Short-staffed Code Enforcement

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Story Published: Oct 6, 2008 at 6:25 PM PDT

By Audrey Asistio

SUNNYSIDE -- Dan Trevino and his grandmother rent a home in Sunnyside for years. Their place is pretty infamous.

Action News Reporter Audrey Asistio explains, "From beer bottles to tires, neighbors say the home's front yard looks more like a dumpster than a lawn and they're fed up with it."

Wood, cement, and trash are all that's left of what used to be a building. The landlord demolished it two-months ago and it's become an eye-sore and health hazard for the tenants and neighbors in the area. The mess is infested with rats.

Tenant Dan Trevino tells Action News, "They're big. They look like hamsters or something."

Dan has taken his dogs to the veterinarian a couple times because of the rats. Neighbors say they called Yakima County Code Enforcement, but haven't received a response. That may be because this house is just one of nearly a thousand problem areas Yakima County Code Enforcement is working on.. In addition, they only have two people on duty and only one works full time. They say it's a problem out of their control and not likely to change.

Yakima County Code Enforcement Spokesperson, Dave Saunders says, "These are tough times all over for everyone including local governments, so I don't think that will be coming in the foresee able future, but we will do the best we can with the resources we have until such time we have more resources."

So until those resources come along Dave says the best way to fix a messy problem is to not start one. Yakima Code Enforcement says if you live near a trouble spot, sending them a written complaint is the fastest way to get the problem fixed.

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