Neighbors praise city for firm code enforcement, cleanup

The city of Tehachapi's new code enforcement officer, armed with a badge and the authority of the police department, cleaned up a trash-filled, condemned house on East I street that had been the number one location for police activity during the last 12 months.

Tehachapi Chief of Police Kent Kroeger said that police had responded 70 times to the location over the past year on reports of various activities on the premises, including the buying and selling of narcotics.

Newly hired full-time Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Price, 34, accomplished the cleanup within three-and-a-half weeks of starting his position with the city on Jan. 12, 2015. Code enforcement previously had been handled part time by other city employees.

Grateful neighbors on the block thanked the Tehachapi City Council on Feb. 17 for ridding the site of a dangerous nuisance and blight.

"Finally we have our neighborhood back to normal," says a note that neighbors sent to the police department. "Thank you so much for all the hard work. Great job!"

Price said he left the City Council meeting walking on air. In his 12 years of working code enforcement for Adelanto, Apple Valley and Palmdale, no one had bothered to say thank you.

"It was really refreshing," Price told Forde Files on Feb. 19, 2015.

Price said he wore a police department-style uniform while working as a code enforcer and animal control officer in Adelanto, and people tended to jump out of windows and run when they saw him coming. In Tehachapi, he is, by design, less formally attired.

In December the city had condemned the East I street property, which had hazardous electrical wiring, unsanitary conditions and no functioning utilities. The owner had died and the utilities were not being paid.

The residents had been given sufficient notice to make repairs, but did not follow through.

The court had ordered them to stay off the property, but, Kroeger said, "There was a constant flow of people."

An abatement warrant from Kern County Superior Court carried out on Feb. 4 settled the matter.

Once inside the house, Price said, "We were struggling not to fall over, sliding on the animal feces."

Price oversaw the hauling away of the accumulated trash inside and outside the house, followed by boarding up and painting to match the exterior.

The cleanup of the residence on East I street is the city's first volley in a renewed effort to enforce codes intended to keep Tehachapi attractive and safe.

"We've asked Aaron to focus on nuisance locations," Kroeger said.

"There are not too many," Price said. "But the effect is substantial."

Price is a graduate of the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers certification program. He underwent police academy training in Riverside County, working part time for a year and a half as a school district police officer before becoming a code enforcement officer. He will be working in concert with Tehachapi Building Inspector Charles Arbaut.

Other problems Price will deal with include aggressive panhandling, loose dogs and barking dogs ("I've never figured out what people are thinking, listening to their dog bark all night," he said).

Chief Kroeger understands the hazards of dogs running loose. Recently on a city street, before he was named chief, a pit bull attacked and almost killed his Boxer dog Sarge, who was on a leash.

The accomplishment on East I street has had a verifiable beneficial effect. Apparently aware of the East I street enforcement activity, residents of another home in a different neighborhood decided to comply with a correction notice, hauling away junk cars, re-carpeting, removing debris and making the place more sanitary and attractive.

Price said the city would rather educate people than issue citations.

"We want to treat people the way we want to be treated."

The municipal codes, Kroeger said, are to ensure that Tehachapi is a safe place to live and raise a family.