Vocal Point : Why must citizens work so hard for change?

I read with interest the story by Peter Barnes regarding the abandoned car wash (Your Voice, May 10) that also contained another article titled “fight blight.”

We have lived in the Edgecliff neighborhood in what is now the city of Spokane Valley for 28 years. Several years ago I filled out several Citizen Action Request forms that were required by the city and sent them in to hopefully have some properties in our neighborhood cleaned up.

After I sent them in nearly all of the properties were cleaned up, which was a nice surprise. But sadly, several of those have reverted back to their prior conditions.

Also, I walk through the neighborhood three or four times a week, and I can tell you that there are many properties that are overrun with trash, junk vehicles, building materials, etc. Along with that, gang graffiti is beginning to show up in places, which means gang activity. I believe it’s a product of the poor condition of some of the properties found in the area.

I have several concerns and questions that I would like the city to consider.

While I would really appreciate seeing this area made presentable for those who live here and for those who are passing through, I hesitate to again fill out a form and turn people in.

The form clearly states if I report an issue with a neighboring property, and it comes down to “enforcement action” that results in court proceedings, my identity might be made known, because it also states “it may not be possible to keep your name confidential.”

In this day and age, I believe most residents, especially senior citizens, will be intimidated by the thought of being part of a potential lawsuit or retaliation from an upset neighbor.

My question is: why do we have a code enforcement office and staff and yet it is left to the residents to do the leg work and file reports to get the codes enforced?

I don’t think that it should be up to the citizens of the city to have to hang their necks out there to have the city enforce the codes that if enforced, would not allow the problems to occur in the first place. And please don’t tell me there aren’t enough resources (tax dollars) to cover all areas of the city.

I don’t believe this lack of code enforcement would be tolerated in certain parts of the city. Perhaps encouraging people to get involved and providing a way to get the neighborhood cleaned up and leave the identity of the concerned neighbor out of the equation would change things.

If that happened, I believe more people would respond and work toward bettering the area in which they make their home, which would be better for all of the citizens of the city of Spokane Valley.