In his more than 25 years working in codes for Newport News, Code Compliance Director Harold Roach has never definitively known how many violations existed in the city at any one time. But with the city’s Good Neighbor Patrol Vehicle about to hit the road, he said that’s about to change.
The Good Neighbor Patrol Vehicle is the city’s latest effort to address spot blight, after a 2024 community survey showed eliminating neglected buildings as the top priority for residents, and 83% of respondents said they were unsatisfied with the city’s progress on fixing the problem. The truck is outfitted with two cameras and will visit each neighborhood periodically along trash routes to review code compliance. Final calibrations on the truck will be finished in a couple weeks.
AI technology will flag any visible code violations in the photos such as unsafe structures, trash and debris, or abandoned cars, according to Roach. Staff then review and flag images to confirm a violation and its urgency. Property owners are notified and given 30 days to come into compliance before a formal violation notice is issued.
Normally, reports come from inspectors taking notes on what they see driving around the city or complaints submitted by residents about things like fallen fences or trash on the street, according to Roach. He said that approach can allow problems to go unseen, something this new resource aims to remedy.
“What I know is, the work that my inspectors are involved in, the complaints that come into the office, the things that I see when I ride around. It’s representative, but it doesn’t encompass the whole picture,” Roach said. “But that’s what this technology will do.”
Roach added the city has sometimes struggled to have the resources to match the level of beautification residents want to see, and he was initially skeptical when City Manager Alan Archer came to him with the idea of a roughly $200,000 technological initiative instead of more staff.
“And I turned out to be wrong about that. I consider this to be a game-changer in code enforcement,” Roach said.
Archer said the patrol vehicle will help enhance the city’s beautification efforts while being fair and respectful in its code enforcement.
“This is about helping our residents,” Archer said in the statement. “We are combining innovation with accountability to make neighborhood stronger.”
Newport News City Council has implemented several codes changes to address blight since the community survey. The first authorized the city to repair private properties in August. Other new policies allow the city to demolish or acquire long-vacant buildings, add abandoned clutter to its nuisance rules, and establish a new rental inspection zone to ensure housing quality for renters.
Those changes have allowed Roach and his team to take swifter action on blighted properties. According to Roach, his department can now demolish derelict buildings before they become imminent hazards, require owners to develop plans to address problems with buildings rather than issuing court summons for people often out of state, and allow the city to acquire or improve buildings on its own.
The vehicle is meant to be an enhancement of those other tools, not a surveillance tool or something to fine residents for small violations like high grass or license plates, Roach said. It’s also not meant to replace the city’s 14 inspectors.
As the patrol vehicle turned down 51st Street Thursday, Roach pointed toward an empty lot. The city recently demolished a damaged house that caught fire in January. All that remains now is construction equipment and burn scars on the siding next door. Large-scale issues like these are where Roach said his department wants to put its focus.
“I don’t want to suggest that these other things aren’t important, but you have to make some judgment about how you utilize your resources,” Roach said. “As of a week ago, you had a burned out building here that had potential of falling in on itself.”
Roach said the enthusiasm from the community is higher now than it was decades ago, and everyone, including the city, is ready to take more pride in making Newport News attractive.
“It seems to be more of a community-wide priority that we address things that ail our city. There’s more of a holistic perspective on what needs to be done,” Roach said.
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
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