CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Councilwoman Deanna McLaughlin spoke to the Clarksville Kiwanis Club this week about efforts being made by the new Restoring Clarksville Initiative to beautify the city.
The Restoring Clarksville Initiative launched in January to “identify, inventory, review and evaluate properties in the City of Clarksville that are experiencing deterioration due to economic factors, or neglect by the owners that are contributing to their decline,” according to McLaughlin’s presentation.
The beginning process involved looking at changes to the city code to reflect the restoration initiatives. “We have looked at the city code at things that could strengthen our ability to enforce some of the issues in Clarksville that may not have been as enforceable in the past. … It’s a big process,” said McLaughlin.
Three strikes, you’re out
Task force committee members tackled fining property owners for code violations off the bat. Violators used to be charged only $50 per code violation due to set laws that the city and state had in place. With the hard work of the committee, repeat offenders of a code violation can now charged by City Court, and be forced to pay $50 per day of violation.
This new change is mainly geared towards property owners who receive multiple citations from the city about repetitive issues. The city is looking at implementing a three-strikes system for code violators; once they hit their third strike, they receive fines…