Be it political season or just pent up frustration, our citizenry is engaged of late. Galveston’s codes and ordinances being enforced today go back over 50 years.

Over time, each council puts its own collective touch on them to correct errors, add new protections for our residents and visitors, or to address the latest issue. The unintended consequence, this often creates conflicts in the code.

Post Hurricane Ike, the city was faced with huge issues relating to the conditions in our neighborhoods and public spaces. I was hired in 2011 and directed to enhance code enforcement and to begin ridding our city of derelict structures, abandoned cars and boats, trash in yards, high weeds and grass and the list goes on.

For decades before 2011, the city had little code enforcement, and what it did have was performed by a handful of staff in our planning department. We also learned that our “strongly worded letters” requesting compliance were ineffective.

We heard the residents then and we’re listening now. We’ve stepped up enforcement and have made big strides toward improving compliance. We now perform code enforcement seven days a week and can handle most code enforcement issues on the spot.

Previously, enforcement consumed police officers’ valuable time and effectively removed them from their most important function of protecting our residents and visitors.

Increased enforcement has exposed weaknesses in our codes. We’ve also seen that many codes were put in place to address issues that may no longer exist or require such rules. Today we’re faced with ever-changing commerce that didn’t exist even five years ago, such as golf cart, scooter and electric bikes rentals, as well as many other personal transportation devices.

We’re also enforcing environmental rules that didn’t exist 10 or 20 years ago.

It’s time to act and look at all these things. Do we need rules governing if businesses can display and sell their products and wares from the city’s right of way and sidewalks?

Do we want enforcement of ordinance and traffic for the operators of electric vehicles or golf carts? Do we need rules about blocking pedestrian paths in a city where parking is at a premium and families have more cars than ever?

Do we need all of the residential parking areas now that so many work from home? Do we need rules governing taxis and wreckers anymore? Is 9 inches of grass not the level at which our citizenry wants us to enforce mowing? Do we want the marshals to remain complaint-driven or do we want more proactive marshaling to ensure a more even spread of enforcement to eliminate what many feel is selective enforcement?

All good questions and all deserving of answers and action.

You have my commitment to address these topics and issues and I know our elected officials will join us as they too began discussions at their last meeting. You also have my word that every resident, no matter who they are or where they live, will be treated with respect and courtesy.

I’ve also taken steps that if there’s any question in the minds of any party as to the validity and applicability of the ordinance that the deference will always be to the resident until we can get it worked out.

I was born and raised in Galveston and I love this island. Galveston has never been more resilient, financially stable or more prepared. I thank each of you for your input and please know your concerns aren’t falling on deaf ears.