Ordinance amendment could help police crack-down on nuisance properties

Medford, Ore. — Targeted enforcement of a home on north Columbus led to the arrests of 4 people over the weekend. It’s part of an effort by Medford police to better deal with nuisance properties. Soon, that effort could get a bit easier as the city council looks to amend the current ordinance regarding problem properties.

“This is something that we can actually do something about,” Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine says.

Stine says the current city ordinance regarding nuisance properties isn’t restrictive enough.

“Code enforcement has to go to one property three times within 30 days,” Stine says, “and we don’t have near enough code officers to possibly do that.”

An amendment up for a vote this month looks to change that, widening the parameters for code enforcement to take action.

“If there’s 4 arrests made within a 6 month period then we can start that plan,” Corporal Tom Venables of the Medford Police Department says, “and if there’s 6 arrests made or incidents surrounding that house within a year period we can start that plan.”

The amendment also adds additional issues to the list of what qualifies as being a nuisance, including unlawful accumulation of junk. Medford police say they hope to more quickly partner with homeowners to address the issues with the amendment in place.

“We believe that a lot of these problems will be solved just by noticing them,” Cpl. Venables says, “and saying ‘hey there were 3 arrests made at your property this weekend can you help us fix this problem?'”

If a homeowner doesn’t address the issues, the city can issue fines. If you’re having trouble with a property in your neighborhood you can call in a complaint with code enforcement at 541-774-2016 or submit one using the online submission form on the city’s website.