Anne McBride, the city’s emergency preparedness coordinator, will take on an added role as the city’s new code compliance official. On July 14 McBride replaced Jeff Flory, who was named planning director after the retirement of Kevin Cupples.

The compliance official, part of the Community Development Department, is tasked with vacation rental ordinance enforcement, dwelling inspections and dealing with all city issues related to the city’s more than 400 vacation rentals.

“This is a new assignment for me and one which I have been involved with in a support role since I started at Community Development almost four years ago,” McBride said. “Many of the properties are familiar, and I am well acquainted with the ordinances that govern the short-term rental policies.”

The official provides backup support for other members of the building and planning departments and works with the police department and courts as it relates to escalated complaints and violations.

McBride has served as the city’s emergency preparedness coordinator and community development assistant, taking the lead with emergency preparedness, planning and response.

The code compliance official role was established in 2020, when the city sought to manage permits and vacation rental dwelling complaints, including parking, health and safety, and quality of life issues.

The official conducts field inspections in response to residents’ complaints. She will investigate complaints about code violations by observing and inspecting premises, gathering evidence, researching sources of information and identifying the nature of the violations.

The official serves as a mediator between parties to develop recommendations for resolution.

“Anne has shown that her previous role in community development has allowed her to hit the ground running in this new position and she has already started molding the position’s responsibilities to the recently changed VRD policies and expectations set by the Planning Commission,” Flory said.

McBride’s job as emergency preparedness coordinator and community development assistant is an important role in the planning office, he said.

“Anne’s work in emergency preparedness has been significant, and as such Anne will be maintaining most of the emergency preparedness coordinator duties at this time,” Flory said. “Our team will work together to pick up the additional admin duties until an evaluation of her previous position is completed.”

McBride said she looked forward to working on establishing a relationship with property owners to enforce the Planning Commission’s goals in maintaining the balance between rental properties and the residential feel of local neighborhoods.

“The plan right now is that I will still be actively involved in emergency preparedness for the city and continue to seek and manage the funding from state and federal resources”