Administration 706-613-3790 706-613-3792 [Fax] Hours 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Administrator John Spagna Location 120 W. Dougherty Street Dougherty Street Governmental Building Location Map Mailing Address P.O. Box 1868 Athens, GA 30603 Community Protection is a division of the ACC Building Inspections & Permits Department.

The Community Protection Division is a division under the Building Inspection & Permits Department. It consolidated compliance and enforcement personnel from the Planning Department, Solid Waste Department, Building Inspection Department and Marshal Services into a single unit.

In the past, code compliance and enforcement efforts were based upon a philosophy of progressive compliance through education. Under this philosophy, code enforcement officers administered several warnings before issuing citations. This approach produced a reasonable level of success, but some citizens became discouraged by the length of time frequently needed to resolve code violations.

The new philosophy calls for compliance through deterrence. This philosophy encourages enforcement staff to be proactive and more aggressive in identifying code violations and implementing corrective action through issuance of citations earlier in the process.

The new staffing structure is intended to increase the visibility of code enforcement staff; to create a closer working relationship with community groups to solve problems before they become chronic; to focus resources on specific geographic areas experiencing excessive code violations; and to establish a code enforcement staff with increased flexibility empowered to solve problems.

Staff will retain the discretion to issue a warning or a citation based on the circumstances of each violation. However, when discretion is exercised, only one warning will be given to a property owner or individual found to be in violation of ACC codes. Code enforcement officers may also choose to issue a citation without prior warning depending on the situation.

Enforcement efforts focus on several areas of community concern: substandard housing, trash and front yard parking. Geographical areas where widespread ordinance violations create a detrimental impact will receive greater attention. Enforcement officers will issue citations without warnings in those identified areas until a change in behavior occurs.

There are several notable new components of the Community Protection Division. Enforcement officers will now have the job title of Code Enforcement Officers. Code Enforcement Officers will report to the Community Protection Division Administrator, a newly created employee position assigned to the Building Inspections Department.

The Community Protection Division Administrator will be responsible for maintaining accountability measures and supervising the daily operations of the division with special attention being given to work in targeted areas. Code Enforcement Officers will be organized into two person teams and assigned to specific geographic areas in which they will be responsible for all compliance activities.

To increase efficiency, officers will be cross-trained in all code areas such as zoning, solid waste, housing, enforcement, and property maintenance. This training will empower officers to resolve all code issues, saving time by not referring identified violations to other agencies for judicial resolution.