If there is one clear lesson from the frequent presence of makeshift car lots at Kmart, it’s that Hollister needs more code enforcement resources.
In recent years, it has become increasingly common for residents to take advantage of the city’s lacking enforcement by setting up makeshift sales operations such as the cars or litters of puppies sold at various commercial locations. It is also common these days for residents to plaster their scribbled garage sale signs all over traffic signals – a dangerous liability due to potentially distracted driving – on weekends in Hollister.
There is nothing wrong with people trying to make a buck. The problems with the vehicle lots and other non-permitted operations are blight, inappropriate use of others’ properties, and an unfair business advantage that those sellers bestow upon themselves.
After all, how would the community react if one of the major car sellers in town decided to start parking vehicles on other businesses’ parking lots along major commercial corridors? Why is that any different?
It all signals the result of Hollister’s severely lacking code enforcement. Due to budget cuts in previous years, Code Enforcement Director Mike Chambless has long doubled as airport manager – while he is designated to spend 80 percent of his time on airport duties. Chambless has limited part-time help during the week, but nothing close enough to keep up with the city’s bevy of code matters.
Through mid-September, the city had received 224 code enforcement complaints, but issued just 14 citations, according to figures from Chambless. Those numbers point to a lot of citizen complaints going unanswered. They also point to the need to invest more resources in code enforcement, which deserves greater priority than it currently gets.
