On Dec. 3, DSD provided the San Antonio City Council with an update on the plan, which includes the plan’s development, preliminary work and community engagement efforts.
In a nutshell
Known as the Code Compliance Strategic Plan, updates were presented by Amin Tohmaz, director of the DSD, which included the five primary focus areas.
“This strategic plan is really about partnership with the community, transparency and continuous improvement,” Tohmaz said.
Focus areas include:
- Improved communication
- Educational materials
- Vacant lot management
- Proactive versus reactive enforcement
- Staffing, workload and hardship referral support
To help educate the public on city code, the DSD intends to develop new, easy-to-read publications, flyers and graphics, and train staff to support and engage in community outreach.
The strategic plan will treat vacant lots as a major quality-of-life and safety issue. In the short term, the department will more aggressively use existing authority—relying on annual notices so repeat notices aren’t required—and immediately abate lots within 1,000 feet of schools or daycares or where grass exceeds 48 inches. To speed cleanup, they will increase vacant lot contractors from five to nine and dangerous‑premises contractors from three to five, while also focusing on educating vacant‑lot owners about their responsibilities and abatement requirements to encourage proactive compliance.
“The vacant lot owners, some of them, are not aware of the rules. So one of the tasks that we can do now and push really hard for is inform them of their responsibilities and what are the abatement requirements that they need to take care of. If they understand that, we hope for more proactive compliance,” Tohmaz said.
Zooming in
Tohmaz said a central issue of the plan is striking a balance between proactive and reactive enforcement. He said both staff and community members have raised concerns on balancing the two approaches. Staff members reported that the constant stream of reactive cases has pushed out time for proactive inspections. Residents have expressed mixed views, with many appreciating proactive measures while others feel that compliant-driven cases, or reactive measures, aren’t addressed quickly enough.
“In regards to proactive and reactive [measures] we heard mixed feedback from the community. Some of the community stated that they value proactive inspections for preventing issues before they escalate, but then others expressed concerns that proactive cases sometimes did not feel as community focused,” Tohmaz said.
The strategic plan also highlights proper staffing and workload balance as necessary to improve code enforcement. Tohmaz said that since the last workload study was conducted the city has grown significantly, while staffing has remained the same, and that the DSD may require a 10%-15% staff increase to be able to properly respond to residents’ needs.
Hardship deferrals, such as dilapidated structures, are a key reason that enforcement timelines extend beyond normal expectations. Tohmaz said that these projects, depending on the severity, can take up to six months. This is because when a home owner applies for a hardship deferral the city will pause the enforcement for nine months to give them time to comply. Additionally, after the nine months meetings and notices may be required before continuing to proceed with code enforcement.
The background
The strategic plan was created following a Council Consideration Request, or CCR, by Council member Adriana Rocha on July 27, 2023, which directed DSS to develop a strategic plan for code enforcement. According to city documents, the CCR identified a need to reevaluate code enforcement operations and outlined several focus areas.
On Jan. 22, 2024, the governance committee voted to move forward with the CCR, and preliminary work on the strategic plan began between January-April, 2025.
Stay tuned
City council will receive a followup on the DSD’s progress on Jan. 15.
