Foreclosure problems grow in Surprise

The city of Surprise's ad-hoc foreclosure committee continues to gather data to map out a plan to address the growing problems related to home foreclosures.

The meeting on Tuesday evening featured a presentation by code enforcement officer Debbie Peters.

Peters, one of the city's four code enforcement officers, discussed the procedure the city follows to address issues in both occupied and empty homes and which issues and complaints are filed most frequently. She said that each complaint could take up to nine hours to complete, and that the amount of complaints, most of which come in from HOAs, have increased.

"The cases have dramatically climbed," Peters said of the complaints. "Weeds, trash and debris and trees obstructing street signs are the most frequent complaints."

Peters said that green swimming pools are also an issue, and those get referred to the county.

"The city can't drain the pool because the plaster can crack," Peters said.

Beehives, excessive dog droppings, and PM10 ordinance issues are also frequently reported.

Graffiti is also becoming an issue with vacant homes, Peters said.

"Tagging may become a problem," Peters said. "Graffiti needs to be removed within 48 hours and is a class 1 misdemeanor."

Peters said that public education is also needed to inform the community what is and isn't a violation and suggested that the use of the city's Web site, as well as brochures to give to code violators would be some ways to help educate the public.

The committee also discussed ways to communicate with the public to educate on foreclosure-related issues. One suggestion was to have a town hall meeting involving representatives from other west valley cities so that they can discuss with each other methods that have and haven't worked in tackling the wide range of issues related to foreclosed homes.