Tuesday, May 25, 2010
 
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Are you the guy? New code enforcement official talks about 1st 60 days on the job

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[May 25, 2010]  "Are you the guy?"

John Lebegue, new zoning and safety officer for the city of Lincoln, says he gets an average of 12 calls a day from Lincoln citizens, and they all start out like this.

The questions go on: "Are you the guy I talk to about my neighbor's grass?" "Are you the guy I talk to about my neighbor's trash?" "Are you the guy I talk to about a permit?"

Lebegue says that obviously he's still getting to know the people of Lincoln and they are still getting to know him, but he welcomes those calls and wants to urge everyone to keep them coming in.

A bit of Lebegue's history

He was raised on his family's farm about 20 miles north of Pontiac. Being on the farm, there was always something that needed to be fixed, built or rebuilt. He said his interest in construction and buildings in general was a natural flow for him, based on his childhood.

Exterminator

When he entered college he knew that his future was in buildings, but he didn't really consider zoning and ordinance until he was in grad school. It was then that he began to realize the important relationship between sound buildings, well-laid-out communities, and zoning and ordinances.

In his career, Lebegue has worked in zoning in the villages of Riverside, Hinsdale and Lincolnwood.

He said that when the job in Lincoln came up, he and wife Reneé had several things they felt they had to consider when it came to relocation.

They have two school-age sons. Spencer, 15, is a freshman in high school and heavily involved in sports and school activities. Tyler, 8, along with Spencer is involved in soccer, and their season is going on now. The Lebegues felt that removing both boys from their schools, teams and their friends would not be good for them.

In addition, Reneé has a career as a reading specialist in the Riverside School District, where she has been employed only a year. For her to give that up could also have been detrimental to the family.

The first 60 days

Lebegue said that in his first 60 days he has had the opportunity to look around Lincoln, and he does have some ideas for the future and some immediate needs that need to be addressed. When it comes to problem properties, Lincoln has a few more of those than other places where he has worked.

Water

Lebegue blames at least a portion of the poorly kept properties on the economy. He explained that right now there are so many homes for sale in Lincoln, and some of those are foreclosures that have been abandoned. As such, these properties are not being taken care of properly. Even though some of these properties are listed with realtors, there are cases where there is very little the realtor can do with a property because the lending institutions who own the home will not invest in maintenance.

Another component of the problem is trash. Lebegue theorized that there are people who have not paid for or have canceled their garbage pickup. The result is that they pile trash along the backs of garages or buildings, and they call for trash pickup only on occasion, if at all.

And finally, a third thing going on is that people who have trash to get rid of are throwing it on the lawns of the abandoned homes.

Lebegue said that he would actively prosecute ordinance violators, but there are a couple of problems. First, prosecution takes time. He said that when he turns something over to city attorney Bill Bates, the attorney gets his part done quickly, but then the case goes on a docket and it can take up to six weeks to get any kind of ruling.

On the bright side, Lebegue said that in Lincoln, we are fortunate to have a judge who will prosecute ordinance violations to the full extent of the law, including jail time.

Looking ahead

Lebegue has already put together his "to do" list for his department.

One of the things he needs to do as soon as possible is figure out how to bring more revenues into his department.

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This year, the zoning office was not exempt from the budget cuts that had to be made due to a poor economy. But Lebegue is taking that in stride. He said that he believes the council is counting on him to bring more revenues into his department, and he doesn't intend to disappoint them.

He has already done quite a bit of work on the fines that the city imposes on ordinance violators. Lebegue said that currently the fines imposed by the city have no bite.

He believes that because the fines are of little consequence, they are not helping to deter violators. If fines are increased to a point where that they take a bite out of a violator's wallet, that violator may think twice before letting his property go to ruin.

According to Lebegue, permit fees for the city of Lincoln are not in line with those in other area communities. Lebegue says that generally, building and construction fees are pretty uniform from town to town in a given region; developers know that and expect it.

What Lebegue is working on is restructuring the fees on larger projects.

He said that homeowners who want to erect a fence, for example, are not going to notice a huge difference in the fee structure. Most of the fee increases will apply to projects with a total cost exceeding $4,000.

Lebegue also intends to apply for a Neighborhood Rehabilitation Grant for the city. He said that the federal government has a lot of money available, and he intends to try to get some of it for Lincoln.

Later this summer he plans to dig into the new and currently un-passed sign ordinance.

He said he wants to be assured that there are different standards for the downtown area. To preserve its character, he wants to make sure that ordinances are designed to keep signage on the square uniform, modest and in line with the general aesthetic of the area.

A large project that he intends to undertake, probably after the first of the year, is a rewrite of city zoning codes and ordinances. Lebegue said that this is something he has a good deal of experience in, and he is confident he can do a good job for the city.

One of the things that concerns Lebegue about the west side of town in particular is that current ordinances do not insist on green space landscaping and the use of trees.

"Modern zoning codes go into design elements and landscaping," he said. "When I drive along Woodlawn, I want to see trees, bushes and something that will add interest to that drive."

Lebegue said he is getting acquainted with the community and has found everyone to be very welcoming.

"People walking by the office will stop in just to say hi to the new guy. To me this is kind of an unusual aspect of Lincoln; I don't usually get that kind of response," he said.

So in answer to the question, "Are you the guy?" Lebegue said that indeed he is, and he plans on being "the guy" for the next several years. He is looking forward to working for and with the council and the community to effect positive change in the aesthetic quality of the city.

He adds: "I see a community here that is very willing (to effect change), and I think we'll have people coming out of the woodwork saying, ‘I want to help.'" He looks forward to meeting and working with them all.

[By MIKE FAK]

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