The division’s 27 officers, 10 senior officers and six supervisors enforce City of Jacksonville ordinances that regulate private property, safety and maintenance, as well as zoning codes, and illegal litter and snipe signs. The MCCD team covers the entirety of Jacksonville — approximately  840 square miles of urban and rural areas containing a population of nearly one million citizens. With 366,000 residential housing units and a myriad of commercial properties, employees must work hard to meet the diverse needs of the various urban, suburban and rural communities.
 
Between October 2015 and October 2016, officers completed 123,209 ordinance and code violations inspections, and this year’s inspections will likely exceed those numbers. The top three issues cited were nuisance (59,741), residential (23,175) and junk vehicles (10,147).
 
Here’s a few tips for citizens to avoid code enforcement citations:

• Maintain property appearance. Yards should be cut regularly, and  trash/debris/abandoned vehicles, deteriorated structures, dead or dying trees and dead tree limbs should be removed expeditiously.
• Maintain the appearance of exterior structures.
• Maintain the building. Repair or replace loose, damaged, rotted, worn or missing components, such as walls, roofs, windows, doors, porches, handrails, awnings, siding and trim.
• Keep property safe and sanitary. Immediately address any issues that may pose an imminent threat to health or safety.

For a complete list, please visit MCCD’s webpage at coj.net/mccd.
 
What to do if you’re cited:

• Do not ignore the notification of violation. Read it.  Understand the time limit for compliance and penalties for non-compliance.
• It is the property owner’s responsibility to correct the violation, including cases of rented or leased properties.
• Make all required repairs, corrections, improvements and/or removals as soon as possible. This will allow you to avoid further proceedings.
• If you need further clarification on any alleged violation, do not wait. Call the Code Enforcement Officer as soon as possible.
• If you believe the violation is not on your property, or you have sold or released ownership, please call 630-CITY (2489) immediately.

Citizens play an important part in keeping our community attractive, clean and safe. Through education, awareness and self-enforcement, we can all contribute to making Jacksonville the best city to live, work and raise a family.