Finding properties with Zoning Code Violation?

[Corey Rippeto]

I want to try a different method for finding properties. Yesterday, I went to the Rowan County Register of Deeds office to ask them for a list of properties with Zoning Code Violations.

The department “Zoning” told me that they do not keep a list, that they simply take daily complaints and notify the property owner of the complaint, and that’s “often the end of it”...

After reading about experiences by other people who were trying to find zoning code violations, I can’t help but feel like I’ve been given the run around.

It’s strange, because the woman I spoke to seemed kind and helpful, but I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t keep a record of these reported violations, or that I was in the wrong place.

As I was leaving, a gentleman who worked there asked if I needed help finding anything, and once I explained to him what I was looking for, he directed me to go to the exact department I’d just left. He seemed knowledgeable, too.

If it hadn’t been 5 minutes to closing time, I would have gone back upstairs to ask that lady what the deal was. Maybe she just doesn’t know.

What do you think, BP? Am I being fed a big fat bologna sandwich or is it actually possible that they don’t keep those records?

Where else could I find zone code violations?