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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-02-21 CEAC MINUTES.- • • • 1. CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 21, 2001 Call to Order. The regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee was called to order at 6 :36 p.m. by Chair Roth in the City Manager's Conference Room. A new CEAC member , Bryan DesMarteau, was introduced . Roll Call. Present: Ex-Officio: Excused: Absent: Roth, McCahill, Blair, Hansen , DesMarteau Olson, Lynn, Moore , Yurchick, Flaherty Olsen Roberts, Nabholz 2. Approval of Minutes. 3. Member McCahill moved and member Blair seconded that the minutes of the January 17 , 2001 Code Enforcement Advisory Committee meeting be approved . Ayes: Nays: The motion carried. Open forum. Roth , McCahill , Blair, Hansen, DesMarteau None Chris 0 Ison , Director of Englewood 's Department of Safety Services spoke about what took place at the City Council meeting on February 19 , 2001. There was discussion regarding the philosophy and where Code Enforcement policy is going with the city. Olson stated , from the statistics that Dave Lynn produces every month, he feels that Code Enforcement is doing a really terrific job, coming from a strong enforcement side. Olson went on to say there 's been some controversy whether Code Enforcement is going too far in the direction of enforcement. Olson invited the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee to attend a City Council Study Session in the near future to discuss their philosophy and where they want Code Enforcement to be. Olson said he personally feels that we 're doing great , compared to 2-3 years ago. Member McCahill asked if there were an y specific areas where code enforcement might be too stringent. Olson replied that some people have been concerned about the strong parking enforcement, but added that Officer Nancy Wilson has been doing a great job , and we 've been doing exactly what we 've been directed to do. Olson said that we 're always trying to be consistent and always trying to be fair. Olson asked the committee members to think about this , and return at the next CEAC meeting with their feedback on it. PAGE 1 • • • 4. Old business. a. Changes to Englewood Municipal Code. Lynn explained that the City Attorney is still reviewing the changes to the Englewood Municipal Code concerning the leash law, confinement for cruelty, and cruelty. 5. New business. a. January 2001 Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report. Lynn presented the monthly activity report, discussing each violation in detail. Lynn discussed the work load as being down , animal summons being up , high NOV 's for snow removal, and an increase in abandoned/derelict vehicles. Parking tickets remained high. b. Officer Nancy Wilson, Parking Management. Officer Nancy Wilson, guest for the evening, spoke on problem parking spots in Englewood. Some of these spots include: Swedish Hospital , Englewood High School , Oxford Station, and the Civic Center. Nancy mentioned the hand-held computer ticket tracking system that Code Enforcement is purchasing. Officer Wilson explained that Public Works is looking at changing the parking on Mansfield Avenue, and that she and Public Works have been working together on the signage. Wilson talked about the parking issues at the High School, and that she 's hoping to "educate the users" on the H.S. parking. Wilson also talked about Englewood's Abandoned Vehicle Program, and how it is so unique in the United States. She differentiated between the derelict and abandoned vehicles, and described how the programs work for Englewood . c. Englewood Municipal Code Issues. Lynn presented a list of Englewood Municipal Code changes that he has suggested to be changed , and is asking the CEAC members to look at this and see what issues they would like to start working on. d. Parking Position Oral Review Board. Lynn announced that the Review Board for the new Parking Management Officer position will be held in March. He asked for a CEAC member to sit on this. Member Blair volunteered to sit on the board. e. Election of Officers. Chairperson Roth opened the floor for nominations for CEAC Chairperson. Member McCahill nominated member Roth, and members Blair and Hansen seconded the motion. Member Hansen made a motion to close the nominations , and member McCahill seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and all were unanimous in voting Roth in as the new CEAC Chairperson. Chairperson Roth opened the floor for nominations for CEAC Vice-Chairperson. Member Hansen nominated member McCahill , member DesMarteau seconded the motion , and member McCahill accepted the nomination. Member Hansen made a motion to close the nominations , and member McCahill seconded the motion. The vote was taken. and all were unanimous in voting McCahill in as the new CEAC Vice-Chairperson . PAGE2 • 6. Topics for March 21, 2001 meeting. • • a. Advisory Committee presentation to City Council b. February Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report c. Prioritize List on Englewood Municipal Code issues 7. Adjournment. Member Blair moved and member Hansen seconded to adjourn the meeting . The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Ayes: Nays: Roth , McCahill, Roberts , Blair, Olsen None ~~1.