Code Enforcers Crack Down on Illegal Boardinghouses

First Year of Effort Yields Record Fines

Fairfax County's code enforcement "strike teams" marked their one-year anniversary by winning the county's largest fines to date against the owner of an illegal boardinghouse, county leaders said this month.

Fairfax courts imposed approximately $24,000 in fines against Nelson Hernandez after inspectors found multiple occupants living in five basement bedrooms at a house he owns at 5809 Hanover Ave. in Springfield. The rooms lacked required exits and had illegal locks on interior doors. Ceilings were lined with Styrofoam, a fire hazard, the county reported.

Hernandez, who could not be located, was convicted recently of violating zoning, building and fire safety codes. The conviction came after a "top-to-bottom" inspection by a strike team last summer.

"It is critical that the community is aware of this important work in our neighborhoods," said county Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee), whose district includes Hernandez's neighborhood. "Prosecution of willful violators requires time and persistence by our staff and patience by our citizens. In this case and many others, the county is holding willful violators' feet to the fire."

McKay campaigned last fall in part on a promise to bring more attention to the county's older neighborhoods, where illegal boardinghouses and poorly maintained properties have caused concern among longtime residents.

He was steeped in the issue as the chief of staff for his predecessor, T. Dana Kauffman (D), who helped form the Enhanced Code Enforcement Strike Teams along with board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D). The teams' purpose is to crack down on zoning violations such as overcrowded homes, illegal boardinghouses and illegal in-home businesses.

The stepped-up enforcement has coincided with the rise of illegal immigration as a political issue. Fairfax officials have come under pressure in the past year from neighboring jurisdictions to take a more aggressive approach. Connolly has said that the strike teams show that the county is focused on outcomes and behavior, not immigration status.

McKay and others marked the teams' first anniversary by noting their success, which includes the prosecution of 132 civil and criminal cases and the investigation of more than 350. In June 2007, the first criminal case produced a $1,000 fine against Raimundo Guevara, co-owner of 6306 Dana Ave. in Springfield, for several zoning violations. The enforcers also prosecuted a case last year resulting in jail time for a boardinghouse owner.

There are two strike teams, and supervisors said a third would be formed soon.

The teams are represented 15 county agencies, with zoning, building, fire and health code inspectors. The inspectors are supported by police officers, sheriff's deputies, lawyers and others.

The teams first seek voluntary compliance but are authorized to pursue criminal or civil actions to stop landlords who are profiting from "systematically violating zoning, building and safety ordinances," according to the county's Office of Public Affairs.

To report a suspected illegal boardinghouse, go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/opa/striketeam/.