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Home My WebLink About2007-12-19 CEAC MINUTES• • • I. II. Call to Order City of Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Minutes of December 19, 2007 Chair Chris Hoagland called the regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee (CEAC) to order at 6:35 p.m . Roll Call Members Present: Chair Chris Hoagland, Vice Chair Marty Mosman, Marjorie Becker, Brian Bleile, Ronald Rutherford, and Jill Wilson. Members Absent: Robert Zuccaro and Alternate Koren Lowrimore. A quorum of the Committee was present. Ex-Officio Members Present: Council Liaisons Bob Mccaslin and Randy Penn . City Staff Liaisons Mike Flaherty, Sergeants Gary Condreay and Christian Contos, and Commander Sam Watson . Guests : City Council Member Jim Woodward; Englewood residents Laurett Barrentine, Matthew Crabtree, Linda Hunt, Kim Love, Cynthia Searfoss , and Lisa Sickles . Approval of Minutes Chair Hoagland called for a motion to approve the minutes of the October 1 7, 2007 CEAC Meeting. Member Bleile requested an amendment under Item D, Unfinished Business to reflect an overhead sidewalk clearance of 8 feet and overhead street clearance of 13 feet. A motion to approve the minutes as corrected was made by Member Wilson and seconded by Member Bleile. Member Becker abstained from voting. The motion carried and the minutes were approved . Ill. Open Public Forum Mr. Kim Love, President of Englewood Unleashed , was present to discuss the Canine Corral. At this park, dog owners are required to have their dog on leash when it is taken from the car , and the dog must remain on leash until inside the first gate . There are signs in the park stating this, but dog owners have been lax in complying. There are on-going problems in the parking lot with dogs nearly being hit by bicycles or cars . Englewood Unleashed Members talk with violators about the rules , but Mr. Love requested that Code Enforcement be more active in enforcement. Marilyn Lamb and Marjie Payne do frequent patrols in these parks, and Code Enforcement has stepped up patrols with Caroline Faseruk now working Saturdays. Sergeants Condreay and Contos suggested members of Englewood Unleashed write down the license plate . numbers of repeat offenders they observe and take information from two or more independent witnesses who can describe the incident. The more information Code Enforcement has to work with, the better case they can put together. IV. New Business A. Code Enforcement Advisory Bylaws The responsibilities of alternate members were discussed , and it was confirmed that an alternate member cannot fill in for an absent member and cannot act as a voting member when there is no quorum at a meeting. Chair Hoagland proposed a recommendation to Council to appoint two alternate members to the committee. He also proposed the by-laws be changed allowing alternate members to vote in lieu of regular members when there is no a quorum. According to discussions with the City Attorney, Mike Flaherty advised an alternate member would be permitted to vote only if this committee recommends the bylaws and ordinances be amended and if City Council approved such a recommendation. All boards and commissions allow only full members to vote because of legal requirements . As City Council interviews prospective members only twice a year, when a board member resigns between interview dates, Council would normally appoint the alternate as a full member at the time the vacancy occurs. Discussion ensued regarding increasing the number of alternate members and/or regular members on CEAC. Due to lack of a motion, this topic was dismissed . V. Unfinished Business A. Decriminalization and Abatement of Code Violations Discussion ensued on the proposed ordinance drafted by the City Attorney's Office regarding decriminalization of snow removal and weeds. The following concerns were brought up: • The language is confusing on whether or not a homeowner can shovel snow from his property into the street. • Northing was included in the ordinance about shoveling sidewalks. • There was general committee concurrence that the hearing process appears to be cumbersome. It was suggested that someone other than the Police Chief conduct hearings; i.e . a hearing officer, the Clerk of the Court, or some one with a legal background. Mike Flaherty pointed out that Code Enforcement is a Division of the Police Department and the City Attorney is saying that's where the hearings belong. • On the appeals process, Mike Flaherty advised that with decriminalization, a person either pays the ticket or goes to the hearing officer. Any other appeal would go to District Court where it would then become a court case . 2 • • • • B. • c. • • In the present ordinance, there is a substantial warning process; but there's no mention of that in the proposed ordinance. • Include a reference to Toni Geier as volunteer coordinator for those physically unable to cut their weeds or shovel walks. • Clarification of how notice will be served and whether posting on property is required . • Include an escalating fine schedule in the ordinance. • Harmonize the language and correct grammatical errors. • Add information on the unlawfulness of growing noxious weeds and clarify who has responsibility for enforcing this . • This ordinance was written so a violation will go immediately to abatement; the committee wants to create a succession of citations before abatement. It was suggested that at the next CEAC meeting, the committee draft a document containing the basic parameters of what CEAC wants to see in a decriminalized · ordinance. Christian Contos will send Committee members previously distributed decriminalization documents for the January meeting. Abatements Chair Hoagland expressed concern that the 25% administrative surcharge added for the cost of abatement does not cover the City's costs . He suggests the language in the ordinance be changed so the City can recover actual costs . Discussion ensued . As the letter from the City Attorney's office covering abatements did not adequately address Chris Hoagland's question, he volunteered to follow up with Nancy Reid. Dangerous Animal Ordinance Review Chair Hoagland suggested the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee create a subcommittee to review the Dangerous Animal Ordinance and clean up grammar and syntax . The ordinance would then go to the City Attorney's office for review. It was noted that any changes must be kept legally viable so the ordinance could be adjudicated in court. The current document has been carefully worded to give the court the ability to meet various degrees of egregiousness without defining it so specifically that the court would no longer have the flexibility needed to respond to the different circumstances that may come up. The Committee discussed a number of potential changes to the document. Member Bleile made a motion to create a subcommittee to review the Dangerous Animal Ordinance. Member Wilson seconded the Motion. The vote was unanimous. Members Becker, Mosman and Chair Hoagland volunteered to be on the sub committee and the original Vicious Animal Task Force will be invited to participate. The meetings will be held January 3rd and January 101h at 6:30 p.m . 3 VI. Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report Sergeant Condreay reported on Code Enforcement activity. Following is a comparison of the contacts in October/November 2006 and October/November 200 7. Code Enforcement handled over 300 more cases in 2007 for that two month period. Animal Control (not much change) Graffiti (major change) Inoperable Vehicles Weed Violations (increased threefold) Total Violations for Two Month Period 2006 256 83 93 54 1,017 2007 298 200 91 166 1,371 It was suggested these numbers are due to the efficiencies of new Code Trak system . For example, with Graffiti, a code officer can type in a tag and pull up its entire history. Sergeants Condreay and Contos then briefly discussed the success of the statewide, law enforcement task force addressing graffiti issues. VII. Miscellaneous Items • Chair Hoagland thanked Sergeant Condreay for his service over the last couple of years, and expressed appreciation for a wonderful job done. • Member Bleile asked who will represent Council now on the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee. Randy Penn and Bob Mccaslin are the new liaisons . Jill Wilson is a committee member. • Current CEAC Rosters were distributed . • Member Becker inquired about a CEAC Treasurer as mentioned in the by-laws . Chair Hoagland confirmed the Vice Chair is also the Treasurer and that the Committee has an annual budget. VIII. Topics for Future Meetings • Decriminalization and Abatement of Code Violations • City Attorney's Abatement Memorandum • CEAC/Vicious Animal Task Force Sub Committee Report on the Dangerous Animal Ordinance Review IX. Adjournment There being no further business , Member Becker made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Member Mosman seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8 : 19 p.m . • • • 4