AddressNusianceProblems

What constitutes a nuisance property? Broadly defined, it includes poorly maintained homes with unkempt lawns and inordinate amount of trash; abandoned properties; homes with unusually loud residents, and of course residents involved in criminal activities.

In order to best address nusiance problems the Nusiance Property Committee decided it needed to learn as much as possible about what was happening within the neighborhood, what people were doing to improve the situation and which city, county and state policies/services dealt with nuisance properties. Is there something that could be put in place that could help address our concerns?

After talking to many different people, representing a variety of interests, we affirmed what we all knew: the city ordinances are there, the laws are in place to tackle a majority of the issues, but the manpower to enforce at the highest level is not there.

After all the research and education, of course we went with what the NNN does best -- organizing at the grassroots level to tackle the issue head on. The Nuisance Property Committee developed three tools and the Safety Committee created one additional tool that can help neighbors resolve issues in an organized way by using the limited city services in the most efficient manner. While tackling nuisance properties is not easy and will take time, the following tools will help ease the burden and increase net results.

How to be a good neighbor: Good neighbors communicate. The more neighbors talk, the more they can understand how to get along with each other. This is crucial living in urban settings. To help start the conversation the Nuisance Property Committee developed a handout called “Our Neighborhood, Keeping it Friendly, Keeping it Clean, and Keeping it Safe.” It promotes the fundamentals of being a good neighbor and what city services are available that can help avoid neighborhood conflicts, such as when and where to set out trash or how loud and for how long music can be played.

We found many people do not know the basics of living within the city, so this sets the basic standard of how to live respectfully with each other. This is a great tool to hand out to new neighbors and start that good neighbor communication.

Tackling nuisance problems: Since some people don’t understand–or care–how to cohabit with neighbors and their behavior affects you and your neighbors’ quality of life, we devised a process that can be effective in dealing with the problem. This tool, a brochure entitled “Resolving Nuisance Problems in Your Neighborhood,” details how to handle the problem by organizing neighbors and accessing city services that can address the issue.

Quick guide to city services: The Nuisance Property Committee designed a refrigerator magnet as a quick contact list of the city services and the phone number of each.

Organized Communication: The Safety Committee has developed a grassroots phone tree system that compliments the nuisance problem process. By establishing a phone tree, neighbors can organize, collect data, and report concerns with property or people to the appropriate city service when help is needed.

All of these tools can be downloaded for free, by clicking on the titles above, and are also available at the NNN Office (1007 Portage Avenue). Please take the opportunity to review and use them or to hand out to your neighbors and area landlords.

With the organizing and reporting tools complete, it is now time to take this to all the streets of the near northwest neighborhood. As a grassroots process, you and your neighbors are needed to tackle nuisance properties and problems head on.



	Tools to Address Nuisance Problems What constitutes a nuisance property? Broadly defined, it includes poorly maintained homes with unkempt lawns and inordinate amount of trash; abandoned properties; homes with unusually loud residents, and of course residents involved in criminal activities. In order to best address nusiance problems the Nusiance Property Committee decided it needed to learn as much as possible about what was happening within the neighborhood, what people were doing to improve the situation and which city, county and state policies/services dealt with nuisance properties. Is there something that could be put in place that could help address our concerns? After talking to many different people, representing a variety of interests, we affirmed what we all knew: the city ordinances are there, the laws are in place to tackle a majority of the issues, but the manpower to enforce at the highest level is not there. After all the research and education, of course we went with what the NNN does best -- organizing at the grassroots level to tackle the issue head on. The Nuisance Property Committee developed three tools and the Safety Committee created one additional tool that can help neighbors resolve issues in an organized way by using the limited city services in the most efficient manner. While tackling nuisance properties is not easy and will take time, the following tools will help ease the burden and increase net results. How to be a good neighbor: Good neighbors communicate. The more neighbors talk, the more they can understand how to get along with each other. This is crucial living in urban settings. To help start the conversation the Nuisance Property Committee developed a handout called “Our Neighborhood, Keeping it Friendly, Keeping it Clean, and Keeping it Safe.” It promotes the fundamentals of being a good neighbor and what city services are available that can help avoid neighborhood conflicts, such as when and where to set out trash or how loud and for how long music can be played. We found many people do not know the basics of living within the city, so this sets the basic standard of how to live respectfully with each other. This is a great tool to hand out to new neighbors and start that good neighbor communication. Tackling nuisance problems: Since some people don’t understand–or care–how to cohabit with neighbors and their behavior affects you and your neighbors’ quality of life, we devised a process that can be effective in dealing with the problem. This tool, a brochure entitled “Resolving Nuisance Problems in Your Neighborhood,” details how to handle the problem by organizing neighbors and accessing city services that can address the issue. Quick guide to city services: The Nuisance Property Committee designed a refrigerator magnet as a quick contact list of the city services and the phone number of each. Organized Communication: The Safety Committee has developed a grassroots phone tree system that compliments the nuisance problem process. By establishing a phone tree, neighbors can organize, collect data, and report concerns with property or people to the appropriate city service when help is needed. All of these tools can be downloaded for free, by clicking on the titles above, and are also available at the NNN Office (1007 Portage Avenue). Please take the opportunity to review and use them or to hand out to your neighbors and area landlords. With the organizing and reporting tools complete, it is now time to take this to all the streets of the near northwest neighborhood. As a grassroots process, you and your neighbors are needed to tackle nuisance properties and problems head on.