PROBLEM SOLVER

COMMUNITY PROSECUTOR

AMANDA CHASE IS CLEANING UP OUR NEIGHBORHOOD’S EYESORES AND DRUG HOUSES

Belle Nora on East Lawther used to be the gem of White Rock Lake, but lately the historic mansion has become an eyesore. More than that, really. In some respects it’s just unsafe. There is structural damage, rotting wood around the property, unprotected exterior surfaces and holes, cracks and loose material in the walls.

The danger around Belle Nora is what brought Community Prosecutor Amanda Chase to its front door. Chase says the code issues surrounding the house are significant, but that her office is working with Belle Nora owner David didn’t even know we were there. He was shooting up between his toes. People were passed out on the floors and couches and pallets of debris.”

Anderson on bringing the property into compliance with city codes. The gate that had remained broken after a vehicle crashed into it, for example, was fixed in July, and more steps are planned to repair the house’s crumbling infrastructure.

“We set out all of the health and safety hazards and prioritized those hazards together,” Chase says. “But we’re not as rigid as the city appears to be sometimes and we can really work with someone, especially when they show a good faith effort.”

As the community prosecutor for northeast Dallas, Chase has worked with a variety of problem properties, from the biggest and brightest, like Belle Nora, to the rundown houses that stick out like sore thumbs in well kept family neighborhoods.

Her office is responsible for bringing different sects of city government together to work on blighted lots. She works with code and police officers and fire and health inspectors to coordinate improvements. The job is focused on finding solutions, and it requires frequent out-of-the-box thinking, she says.

A few years ago, Chase was working on a property near the Harry Stone Recreation Center. The center holds a special place in her heart because they host a job fair each year that her office helps organize. The job fair features employers that have what Chase calls “friendly background checks,” meaning they will overlook some employees’ checkered pasts.

“I really care about the neighborhood,” Chase says.

So when a prominently placed property near the rec center showed up on her radar, Chase took it personally.

The property was occupied by known drug users. It looked and smelled like a drug house, Chase says.

“There was a school nearby and kids walked by from school passing that house. [Dallas Police] had done