As the city has “grown up” we’ve had to augment our zoning and building enforcement efforts over the years. About the time I was elected to my first term the big issue was overcrowding. One of the ways localities combat these kinds of problems is building and zoning code enforcement. At that time, we had 1 zoning inspector (Herndon had 6) and I brought forward a request to add several more in order to help police the evolving situation in our City.
The historical approach to zoning enforcement in Manassas is best termed “the quest for compliance”. The leadership in Manassas long ago made the decision that what they really wanted was compliance. They did not care at the time whether someone paid a fine – they just wanted the grass cut or the car off the lawn. That has worked well enough over the years but the situation has evolved: the “quest for compliance” methodology works well enough when people are inclined to comply. when they are not, it leads to endless correspondance. The next step would be to drag the offender into court and I just don’t know how much sense that makes.