~~ Recording Secretary PAGE3 • • • MEMORANDUM TO: Code Enforcement Advisory Committee FROM: Dave Lynn, Code Enforcement Supervisor DATE: February 20 , 2001 SUBJECT: Englewood Municipal Code issues The following items are either not addressed by the Englewood Municipal Code (EMC), are addressed in Titles not enforced by this Division, or need clarification. They are in no specific order. 1. Extension of the 7+7 day clean up to 7+60+ days: Formerly , the EMC allowed a seven day Notice of Violation (NOV) followed by a seven day Posting before properties could be cleaned by contract. The rewritten nuisance code allows a seven day NOV period followed by a 30-day Posting, possibly followed by a Summons and Complaint and court action which could take up to six or seven months to resolve. In that there has been such a change (from 14 days to at least 67+ days), the code enforcement officers are criticized for not being as "proactive" as they used to be, and responding that the code has been changed does not satisfy some complainants. The suggested action would be to return to a 7+7 day clean up process. 2 . Clean up of dog feces: There is no specified interval in the EMC at which dog feces must be cleaned up. Section 7-1A-81A requires clean up of dog feces on public or private property not belonging to the dog's owner, but does not specify an interval. There is an interval in Title 7-1-C2, but that section excludes dogs and cats. Title 15- 11-1 generally addresses odor and cleanliness concerning fowl, but it does not give an interval. Specifying an interval, such as once a day or week is preferred. This can be included in Title 7-lA-8. 3. Feces permitted with permission of property owne:i;: Title 7-lA-8-lA allows animal feces to remain on private property with the permission of the property owner. This is not healthy, sanitary or conducive to good neighborly relations, and should be changed. The suggested action is to remove those words from Title 7-lA-8-lA. 4. Right-of-entry: Code enforcement must enter upon private property for the purpose of investigation and subsequent follow up ~ Title .. 6-1-7 gives right-of-entry permission to "city personnel" to enter properties ~'for the purpose of determining whether or not there is a violation of any of the provisions of this Code". However, "this Code" appears to pertain to the Health and Sanitation title of the EMC alone, and does not permit specific right-of-entry for the numerous other issues that code enforcement needs to enter properties. Suggested action is to add this same paragraph to all Titles enforced by code enforcement. , ~ '" ' ' J., 1• .. ; \. • • • 5. Composting: There is no mention in the EMC concerning composting, and "composting" is a regularly cited reason for accumulating piles of dried limbs and trash. Composting can only be accomplished under some very specific guidelines , such as placement of composting matter in a container, keeping the contents "as wet as a moist dishrag", regular turning , and placement of green and brown vegetable matter in certain proportiqns and manner. A suggested action is to write and place a section on composting in Title 15. 6. Odors: There is no mention in the EMC <;oncerning odors, and code enforcement receives numerous complaints concerning smells not directly attributed to feces or dead animals . A suggested action is to write and place a section on odors in Title 15. 7 . Parking trailers in front yards: There is no prohibition in the EMC on parking trailers in front yards. Section 11-6-2C4 only addresses detached campers (assuming truck bed campers) and Section 9-5-2B appears to address mobile homes not in mobile home parks, but this Title is the exclusive responsibility of the Building and Safety Division. Code enforcement needs a paragraph similar to 9-5-2B in Section 11-6. 8. Animal control in mobile home parks: Title 9 is the exclusive responsibility of the Chief Building Official to enforce .. Included in this title is the responsibility for controlling animals running at large in mobile home parks (Section 9-5-15). This section is clearly the responsibility of code enforcement. In order to enforce this provision, as well as others that come up :on occasion, such as Stop Work Orders, code enforcement needs to be :includ~d as an enforcement agency able to enforce under Title 9 . Inclusion of code · enforcement as an enforcement agency able to act under Title 9 would resolve .this issue. 