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Longtime resident urges council to ease enforcement of driveway/yard rules
Summary
At the Aug. 18 meeting, long-time resident Augustus Veil Cook urged the Del City council to reconsider code enforcement that requires paved driveways and forbids grass or gravel, saying enforcement harms low-income renters and veterans.
A Del City resident used the public-comment period on Aug. 18 to urge the council to reconsider local code enforcement regarding driveway surfaces and related notices.
Augustus Veil Cook, who said he has lived in the Del City area since 1936 and owns rental properties in the city, described receiving a warning related to a gravel driveway at a rental property on Southeast 20th Street. Cook told the council he is sympathetic to his tenants' financial situation and asked the city to avoid what he called "overreaching" enforcement that can disproportionately affect lower-income renters. He said he has worked with multiple council members and the mayor on the issue and said city staff had suggested a variance might be necessary.
Cook spoke at length about his history of service, property ownership and efforts to keep neighborhoods maintained, and he pressed the council to consider the practical impacts of rigid enforcement. Council members and the city manager acknowledged the comment and told Cook staff would continue working on a solution and explore a variance.
No action was taken during the meeting; the city manager said staff and the city manager were working on a solution and that a variance may be required.
