Craig Lane has become a regular with the tool sharing program offered by Arlington鈥檚 code compliance department. He reserves lawn equipment every other week, as well as other specialized tools he does not have in his shed.
鈥淚t helps me a lot,鈥� Lane said as Ron McCall with code compliance unloaded a lawn mower. 鈥淚 have some things, but I don鈥檛 have all the things. Living alone with a mortgage, it helps me out a lot financially.鈥�
Code compliance filled nearly 300 reservations between the program鈥檚 February 2021 launch and August. The rentals addressed around 207 potential code violations, according to Neal Lucas, field operations manager.
Lucas said code compliance officers know to advertise the program when visiting a home due to issues including high grass, building damage or dilapidated fences. The program is free to homeowners and renters, so long as they have an identification and recent utility bill.
The program is the first city in Texas to offer doorstep rental tool and equipment delivery, according to Lucas.
鈥淚t gives us an option that we can offer when someone tells us their lawn mower is broken or they don鈥檛, say, own a pole saw 鈥� it kind of gives an option to provide free use of those tools to Arlington residents,鈥� Lucas said.
Code compliance delivers tools to residents three times a week using a repurposed enclosed trailer. People can borrow equipment for up to three days and check out tools from different categories, including painting, litter cleanup, yard maintenance and home and fence repair.
Zahdul Amin and his mother use the program to mow their and their neighbors鈥� yards and to trim their front yard trees.
鈥淭he neighbors鈥� yard would be bad (if they couldn鈥檛 mow it),鈥� Amin said.
Lucas said the program鈥檚 exceeded his expectations. It initially meant to focus on lawn care and maintenance but expanded to include non-code compliance issues. One of the most common uses, he says, is pressure washing.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of those things that doesn鈥檛 really correct a code violation, but it can definitely spruce up someone鈥檚 home and can definitely add a lot of curb appeal to pressure wash,鈥� Lucas says.
People can sign up for the tool sharing program by calling the city鈥檚 Action Center at 817-459-6777 or filling out an
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