The North Judson Town Council members are working to update the town codes to bring them into line with current standards.
Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe said 2007 was the last time the codes were updated. The draft version has been returned from American Legal Publishing and the council discussed changes in the codes during their special meeting Monday evening.
“A lot of the changes were based on IC code as the Indiana Code is updated over time that is reflected upon our own town code,” said Rowe. “There is also our own town code that was established years back, but also our ordinances – getting those back into the overall document governing the town.”
Department heads and members of the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission met with the council to decide how to tackle the codes to ensure everything is current and correct.
Rowe said the council did look at the nuisance ordinance.
Rowe continued, “The property nuisance would have been organic or inorganic debris, refuse – things like that – that we were regulating in order to clean up and beautify the town as much as we possibly can. There’s no legislating aesthetics to a degree, but we still want to try to maintain as well-manicured and well-kept properties and cleanliness as we can around town.”
They also looked at property maintenance and upkeep ordinances from municipalities around the state that would allow the town to make sure warnings and citations are being issued and enforcement is occurring, according to Rowe.
“The council, it seems, is not looking to be over-litigious with things, but there’s properties around town that need some TLC or need some overhaul. It gives our police and ordinance officials the ability to enact that an enforce that was something that was discussed.”
Nothing was decided during Monday’s special meeting, but discussions will be ongoing. Rowe said he will be doing over sections of the draft with department heads with the hope of having that done by late August.
