City code officers outline foreclosure, demolition and salvage limits after Duval Street properties taken

Municipal Code Compliance staff told the True Commission that the city uses a range of enforcement tools — citations, administrative hearings, civil court injunctions and, in some cases, lien foreclosure — to address unsafe, nuisance and dilapidated properties.

Thomas Register, a municipal code compliance inspector, said the department enforces "property safety codes, zoning codes, and sign ordinances," using citations and the Municipal Code Enforcement Board and, when necessary, civil court actions. "Sometimes we foreclose on the liens that are incurred by the city," he said.

Why the city sometimes moves to foreclosure, Register said, depends on whether other enforcement steps will achieve compliance and whether the administration determines foreclosure is required to get the property restored, demolished or otherwise addressed. "The end result, not that I'm aware of, is ever that the city wants that property — it's that they want that property to not be neglected," Register said.

Register described the range of timelines and remedies. Citations can require action within 24–48 hours; the Municipal Code Enforcement Board process requires 15–30 days' notice and a…