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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-19 CEAC MINUTES·' .. • • • I. II. City of Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Minutes July 19, 2006 Call to Order Chair Dooley Gehr called the regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee {CEAC) to order at 6:30 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Chair Dooley Gehr, Co-Chair Chris Hoag land, Marjorie Becker, Erik Foster, and Marty Mosman. Members Absent: Brian Bleile and Paul Hendricks. A quorum of the Committee was present. Ex-Officio Members Present: Council Liaison Jim Woodward, Mike Flaherty, Sergeant Sam Watson, and Sergeant Gary Condreay. Ex-Officio Member Absent: Council Liaison Laurett Barrentine . No Guests were present. Approval of Minutes Chair Gehr asked for corrections to the minutes of the June 2 1, 2006 meeting. Council Liaison Woodward had two corrections. First, the Graffiti art by Colorado Finest Alternative High School is on the east and west sides of the skate half pipe at Cushing Park, not on the building. Second, a great deal of progress has been made o n the off leash dog park, and it will be opening August 12 1h. A motion to approve the minutes of the June 21, 2006 Code Enforcement Advisory Committee meeting as corrected was made by Member Mosman and seconded by Member Foster. The minutes were unanimously approved. Ill. Open Public Forum No one was present for the Open Public Forum. IV. Unfinished Business A . Modification of Language of the Off Road Vehicle Ordinance 15-9-2 Discussion On May 31, 2006, Member Hoa gland wrote a memorandum to City Attorney Brotzman summarizing what he felt were the Committee's concerns on this 1 B. o rdinan c e. Member Hoagland has sin c e heard back that this item is o n h o ld ; however, he reiterated that he would like a response before this go es t o back Council. Liaison Woodward advised that Ordinance 15-9-2 i s on City Council 's Tentative Study Session Topics for October 9111 • Chair Gehr indicated that in Member Hoagland's letter so me p o ints w ere m ad e which should be considered furth er. H owever, th e C o d e Enforce m ent Advi so ry Co mmittee is just that -an advisory committee . City C o uncil m ay c hoose t o adopt th e Co mmittee's advice or cho o se not t o . Fo r th e b enefit o f n ew Members Bec ker and Fo st er, M embe r Hoagland summariz e d th e O ff-Roa d V ehicl e Ordinan c e is sue as fo ll ows: A c o uple of y ears ago, the City p asse d (ove r th e o bje ctions of CEAC) an o rdinance which restricted the parking of trailers, b o ats, etc. to side yards or ba c k yards. As some believe residents should be able to keep a small trailer for snow mobiles, etc, in the driveway, the Committee has been trying to craft a proposal that would create an exception allowing citizens, who don 't have access to a side yard or a backyard, to park a trailer in their driveway. Also, the City Attorney made changes in the propose d lan guage in Titl e 15 to harmonize with the CDOT Model Traffic Code. The Committee disagre ed and thought the c hange in wording w o uld confuse citiz e ns and restrict the types of trail ers allowed to be stored . The Committee questions wheth e r 2,000 pounds is th e ri ght siz e trailer. Currently, trailers are not permitted, but ca mpe rs up t o 7,000 pounds and 22 f eet in length are permitted. Dis c ussion on this issue was tabled. Funfest Booth Discussion CEAC will participate in FunFest this year to let people know what c o de enforcement and the advisory committee are about and to have some fun. M embe r Mosman is coordinating CEAC's participation and is making the following arrangements. • Tent with tables . • An exotic bird exhibit by Margie Payne, Code Enforc ement, and her husb and. • A be an bag toss with pri zes (candy) for a hol e-in-on e t os s. • Po st er bo ard display with inform ati o n on CEAC and the C o de Enforcem ent Department. • Code Enforcement flyers on various topics. • Random drawing(s) with prize(s) such as basketball(s) or soccer ball(s) donated by local business(es). • Committee volunteers to set up, work the event and tear down. Council Liaison Woodward advis ed he will contact the Soccer Association about soc cer ball donations for the drawing(s) at the CEAC booth. A suggestion was made to display a City map identifying Code Office r enforcement • • areas . People can pickup a business card for the officer in their area and call with • questions or concerns . 2 I • • • It was also suggested that photos of Code related community service projects or Code Officer activities be printed and posted. Code Officers Marilyn Lamb and Margie Payne are available to assist with this. The Keep Englewood Beautiful SK Fun Run will kick off at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 26th. The Fun Fest is from 1 0 a.m. to 5 p.m. Member Hoagland made a motion to allocate $200 out of CEAC's annual budget to pay for miscellaneous expenses related to FunFest. The motion was seconded. There being no opposition, the motion carried. Purchases for FunFest can be made using the City of Englewood Tax ID number. Member Mosman will ask for donations where possible and turn in any receipts for reimbursement of purchases . C. Foreclosed and Abandoned Properties Discussion Council Liaison Woodward advised that the topic of foreclosed and abandoned properties will be discussed by City Council at the July 24th Study Session. During the growing season, the problem starts showing itself as weeds grow and grass dies. One particular foreclosure was first cited on May 15th this year, but it was June 23th or 29th before cleanup