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Point your Phone at a Preservation Problem
Let's Get It Done, San Diego!
July/August 2017
 SOHO learns of code violations to historic (or potentially historic) buildings nearly every day. In addition to alerting SOHO about these issues, you can inform the City of San Diego in two easy ways. Reporting problems is helpful to SOHO because only the City can enforce its own laws.
- Request an Investigation on the City of San Diego website
- Download the Get It Done app to your phone
Both methods make it easy for you to include images, so snap a photo of the violation when you are out and about. SOHO most often uses these to notify the City about the removal of historic fabric such as windows or exterior clapboards; photos are quite helpful in explaining what is being lost. You can also report graffiti, damage, unpermitted grading, etc. The phone app allows you to track the notifications you send to the City, making it easy to follow up.
The investigation request takes less than five minutes to fill out online and the phone app is even faster. Basic information including the address and type of violation take some time to report, and you are required to provide a way for code compliance staff to contact you. Often, they have questions, especially about a historic resource. Code compliance officers are not trained in historic preservation or building codes, for that matter. They are simply the enforcers of the Land Development Code and sometimes they need additional information to clearly understand and document the issue.
These are two incredibly powerful tools for community members and SOHO, too, because they provide a way to bring smaller issues, like a damaged door, to the City's attention while creating a record of each problem. Even more important in the long term, all this data helps convey to City officials what is important to the community. Through the collective investigation requests and Get It Done notifications, officials will build data proving that residents care deeply about vulnerable historic resources and the erosion of historic character. Please use these easy tools to demonstrate just how much we care and how vigilant we are about our irreplaceable historic resources. Let's Get It Done, San Diego!
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