Code enforcement officers conduct sweeps to clean up Manatee County neighborhoods
BRADENTON, Fla. - Code enforcement officers are conducting sweeps over the next several months from Palmetto to Bradenton with the goal of cleaning up Manatee County.
Chet Brown, the code enforcement supervisor, works to keep Manatee County clean. He said after code enforcement notices to neighbors are posted, about 95% of residents fix the problems on their own without having to be fined.
"The rapport we build with them, they think ‘oh code enforcement they’re the mean people of the county,’ and they realize we are actually citizens here, and we do want to make the neighborhoods better, and they’re receptive," said Brown.
Bayshore Gardens had 273 violations with 77 inoperable vehicles, 87 restricted vehicles, 82 outdoor storage and 11 trash and debris violations.
There were mixed reviews when residents saw code enforcement knocking at the door.
Brenna Coughlin has worked to update her house and property. She was upset that they received a violation for a boat they are working on, while others nearby have items piled in their yards.
"We don't keep the boat here normally. We have a storage facility. My husband brought it home a week ago to have it cleaned, and they happened to stop by two days ago," said Coughlin.
A few blocks down the road, Bob Barnes welcomed the sweep.
"This would look like a junkyard around here, the whole county, if they didn’t make people pick stuff up," said Barnes.
Code enforcement officers will be out, working to clean up each neighborhood.
"We are not here to be heavy-handed. We just want to clean up the county," said Brown. "We want people that live here to be proud of where they live. We want people that are moving here to be proud of where they’re moving to."
Notices are posted a week before each code enforcement sweep. Here's the schedule for code enforcement:
- Bayshore Gardens – April
- Holiday Heights/Trailer Estates – May
- East Samoset – June
- West Samoset – July
- West Bradenton – August
- Palmetto – September
- Palmetto/Ellenton – October
- East County locations – TBD