A debate is brewing inside City Hall on whether to keep or remove a planned 6-month grace period for code violations that the cameras find.
STOCKTON, Calif. — For just over a month, AI-powered cameras mounted atop nine Stockton code enforcement trucks have been looking for and finding code violations. Data made public Saturday shows the cameras have found more than 29,000 violations in total, ranging from structural issues to neglected lawns.
Despite the evidence of violations, no code enforcement cases are being opened– it’s part of a 6-month grace period that the original plan called for.
“They’re going to give everybody a six-month grace period. So, they’re going to say like ‘Hey, you have overgrown vegetation at your property. You’re going to need to trim that, and you’ve got six months to get that done,'” said Stockton’s Mayor Christina Fugazi. “That’s something that, as a teacher, I’d rather do that as opposed to just giving somebody a fine.”
With the mounting number of issues found, not everyone on the dais is on board with the original idea. Vice Mayor Jason Lee is a member of the committee that requested expedited enforcement along with a presentation by Code Enforcement officials to the full City Council on how the program is doing.
The city council will hear the presentation during its meeting Tuesday evening.
“There’s no need for six months, our city needs to be cleaned now,” Vice Mayor Lee said. “Education is important but grown people don’t need to be reminded to pay bills. Grown people don’t need to be reminded to clean up after themselves… The community is demanding that the improvements happen now, and so we’re proposing to move that timeline up.”
Meanwhile, code enforcement is proposing more staffing. They say each of the thousands of violations their AI cameras are finding have to be verified by a real person. There are currently no officers dedicated to the program — they want at least two and 22 other new staffers.
“The mayor has been extremely open about the need to add more code enforcement officers,” Lee said. “I mean, there’s such a need around our city.”
During Tuesday’s council meeting, no vote is required on the presentation, so proposals for more staffing and ending the grace period may need to be heard in a separate meeting.
“I want Stockton to be a resource for people,” Fugazi said. “I want people to be able to get the help that they need and the assistance that they need and the guidance that they need.”
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