Prince Frederick, MD – Think you are living next door to someone who is violating the county zoning regulations? Who ya gonna call? In Calvert County you call Chris Breedlove. The retired cop and school safety officer became Calvert’s code enforcement officer five years ago. Monday evening, Jan. 9 Breedlove spoke to Calvert County Neighborhood Watch at the organization’s January meeting in Prince Frederick.
Breedlove called his job “very daunting, very busy.” He is one of three county government employees charged with enforcing zoning regulations—commercial and residential. As he explained to the attendees representing various subdivisions, Breedlove doesn’t routinely scan the area looking for violations. “It’s mostly a complaint-driven process,” he explained.
While citizens who feel zoning laws are being broken or ignored would prefer swift action, Breedlove conceded the process takes time and the alleged offenders are not likely to be hauled out of their homes and locked up. “It’s a civil process, it’s not criminal,” he explained. “Everything with civil takes time.”
Part of Breedlove’s enforcement process is to do an on-site inspection of where the violation may be occurring. If the person responsible for the violation isn’t at the location, Breedlove leaves a “door hanger” that explains what is going on and that the property owner needs to contact the Code Enforcement Office, which is part of the county government’s Department of Community Planning and Building.
Once notified, the cited property owner has seven to 60 days to comply. “As long as you work with us, we’ll work with you,” Breedlove said. There is also a process the code enforcer must go through to begin the investigation. “We just can’t come on people’s property without a warrant,” he stated.
Breedlove said his office does not deal with homeowners’ associations when it comes to enforcing various covenants and subdivision rules but added “we do help out.” Code Enforcement also does not deal with building code violations, noting that area is handled by Inspections and Permits.
Anyone who alerts the Code Enforcement office about a potential violation can retain their anonymity, too. “Everything is anonymous if you want it to be anonymous,” said Breedlove.
Rather than trying to research the Calvert County Zoning Ordinance to determine if what you see is violation, Breedlove recommends residents call the office. Their number is 410-535-1600, ext. 2571.
“Most of the time we get compliance,” said Breedlove, who indicated that was far preferable to levying a fine against the property owner. “My overall goal is compliance. I don’t want your money.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com