occurred. It took about six weeks to go through the process. Information on foreclosures is available on the Arapahoe County web site and can be searched by zip code. What can be done to expedite the process if a property is in foreclosure, has been a repeat offender, or involves an absentee owner? Properties which are not maintained decrease the appearance of a neighborhood and lower property values overall. Trash and junk in the yard can also become a health and safety issue as rodents are attracted to the debris. Discussion ensued on other ordinances which might be applied and enforced to address this problem in a more timely manner, such as the Public Nuisance Ordinance. Sergeant Watson will research this and provide information for the next meeting. Member Flaherty pointed out that because these are treated through a criminal process, there are certain legal requirements that must be adhered to based on City ordinances and state law. Another consideration is that of City Council policy. At times, Council has directed Code Enforcement Officers to do strict enforcement, and at other times, to focus on education -seeking to bring people into compliance. This policy varies. Member Hoagland suggested the Committee look at language whereby Code Enforcement could cancel the voluntary compliance and education provision in certain situations. This is a policy issue and wou ld be in the form of a recommendation to Council for possible consideration . 3 Chair Gehr made a request for a motion to table this conversation until th e Au gust mee ting when Sergeant Watson will be able to provide additional information, and • Council Liaison Woodward will report on the discussion from the Monday, July 24th Study Session regarding housing in Englewood. Member Becker so moved. Member Hoagland seconded. There being no opposition, the motion carried . D. Property Owner's Responsibility for Public Right of Way Ordinance 11-5-5 Discussion E. Recently, Member Hoagland mailed copies of his original November 9th memorandum, the State Statute, and the City Ordinance 11-5-5 in reference to a property own er's responsibility for Public Right of Way to C o mmander Sanchez requesting his input on this matter. M emb er Hoagland als o fa x ed copies of th ese items to the n ew Committee members so th ey would b e up to speed on the issu e. Di sc ussion ensu ed on property owner's resp o nsibility for maintaining right of w ay ar eas through o ut the City, what constitutes adjacent, and what is ri ght of way prop erty . Co uncil Liaison Barrentine is in the process of asking v ari o us parties in the City wh at effect limiting this ordinance would have on the City. Since she is not in attendan ce at this meeting, Chair Gehr made a requ est for a Motion to table this until su c h tim e as Co uncil Liaison Barrentine is able to provid e information on this . Member Mosman made a motion. Member Hoagland seconded the motion. Th e re b eing no opposition, the motion carried . Miscellaneous Discussion Chair Gehr confirmed which Committee members have internet access and wish to re ceive their packets via e-mail. Only Member Hoagland has no internet c o nn ecti o n and packets will be delivered to his home. Member Flaherty reported that Members Hoagland and Bleile were reappointed to CEAC in July. Also, Marjorie Becker and Eric Foster were appointed as new members to CEAC and t o ok the Oath of Offi c e as administered by Ch air Gehr. Member Flah e rty noted that To m Rothe was appointed as an alternate m ember to the Cod e Enforcement Advisory Committee in February; however, he is unavail abl e to serv e on Wednesday evenings and has not been able to participate on this Committee. Although Mr. Rothe declined his nomination, he never submitted a resignation in writing. Mr. Rothe's name must officially be removed from the record by City Council. Sergeant Watson will work as Code Enforcement Supervisor through September. Sergeant Condreay will return to Code Enforcement in October. 4 • • \ • • • v. Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report The Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report was reviewed and discussed by the Committee. Council Liaison Woodward advised that the Keep Englewood Beautiful Commission has been talking about graffiti, and there may be some mutual benefit for the two committees to meet to discuss this issue . Sergeant Watson reported on how busy the Code Officers are. They do an extremely good job in handling a lot of cases . Calls come in from dispatch, e-mails are received through the web master, and officers respond to Council requests. In addition, they are responsible for canvassing their neighborhoods and making self initiated citizen contacts . He was impressed by the Code Officers' activity and involvement. VI. Topics for Next Meeting Topics for the August meeting: • Modification of language in the Off Road Vehicle Ordinance • Finalize plans for the CEAC booth at FunFest. • Foreclosed and Abandoned Property. • Property owners' responsibility for Public Right of Way, 11-5-5 . Council Liaison Woodward suggested the CEAC Agenda include a Committee Member's Choice. Member Flaherty reported that a Council Member has requested information on Code Enforcement policies and procedures, and that this information is being put together. Staff will forward the information to CEAC members as well. VII. Adjournment Member Foster made a motion to adjourn the meeting; this was seconded by Member Mosman. There being no opposition, the motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Submitted by: --.--". {.J=-./~·~~--,L.~r-.2~?2~· r:L/_. ~)~"--~_·1A_14_iJ--/+-·---_· __ 5