Repeat offenders to Bossier Parish’s property standards ordinances could find themselves a little lighter in the wallet after a proposal from the parish police jury’s Road/Subdivision Regulations Committee was unanimously approved Wednesday.
Jury members agreed to institute a series of fines for those who habitually fail to keep their property up to standard after an initial complaint has been filed and investigated. A $50 fine would be imposed for a second offense, third-time offenders would be subject to a $100 penalty and fines would increase by $50 for each additional offense.
Property standards violations are complaint driven and offenders are usually reported by neighbors, committee chairman Glenn Benton explained.
“We don’t drive the highways looking for property that violates the codes,” he said. “It’s not unusual for us to have to go back to the same places more than once and take steps to get property cleaned up. We need to let people know there are consequences if they continue to violate the standards.”
Jury member Jerome Darby suggested a follow up inspection be conducted within 60 to 90 days after a first offense had been resolved to be sure residents are keeping the property in good shape.
“Perhaps we should let offenders know we’ll be following up to be sure their property is meeting parish standards,” he said. “If we wait until another complaint is filed, the property might be in really bad shape again and we’d have to go through another condemnation process.”
