Rochester building director outlines rise in complaints, ongoing junkyard court cases and suggests rental-inspection threshold

Director Grant, director of Building and Licensing Services for the City of Rochester, told the Codes and Ordinances Committee on Thursday that the department is seeing stronger construction activity while continuing to handle recurring code complaints and several slow-moving junkyard enforcement cases.

Grant said the city is processing roughly $72 million in construction work outside the tax-increment financing districts this year, up from about $60 million in the prior year, and described the city as "literally going through some major growing pains." He gave a month-by-month breakdown of complaints the department has handled over the past five months: October (22 complaints, 7 active), November (8), December (12), January (14) and February (9). The most frequent complaint types, he said, are working without a permit, trash placed before the allowed date for bulky items, unpermitted motor-vehicle repairs visible from public ways and occasional snipe signs.

Grant said many compliance cases are driven by neighbors filing complaints; the department aims to increase proactive, city-initiated inspections so violations are found sooner. "What my goal is is to see more blue here," he said, referring to a slide showing city-driven enforcement versus community-driven complaints. He recommended making more permit and trash-schedule information available online (RochesterNH.gov) and reminded landlords to inform tenants about bulky-trash rules and tote pickup days.

The director described four major junkyard cases the department has pursued, for which the city retained outside counsel Matthew Decker. One property on Flag Road quickly came into compliance after coaching and a signed agreement; three others remain slow-moving in court because of owner noncooperation, rescheduling motions and, in one instance, an owner who is incarcerated. Grant said the city has been working on some of those cases for more than a year and that the court process can be lengthy and increase attorney fees the city will seek to recoup from violators. "Our goal is compliance," he said. "Those fines are just a tool to obtain compliance that we would rather not have." The properties named during the presentation included parcels on Flag Road, Gear Road, Gina Drive and Brock Street.

Grant also summarized a neighborhood compliance program the department ran previously, consisting of drive-by inspections and mass mailings, and said it reduced complaints in targeted streets by more than half. He and committee members discussed a possible rental-inspection program aimed at larger multiunit buildings; Grant suggested limiting any future program to buildings of 30 units or more to reduce the workload to a few dozen properties citywide. "I don't want to be intrusive to little small rentals," he said, "but let's just say we picked a number of 30 units and above." He said such a program would require council-wide buy-in and additional staff work.

Committee members thanked Grant for the update and asked that his presentation be provided to the city clerk for inclusion in the official minutes. The committee also accepted the minutes of its Dec. 5, 2024, meeting by voice vote earlier in the session.

The department encouraged residents to use the complaint forms on RochesterNH.gov or to bring issues in person to the building office. Grant also noted that Waste Management and the Department of Public Works produce flyers describing bulky-trash schedules and allowed items.

Ending: The committee did not take additional enforcement policy votes at the meeting but discussed enforcement priorities, the costs of prolonged court cases, and possible future programs such as targeted neighborhood compliance drives and a rental-inspection program for larger buildings. No formal ordinance changes or budget approvals were made during this session.