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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-01-19 CEAC MINUTES• I. II . • III. • Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes January )f1; 2005 11 Call to Order Vice Chair Hoagland called the regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee to order at 6:33 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Vice-Chair Chris Hoagland, Daryl Estes, Dooley Gehr, Jim Goodrich, Michael Calahan, and alternate member Paul Hendricks. A quorum was present. Ex-Officio Members Present: Sergeant Gary Condreay and Assistant City Manager, Michael Flaherty Guests: Walt Perry, 4345 South Fox Street A pproval of Minutes Member Goodrich moved for approval of the meeting minutes from November 17, 2004. Member Estes seconded. The motion carried. Open Public Forum Walt Perry spoke regarding a notice of violation received for parking his 5 th wheel camper trailer in his front driveway. Sergeant Condreay verified that an NOV was issued based on a City Council request and that because of the size of the trailer, over 7000 lbs., the code (l l -6-2B) prohibits parking of vehicles over 7000 lbs. in residential zones. Mr. Perry stated that he has placed his trailer in storage for the winter months, but would like to park it in his driveway during the summer months, during which time his family primarily uses it. After discussion among the committee members, it was generally agreed that the committee could not offer any relief to Mr. Perry. Member Gehr suggested that Mr. Perry could appeal to City Council at a Council meeting, or contact his district Council Member for assistance. and Gehr provided Mr . Perry with the telephone number of his District Council Member. Michael Calahan made a motion that the committee discusses this issue at a future meeting, however, the motion died for lack of a second . 1 of 4 IV. Old Business A. Cats at Large Vice Chair Hoagland reviewed the request that Mr. Ste ve Holter had made at the previous meeting for changes in the section of the code governing cats running at large (7-lA-2). After discussion, the committee, by acclamation, recommended that the current language of the code not be changed . B. Inoperable Vehicles Assistant City Manager Flaherty explained that City Council had requested review of the recently passed inoperable vehicle ordinance to determine a means of addressing some problems in complying by owners of comer lots or lots without alle y or other vehicular access to their rear yards . Flaherty stated that two possible remedies had been suggested, either creation of an appeals process or amendment to the current ordinance to alleviate problems experience by affected property owners. Sergeant Condreay was asked what the Code Enforcement 's general experience has been with enforcement o f the ordinance. He explained that Code Enforc ement officers initially provide a verbal warning and/or an informational flyer . without a Notice of Violation, to individuals who were not in compliance with the new ordinance . A total of 619 such actions were taken since passage of the ordinance . The second step in • enforcement was issuance of actual Notices of Vi olation, of which 553 were issued in • 2004 . Onl y two cases have required action be yond Notice of V iolation: one owner was issued a "30-day posting" and a second recei ved a posting , followed by a summons . All others who had recei ved either verbal warnin g or N otice o f V iolation have come into compliance. Committee members discussed the merits of amending the ordinance versus establishing an appeals process. Member Gehr said that it would not be fair to change the rules given that so many residents had come into compliance with the new ordinance. He also stated that he felt some allowance may have to be made for those who have special impediments to being in compliance. He suggested that he favors an appeals process to remedy those cases , but that there should be certain threshold requirements for appealing, such as lack of access to the rear yard or for comer lots . Member Hoaglund suggested that an amendment to the ordinance to allow parking of an off-road vehicle, such as snowmobiles, boats other watercraft in the front drive on a seasonal basis may be an alternate to an appeals process. Hoaglund was concerned about possible lack of consistence in an appeals process that could result in opposite ruling on similar cases , perhaps influenced by neighbor· s opposition or agreement with the appellant. Sergeant Condreay expressed concerns about how a permitted seasonal storage could be enforced. Various suggestions were offered including specific dates when summer 2 of-+ • • • • v. and winter seasonal storage would be allowed and listing of vehicle types permitted for storage during each season . After additional discussion, Member Gehr made a motion that staff prepare two options for review by the committee during their February meeting: 1. Outline of an appeals process 2. Draft of an ordinance allowing seasonal storage of off-road vehicles. Member Goodrich offered a second and the motion carried. New Business A. Election of Officers Vice Chair Hoaglund opened the floor for nominations to fill the office of Chair, vacated by the resignation of Jonathan Crowell. Member Goodrich nominated Chris Hoaglund. Member Estes nominated Dooley Gehr. No other nominations being made, the nominations were closed. Member Hoaglund declined his nomination, stating that he is currently serving as Vice Chair and that he would happy in that capacity under the chairmanship of Member Gehr. Member Gehr was elected Chair by unanimous vote and assumed the chair. B. Committee Membership Questions Chair Gehr also asked whether the current alternate member Hendricks would automatically be promoted to a full member. Assistant Manager Flaherty said that he would review that question with the City Attorney. Flaherty also said that City Council would be making appointments and reappointments to Boards and Commissions prior to the February meeting and an updated Committee roster would be provided at that time. VI. Monthly Activity Report VII. Sergeant Condreay distributed and discussed the December activity report. Significant activity in snow removal and inoperable vehicle notices was noted. Sergeant Condreay also stated that the 2004 annual report was not yet complete, but would be provided upon completion. Condreay also stated that training of the Code Enforcement staff was proceeding on the new code enforcement module of the "Permit Tracking" system. This would automate much of the reporting that is currently done manually by Code Enforcement officers. Topics for Future Meeting A. Continue discussion of Inoperable Vehicles 3 of 4 VTII Adjournment Member Hoaglund made a motion to adjourn, which was seconded by Member Goodrich. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. 4of4 • • •