By Mike Hazlip–
Citrus Heights Police call logs last week showed an unusual spike of 17 code enforcement incidents between 9 and 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, all in the same part of the city.
In response to an inquiry from The Sentinel about the activity, Police Sgt. David Weissenfluh said the calls were part of a sweep stemming from complaints heard at a neighborhood association meeting for Area 1. The meeting was held on Monday, June 12, and code enforcement responded to the area three days later on Thursday, June 15, police said. Each address listed in the logs is in an area south of Antelope Road near Tupelo Drive.
In a phone call on Wednesday, Weissenfluh said he did not have details about the nature of each violation, but said none of the locations were related. Call logs categorize the incidents as “Code Enforcement Blight,” with the outcome on most listed as “CE Pending.”
The city in recent months has launched a heightened effort to clean up the streets of Citrus Heights, beginning with the hiring of a Beautification Crew last year and continuing with a new Citrus Heights Cares campaign that launched in February, using $47,000 in American Rescue Plan Act pandemic recovery funds.
As previously reported, the campaign seeks to address blight, vandalism and unlawful camping, with $9,000 allocated for light pole banners, $6,000 for six eight-foot by four-foot signs, and $2,250 for commercial and residential light pole signage. Additionally, $5,000 was approved to be spent on local media and social media advertisements, $7,750 on promotional items, and $17,000 on a citywide educational mailer.
Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber told the City Council in February that the campaign encourages residents to report, maintain, and chip-in when they see nuisance issues. Residents are also encouraged to report graffiti and suspicious activity, participate in service clubs and clean-up events, and stay informed through the city’s various outreach channels.
