Elgin residents can sound off in online survey
Do you think there are too many dead trees or broken windows in your neighborhood? What about overgrown grass, vehicles parked on lawns or fences in disrepair?
Elgin residents can sound off on code compliance issues - in their neighborhoods and in the city as a whole - via an online survey available through Dec. 31 at cityofelgin.org/codesurvey.
The survey seeks residents' input on the condition of properties, both residential and commercial, by asking them to rate a host of specific problems as "not an issue, "minor" or "critical." Residents can also add their own comments.
The online survey mirrors a written survey filled out by residents at a Nov. 14 meeting hosted by the community development department and designed to get feedback on code compliance issues.
The information gathered from all the surveys will be used to develop the curriculum for the city's first "Code Compliance Academy," expected to be offered in late March, Community Development Director Marc Mylott said.
"I want to know what residents perceive are the most important issues in their neighborhoods," Mylott said. "We are hoping to offer (the academy) before springtime hits - if it ever does - so that the information will be fresh in (residents') minds when they start to come out and walk around."
The survey, which asks for residents' ZIP codes, takes about 15 minutes to fill out, said Molly Center, the city's communications specialist. Center has been soliciting residents' participation via Twitter and Facebook, and planned to highlight the survey on the city's web homepage and on the city's smartphone app.
"Just going through the survey lets you know how many issues we face on residential and commercial properties," she said. "It's kind of eye-opening."
For example, the survey asks whether residents believe there are holiday decorations that stay up too long. The city's ordinance states that such decorations can't be up for more than 60 days within a calendar year.
It also asks about residents' perceptions about others performing recurring auto repairs from their garages or driveways, and about signs stuck on trees and utility poles.