built, to ensure that these new structures meet the building codes of Marion County.

The City received over 42,000 inspection requests in 2002.  We only had 12 Inspectors.  To better understand the job they do, I requested a ride-along with a Building Inspector.  Two summers ago, I had the privilege of shadowing Bruce Jacobs, Building Inspector for Franklin Township. 

People hired to be Inspectors are certified journeyman in at least one field like electrical, heating and air conditioning, structural carpentry, or plumbing.  They receive further training in their new roles as Building Code Inspectors.  Inspectors have car trunks loaded down with Code Books, the front passenger seat with a computer, and they carry a phone.

One of the Inspectors’ frustrations is the “Accelerated Inspection”.  These requests can come anytime during the day.  Although the fee for a regular inspection is paid as part of the permit fee, a builder can request an “Accelerated Inspection” for an additional $40.  The Inspector must respond within two hours.  This process totally disrupts the Inspector’s prepared itinerary.  He may have planned to spend the day in one area or devised a smooth route and now must get to another location on the other side of his territory.  This prevents him from accomplishing as many tasks as planned, especially in those Townships where a large number of housing developments are being built.  It is possible for an Inspector’s day to be interrupted with numerous “Accelerated Inspection” requests and nothing else gets accomplished. 

For a routine-inspection request, the Inspector has 48 hours to respond.  If he cannot get to the site in that time, the Builder can continue with the project, never to be inspected.  It happens more often than not.  What does that tell us?  The City needs more Inspectors.  This 48-hour rule also makes inspections requested on Friday nearly impossible to accomplish.  The City needs to review its Ordinance in this area.

Inspectors respond in a reactive or complaint-driven mode of operation.  With only 12 Inspectors, working as hard as they can, they are unable to cover everything.  If we are to have a “World Class City”, which I strongly support, then we need some serious changes in Code Enforcement methods and City Ordinances, and we need to hire enough Inspectors to support the demand and pay them enough to retain them after training.

Early in his administration, Mayor Peterson recognized the importance of Code Compliance and hired additional Inspectors.  But, today the need is even greater.  There is a good line of communication between Code Compliance and the Neighborhoods of Indianapolis.  Improvements have occurred.  Yet, Code Enforcement remains at the top of the list of nearly every Neighborhood in Indianapolis.