Many communities in southeast Nebraska desire to improve their overall appearance and property conditions. SENND recognizes the importance of a program designed to assist communities with Nuisance Code enforcement. Since 2014, SENDD has offered a Nuisance Abatement program to member communities with the shared goal of building community pride and encouraging citizen property maintenance.
The Nuisance Abatement program requires significant planning and patience throughout each phase of implementation. Before the actual property assessments can be made, the Governing Body must first review their Nuisance Codes. Often, the Nuisance Code is antiquated or does not have clear procedures for enforcement. The Nuisance Code can either be brought up to date, or the participating community may adopt nuisance ordinances that have been developed by SENDD. After reviewing the Codes, the Governing Body next reviews and approves a resolution appointing SENDD as the Nuisance Officer and negotiates a services contract.
The Nuisance Abatement program is then initiated by the community hosting a “clean-up” day to provide residents the opportunity to remove potential nuisance items with little or no cost. Following the voluntary “clean-up” day, SENDD conducts a property by property assessment utilizing the Nuisance Code to identify potential nuisance violations. These violations can include: unlicensed vehicles, tires, scrap metal, dilapidated shed/buildings, weeds and yard waste (branches, leaves, dead trees), discarded goods and trash, and appliances. Each property found to violate the Nuisance Code is documented with photographs of the nuisance items. All assessments are completed from public streets, sidewalks, and alleys- the Nuisance Officer will NOT enter the property.
To date, SENDD has successfully served as Nuisance Officers for the following communities: Brock, Bruning ,Dorchester, Douglas, Elmwood, Humboldt, Palmyra, Osceola and Bradshaw
SENDD is currently servicing as Nuisance Officers for the following communities: Polk, Greenwood (The Greenwood Nuisance Abatement program is being conducted by the Southeast Nebraska Affordable Housing Council (SENAHC), who have appointed SENDD as Nuisance Officers based on the organization’s previous success in conducting such programs.)