LAKE COUNTY ? Lake County Code Enforcement is on the move. The Lake County Code Enforcement Division will move from its location in the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport to the second floor of the Lucerne Visitor Center in November, Code Enforcement Manager Voris Brumfield confirmed Monday.
Brumfield said the move begins Oct. 29, and the division is expected to be open for business at its new Lucerne location Nov. 3. The phones will still be answered, and officers will respond to emergency cases, but business will slow during the move, according to Brumfield.
“We will still take calls, but we are unlikely to go out on site visits or do our regular processing of cases while all of the staff is involved in the move and setup in the new office,” Brumfield said.
Code Enforcement is a division of the Lake County Community Development Department. Community Development Director Rick Coel said the reason for the move is two-fold: to better serve the Northshore and to give the division much-needed office space for more staff.
“Office space is probably the single biggest factor in this. We can have eight or nine people in that division, and if it is fully staffed, we physically cannot fit in here anymore,” Coel said.
The move also means code enforcement officers will be closer to the Highway 20 corridor between Upper Lake and Clearlake Oaks, where code enforcement is in high demand.
“If you look at the way our numbers shake out, the Northshore has close to the majority of our cases. That would include North Lakeport, Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, Clearlake Oaks and Spring Valley,” Brumfield said.
The division handled 677 code enforcement cases in July, according to Coel. Of those, 80 were in Lucerne and Glenhaven, 93 were in Nice, 47 were in Upper Lake, and 104 were in Clearlake Oaks and Spring Valley.
“It will cut down on travel time so we can get more done in a day. The officers can do more site visits and monitor for progress,” Coel said.
The move is also intended to boost the area”s economy, according to Lake County Chief Administrative Officer Matt Perry.
“It is a proven strategy for downtown redevelopment efforts to have a government office located in a downtown area. It”s a way we can help Lucerne,” Perry said.
Brumfield said the division enforces compliance with zoning codes involving health and safety issues. Officers can cite property owners who store things outside in plain view, or who use more outdoor storage than zoning allows. The division also handles complaints about illegal dumping and abandoned vehicles.
Code Enforcement Officer Beverly Westphal handles abandoned vehicle abatement while Code Enforcement Officer Larry Fabisch is on administrative leave.
Officer Roderic Hilliard handles calls in Lower Lake, Middletown, Cobb, Kelseyville, Finley and the Rivieras area.
Officer Kimberlee Heckard handles calls in Lakeport, Upper Lake, Blue Lakes and Nice.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
