Atherton: Cutting cost of code enforcement

I see nothing at all "chilling" about an Atherton officer showing up at my door. On the contrary, I would welcome it. The last thing I'm worried about is search and seizure if an officer came to my door. C'mon, what's with that? The presence of an officer in a uniform is a good thing. A uniformed officer brings authority to a situation. I have no reason at all to believe that a police officer is any less likely to be friendly, courteous, and non-threatening than a non-uniformed code enforcement officer.

The police may or may not be friendly, but they will do as little as possible about enforcing any town ordinances-all of which they refer to as "dog and cat" issues. This is why the code enforcement officer concept emerged to begin with. I don't know how well thats working out if its back on the table. Is it only a money savings issue or has this program been ineffective as well? Do not imagine the cops are going do this job.

Good grief! There have been multiple articles, including pictures of violations, in the Almanac over the years pointing out how the Atherton overlords have chosen to ignore enforcement of codes in this town. Why is this suddenly a new problem? And why on earth has the all-wise, all-knowing council condoned spending $57,000 a year(of taxpayers' money!)on someone who works one day a week? Where do I go to apply for that job?! Whenever I've called City Hall regarding a breach of code (eg: construction vehicles parked in front of my house or someone's landscaping all the way to the street so pedestrians cannot safely walk past, I've had the dubious pleasure of a uniformed police officer at my door. He has always been argumentative and unwilling to pursue the matter with those who were causing the problem. He was usually a fresh-faced kid who treated me as though I were the problem and should back off. He was typically unaware that there was even a code violation at all and quickly disputed my word. Intimidated by these little boy scouts? Never! Disappointed? Yes! Angered to learn that the town of Atherton actually pays that kind of money for a worthless effort? Absolutely!

Like I said the cops won't do anything except make you feel stupid for disturbing them with a call.
This way we all get trained not to bother them.
I have no idea if Cushing was really much better. I have heard stories both ways. I think he figured out who he needed to keep happy to keep his job, and who he was safe to blow off.
This issue like every problem, is because the council chooses management that can not control the police dept or much of anything else.

Having conducted a three phased audit of the Building Department and in dealing with the current code enforcement officer who is employed by CSG consultants, I consider myself an authority on this matter.

The current code enforcement officer has been a disappointment. He has approached his job with self preservation as his first priority. I clearly recall bringing to his attention the matter of an Atherton police officer renting an accessory structure in violation of the Town's zoning ordinance.

Mr. Cushing refused to investigate the matter, telling me that what I was bringing to his attention is the kind of thing that gets his company "kicked out" of a town like Atherton.

This was not an isolated instance. I brought to has attention a complaint of Ms. Lewis and her non conforming structure in early 2008. Mr. Cushing told me that he was too busy chasing down illegal campaign signs to be able to address my complaint. (The irony of Mr. Cushing's reply seemed to have been lost on him).

I have complained about the life safety issues associated with the illegal construction at the residence of Charles Marsala. Mr. Cushing has still to properly investigate this matter.

It is for all of the reasons above that I respectfully suggest that a prerequisite of a new code enforcement officer should be a willingness to actually investigate and to enforce the code.

How about the police do their actual job, such as writing speeding tickets so people don't get killed by speeders on El Camino? I have it on good authority the PDs policy on El Camino is not to ticket unless someone is 50mph or higher. That's 15 mph over the limit. Brilliant. How about nailing the speeders on Watkins? Or the idiots that make the illegal left turn at Watkins & El Camino from 4-6? I'd love to see an article posted regarding the number of moving violation tickets the PD has issued every year for the past 10 years. Do your jobs! They can also easily look for code violations on the graveyard shift. What exactly is there to do in Atherton from midnight to 8am?

APD is too busy falsely arresting residents and then harassing them with trumped up probation checks and home invasion serches to be concerned with anything else.