9. Vaccinations with three-year duration: Animai Vilccinations can now be given that are valid for three years. Section 7~1A-5 of.rh~ Englewood Municipal Code (E.M.C.) specifies that "vaccination must be repeated annually ... " This needs to be changed to reflect the newly extended time periods. 10. Snow tickets: Currently, the only recourse we have for enforcement of snow and ice removal is the issuance of a Notice of Violation (NOV) followed at some subsequent date by the issuance of a Summons to Municipal Court. Neither of these measures is effective in accomplishing what needs to be done ... removing the snow/ice from the sidewalk. We propose a system th&t uses. a NOV on day one, followed by a "ticket" that can cost a fee ($20?) for .a continuing violation on day two. A separate ticket can be issued for each day the violation remains. The ticket can use a form similar to our existing Parking Citation form, and, if not paid ,within a specified period , should be assessable to the property , and eventually to the County. Appropriate administrative fees should apply. (See Decrimiµalizatiqn, b.elow). 11. Towing of vehicles with multiple, tickets: Frequently, we observe vehicles for which we know we have issued niultiple parking tickets. In addition, as we are issuing parking tickets, the owner .may, cq11front:the of(lcer and tear the ticket up saying , "These tickets don 't mean anytlri~ig anyway. I don't know why you waste your time!" We would like to propose a p,rocedure in which vehicles identified as having three or more unpaid tickets be towed to the impound lot and retained until all tickets and ancillary fees (towing, storag~) are paid in full. The courts are currently doing the identification of the vehicles., and although they allege they issue warrants for I' ·-~ . • • • owners of unpaid tickets , we do not suspect this is entirely productive. Towing of an individual's transportation will quickly result in the paying of tickets . 12. Shopping cart enforcement: Typically , shopping carts litter the entire City of Englewood. Although the business owners assure us that they have people on contract to search for these carts , this does not produce a satisfactory result. It also offends my officers to constantly identify the locations of derelict carts and call them in to the businesses . We would like to propose a system in which we pick up carts and transport them to the impound yard where they are stored and returned to their owners after paying a fee ($25 per cart?) and receiving a Summons to Municipal Court. The ticket used for this process could use a form similar to our existing Parking Citation, and could be included in the decriminalization proposal below. 13. Decriminalization: Numerous items in the EMC are currently enforced under the criminal code, i.e., they require an appearance in Municipal Court. We have proposed , in 1998 , to decriminalize a number of these issues and turn them into parking ticket-type violations. These include, but are not limited to , violations for: dog at large, no collar on dog , no rabies tag on dog, snow tickets , weeds (?), lack of trash service, barking dog, anti -scavenging , obstructions ofright-of-way, woodburning, etc. Preparation of a parking ticket-style notice of violation listing certain fines, renewable daily and increased with age since notice , and ultimately liened to properties , would minimize court appearances and accomplish the ultimate goal of code enforcement-voluntary compliance . 14. Dog tags : Englewood is one of only a few municipalities in the Front Range with no controls on the number of dogs allowed per household . It also has the highest incidence of dog bites in the area. Intact dogs give rise to these inflated numbers. If a dog license were to be issued annuaJly by the City, with a sliding scale applied for payment, both issues could be r.apidly Tedu,ced at the will of the owners. For instance, a spayed or neutered dog belonging to a retiree might be charged $5.00 per year; an intact dog belonging to a working-age owner might be charged $100 .00 per year. These fees would be based upon the general frequency of problems associated with the various types of animals , and would be based on relative charges incurred by the code officers in their pursuit, capture and confinement of the animals. Various fines would also apply , such as lack of tags , expired tags , and tags on the wrong animal. This system would also eliminate the keeping of more than the specified number of dogs at a residepce (2). This program would be supported by a newly hired clerk in code enforcement, and would be self-supporting. This entirely new concept would be included in Title .6. \. ' I