WIS Investigates: Uncovering Code Violations in Columbia Neighborhoods

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - How many code violations are happening in your neighborhood?

WIS took a closer look at some neighborhoods here in Columbia, where neighbors are raising concerns about some code violations that have been left unresolved for several years.

“It’s just going to continue to get worse and worse until it falls down,” said Ryan Stokes, who lives in the historic Elmwood Park neighborhood.

He said he’s been living next to a boarded-up eyesore for about seven years. Ryan showed WIS drone footage he took that shows a huge hole in the back of the abandoned home. Home appliances and other items can be seen falling out of the residence.

Ryan’s wife, Amy Stokes, says even though she’s complained to code enforcement several times, nothing has been done.

“It’s been frustrating for it to have been 6, 7 years, and it’s just still there, falling apart more and more as the years go by,” she said. “We live in a neighborhood with a lot of kids, so that’s the main worry for me is anybody going near or in the property and getting hurt.”

The vacant house is just one code violation case that is open throughout the city. You can see other pending cases represented by red dots on this app called MyColaSC.

The city launched the app last year. Anyone can report issues and track code enforcement requests. A map in the app shows a slew of red dots that represent open cases across the city.

Code officers say there are 1,731 that have been started in the past two months. A total of 486 cases of those have been closed

Chief Code Enforcement Officer, Richard Blackmon says while it may sound like a lot of cases, there isn’t a backlog.

“We’ve never had a backlog. We’ve had open cases that stay open, but it’s not because it’s a backlog,” he said. “There’s a reason, like it’s in court, or we can’t find the owner, or it changes owners constantly. There’s a litany of reasons again why it’s open, but it’s not a backlog. Our inspectors are excellent at what they do.”

Blackmon says it’s especially hard to resolve cases in the historic district. It’s a requirement to restore all historical homes to their original design, which a lot of property owners have realized is expensive to do.

“We can’t just magically close them right. We are limited by what we can do legally. Yeah, it stinks to see boarded up buildings, and again we address it,” Blackmon said.

Mayor Daniel Rickenmann addressed concerns in this statement:

“The community asked us to be more active with code enforcement for safety and beautification, and that is what we are doing. Our 21 code enforcement officers are working hard to not only document violations but thoroughly investigate each. This takes time to ensure that each case is reviewed fairly and that the best result is achieved. We appreciate the community working with us to continue identifying and resolving these issues.”

Mayor Daniel Rickenmann

But neighbors like Ryan, who are still waiting, say, “The longer it stays there, it’s kind of a hazard to our kids.”

Breakdown of Other Code Violations

The City of Columbia Code Enforcement provided WIS with code violation preliminary statistics.

• Number of cases started in the last 2 years: 19,840
• Number of current open cases – from the last 2 years: 6,237

Breakdown of the cases still open from the last 2 years

• Abandoned Derelict Vehicles Cases: 550
• Accessory Structure Cases(fence, sheds, etc.): 238
• Commercial premises and structures Cases:  928
• Front Yard Parking Cases: 247
• Cases for no rental permit: 575
• Residential Premises cases:  1,469
• Residential Structures Cases: 973
• Right of Way – Roll carts, litter, illegal dumping Cases: 532
• Vacant buildings not registered Cases: 235
• vacant lots Cases: 374

Number of cases started in the last 6 months

• 4,538

Number of those cases closed in the last 6 months

• 2,565

Number of vacant buildings registered

• 210

Number of current demo cases

• 89

Number of demos conducted in the past year

• 41

Number of open Abandoned Vehicle cases

• 550

MyColaSC App Data

• 342 Total to date (179 started by the same person)
• 53 are still open pending investigation

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