Mount Vernon council hears plan to update vehicle-blight rules, create code-enforcement department

Mount Vernon city council members on the legislative docket discussed draft changes to Chapter 1309 of the city codified ordinances that would tighten rules and enforcement procedures for inoperable, unregistered and junk vehicles on public streets and private property, and heard an overview of a proposed Code Enforcement Department that would centralize property maintenance, zoning and utility inspection work.

The proposed ordinance "would be ordinance to revise chapter 1309 of the codified ordinances regulating inoperable, unregistered, and junk vehicles, trailers, and other motorized equipment on city streets and private property," Councilmember Janice Keener told the council, summarizing the draft language and the goals behind it.

The change follows work by city inspectors and code-enforcement staff who told the council existing language is “a little vague'' and placed much of the practical enforcement burden on the police department. Scott Zimmerman, identified in the meeting as the city inspector,…