Systematic code enforcement in the north campus area has ruffled a lot of feathers along the way, but many homeowners feel it’s the only way to make any real progress in fixing up their neighborhood and improving the community at large.The idea of systematic code enforcement, which means that a code officer is sent to do house-to-house exterior inspections of each property in a designated area, is relatively new to Columbus.About three years ago, a task force was set up by members of the university community and the city to deal with code enforcement issues, according to Cynthia Rickman, public information officer for the Columbus Department of Trade and Development. Historically, code enforcement has been done on a strictly complaint-driven basis in Columbus. It remains this way outside a handful of pilot areas like the university district where the city has committed to using a systematic approach.”Neighbors and property owners came together to make sure code issues were being addressed,” Rickman said. She said the most common code violations are overgrown weeds, trash, broken or missing gutters, unsafe steps, missing handrails, peeling paint and deteriorating sidewalks. Therese Nolan, an active member of her community also involved in the city’s National Historic Neighborhood Association, lives on Arcadia Avenue on the far northern border of the university residential district. By all accounts she’s exactly the kind of homeowner that the campus community wants more of. That didn’t stop Columbus code enforcement from citing her for having peeling paint on her home’s exterior.”It was kind of like ‘stand and deliver’ with code enforcement,” Nolan said. “The city told me in mid-February that I had to have my house painted in 60 days. There was no way it could be done that fast.”Andy Bauman, code supervisor for the Columbus Office of Trade and Development, said in cases such as Nolan’s the city is willing to work with the deadline and give the homeowner an extension if necessary.”We just request that the homeowner send us a letter,” Bauman said. He added that most of the citations written in the campus area have been minor “clean-up, fix-up” things like trash removal, weeds and “sidewalks, tons and tons of sidewalks.”Even though Nolan feels the city can be a bit heavy-handed when writing citations she thinks there is a need to do this type of house-to-house enforcement if the area is really committed to improving itself.”Some of us need to re-orient our priorities. Paint the house before putting in that second bathroom,” Nolan said. But at the same time she feels “the city could take a kinder, gentler approach [to code enforcement] than the scare tactics of fix it in 30 to 60 days or else.”Ken Snow has lived in his Northwood Avenue home for nearly 20 years. He was also cited by city code enforcement within the last year. “I was cited for sidewalk and chimney repairs that needed to be made,” Snow said. “I wasn’t thrilled to be cited but I am glad the city is paying attention.”Snow shares Nolan’s sentiment that although it’s no fun being given an ultimatum by the city to work on your own house, the neighborhood will eventually be better for it.”Essentially this is doing a lot of good for the neighborhood. But we’re living in an urban area. This isn’t Upper Arlington or Bexley and we don’t have tons of money to throw into our houses,” Snow said.The city seems to think many of the citations are for minor violations, but the minor part doesn’t always correlate to the cost of the repair. Nolan took out a home equity credit line to pay the painter’s $2,400 bill. A sidewalk repair can run up a similarly sizable tab.To help offset the costs that a code violation can bring a homeowner, Columbus sponsors the University Envelope Program which assists lower income homeowners in making repairs ordered by code enforcement. The program has been in place for over a year now and serves homeowners within the university district borders of Glen Echo Ravine on the north, Fifth Avenue on the south, the Conrail tracks on the east and the Olentangy River on the west.It works like this: if a homeowner within the district has been cited for code violations and makes less than 80 percent of the county medium income, they may qualify for either a grant or a no-interest or low-interest loan to make the necessary exterior repairs. For example, a single person living alone making less than $32,100 this year would qualify. Homeowners can get up to $10,000 to bring their property up to code.Northside Development Corp., the agency handling applications, will even help the homeowner to find a contractor to quote the job and do the work, said C.J. Stallings, administrator for the University Envelope Program.Mayor Michael Coleman’s office said of the 800 code citations issued, 250 have qualified for the Envelope Program, but more people may qualify now. The income cap was initially 60 percent of medium income but was raised this year to help more homeowners. If a homeowner ignores a code citation they will eventually land themselves in court, said Rickman.”We’ve been getting a positive response from the neighborhood,” said Rickman. “With the Envelope Program we’re not just saying ‘do it’ but helping with assistance from the city.”People interested in the University Envelope Program should contact C.J. Stallings at Northside Development Corp. at 294-6227 for more information.