Juneau is considering a plan to fine residents at homes requiring an excessive number of police calls, officials said.
A Juneau Police Department official outlined the plan for the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Monday, KTOO-FM reported Tuesday.
A state law enables the city to fine owners of property that have been the subject of large numbers of police calls within a certain time frame, police said.
Police spend a disproportionate amount of resources on a small number of properties with frequent calls, said Juneau Police Department Lt. Jeremy Weske.
“Where before neighbors may have just felt like it was something that they had to put up with, I think now we’re seeing that people are trying to push back and take their neighborhood back, and I don’t blame them for it,” Weske said.
The proposal suggests a $400 fine for every police visit after a property exceeds criteria set by the city.
Safeguards would be established to prevent abuse of the fine system by landlords or vindictive neighbors, Weske said.
City Manager Rorie Watt cited examples of problematic downtown properties, including one the city demolished after deeming it a public nuisance.
“I think economic pressure on that ownership group would have helped move to speedier resolution of a responsible party taking charge of those properties,” Watt said.
The Assembly asked Weske to work with city staff to draft an ordinance outlining the number and type of police responses and specific consequences to bring to a future meeting.
• This is an Associated Press report.
