MOUNT VERNON — After much research, questions, and public input, the Board of Knox County Commissioners has decided not to move forward with building code enforcement.
“We had enough questions in our minds that we don’t feel comfortable moving forward,” Board President Thom Collier told Knox Pages on Friday morning. “We will certainly encourage homeowners to seek out an inspector when building their home, but at this time, we don’t think it’s the right time to have building codes in Knox County.”
Thirty-nine counties in Ohio have building codes; 49 do not.
“We had two public hearings. While the numbers weren’t large at either of these public hearings, we did hear from a number of people via emails, phone calls, etc.,” Collier said. “We heard from people on both sides.”
Collier said that public sentiment was not “terribly overwhelming” one way or another. However, he noted that people who oppose an issue typically tend to be more vocal than those who support an issue. While there might have been a few more opposed, Collier said that was not the sole basis for the commissioners’ decision.
“It was certainly a consideration, and it was helpful to have the input because it added questions to the questions we wanted to investigate,” he said. “That’s exactly why we hold public hearings: to find out their concerns.
“We did not have a strong consensus one way or the other within our discussions after reviewing the comments and questions that were raised,” Collier continued. “While there might be many benefits, we don’t feel it’s fair to implement across the county something that might affect a small portion of the county, at least initially.”
The issue of code enforcement has arisen more than once over the years, with officials from the Village of Centerburg and Hilliar Township spearheading the most recent push. Centerburg Mayor Greg Sands has repeatedly pointed to growth in the area and the potential impact from Intel as reasons to begin enforcement.
He also believes that lack of enforcement creates a channel into Knox County for builders to avoid Licking and Delaware counties; both have code enforcement.
“If the township and village want to move forward on their own and contract with Delaware or Licking counties, we would certainly help facilitate that,” Collier said. “We just don’t think a broad approach to the county is the proper response at this time.”
Collier added that if Centerburg, Hilliar Township, or the City of Mount Vernon pursued code enforcement, it would give the commissioners more time to study the issue.
“That might be a better way to start and judge the cost and time,” he said.
