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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-02-21 CEAC MINUTES• • • I. II. Call to Order City of Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Minutes of February 21, 2007 Chair Dooley Gehr called the regular meeting of the Englewood Code Enforcement Advisory Committee (CEAC) to order at 6:33 p.m. Roll Call Members Present: Chair Dooley Gehr, Co-Chair Chris Hoagland, Brian Bleile, Paul Hendricks, Marty Mosman, Jill Wilson, and Ronald Rutherford (alternate). Members Absent: Marjorie Becker (excused). A quorum of the Committee was present. Ex-Officio Members Present: Council Liaisons Laurett Barrentine and Jim Woodward, and City Staff Liaisons Mike Flaherty and Sergeant Gary Condreay. Guests: City Council Member Bob Mccaslin, and Edna Belle Blair, 2981 South Cherokee, Englewood . Chair Gehr introduced and welcomed Jill Wilson as a Regular Member and Ron Rutherford as an Alternate Member. Both were appointed by City Council at the Regular City Council Meeting on February 51h. Approval of Minutes Chair Gehr asked for corrections to the minutes of the January 17, 2007 Code Enforcement Advisory Committee meeting. There were none. A motion to approve the minutes as distributed was made by Member Hoagland and seconded by Member Mosman . The minutes were unanimously approved. Ill. Open Public Forum Edna Belle-Blair, 2981 South Cherokee , was present to address the Committee. She is a volunteer at the Presbyterian Church located on the southeast corner of Hampden and Logan where the church operates a day care center. Pigeons in the area have created a health concern with droppings and feathers all over the playground and children 's climbing equipment. The church secretary searched the web for information on diseases which are carried by birds and this information was distributed to Code Enforcement Advisory Committee members. There has also been damage to the church air conditioning unit and roof. This is becoming a matter of harassment; and the church has concern over how to resolve the on-going problem . The pigeon problem emanates from the service station, which is north across the street. The owner puts out bird food frequently throughout the day attracting many birds. 1 Some months ago , the pastor of the church asked the owner if she would feed the birds at the back of the building or somewhere else because of the pigeon droppings. Since then a number of birds have been found dead. The service station owner has accused the church of poisoning the pigeons and contacted News Channels 7 and 31. According to Ms . Blair, other neighboring businesses such as Swedish Hospital are also concerned about this issue. Sergeant Condreay advised that Public Information Officer John Hoeler was first called last Thursday, February 15th by Channel 7 for information. On Monday, February 19th, Code Enforcement officers went to the site to document the situation. The owner was not present, but they found the conditions as described by Ms. Blair. The station clerk said the y found 15 to 20 birds dead a short time ago . While there, Code Officers also found one dead bird which was collected and preserved for possible testing, but there is no evidence at this time that the birds are being poisoned. There appears to be no code violation. Sergeant Condreay indicated there are other people feeding and attracting excessive numbers of birds in Englewood. He suggested we might want to put th is on the Agenda for the next CEAC meeting so the Committee can take a look at whether or not an ordin ance limiting the feeding of wildlife should be considered. He also advised it is illegal to needlessly kill or molest birds. Discussion ensued on the following related topics: • Health nuisance caused by pigeon droppings • Diseases carried by birds • Daycare children coming in contact with pigeon excrement • Pedestrian safety as to slipping and falling • Pigeons interfering with vehicular traffic • Cause of death to so many birds • Inability of businesses to conduct trade • Pigeon droppings killing lawns and eroding metal Sergeant Condreay provided a definition of nuisance as "a condition which injures or endangers the public health, safety or welfare ... " Member Rutherford suggested that instead of regulating pigeons or people feeding the pigeons, the City regulate the droppings which are a health hazard. IV. Unfinished Business A. Update on Dog Ordinance Council Liaison Woodward reported that City Council postponed the second reading of the Dog Ordinance, so that community input gathered at the February 5th Public Hearing could be considered at the March 5th Study Session. The second reading is tentatively scheduled for March 19 1h. 2 • • • • • • B. Chair Gehr summarized the minutes from the February 5th Public Hearing by identifying the following recurring themes. • Definition of a vicious dog • Rehabilitation/reclassification of an animal that has been labeled vicious • Differentiation between a dog with an attitude and a dog ready to attack • Teth ering. Discussion ensued on these issues and whether City Council wants further input from the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee. Council Liaison Woodward advised he will inform City Council at the next Study Session of his intent to make a motion at the Council Meeting that night to table the second reading until after the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee has been ab le to review the final ordinance. Verification of Active Insurance Policies on Vehicles The 72-hour rule states that if a vehicle parked on the street has current license plates, insurance, and is driveable, it does not need to be moved every 72 hours. Member Hoagland suggested we check with the State of Colorado to see if auto insurance records are available to City Code Enforcement for verification of active insurance policies on vehicles in the City. This would enable Code Officers to potentially ameliorate certain situations where there are a gross number of vehicles parked on the street. Sergeant Condreay advised that enforcement of this rule was changed sometime in the last year on the advice of the City Attorney. He then reported on a recent inoperable vehicle warrant and enforcement action that he and Carolyn Faseruk initiated. C. Nuisance Abatement Timeline/Flow Chart The City Attorney's office distributed a Nuisance Abatement Timeline/Flow Chart several years ago. This chart outlines the process and time it takes from writing a warning to actually resolving the problem with a day in court; this is approximately 150 days. Member Hoagland indicates that 15% of the people who have violations in the city are repeat offenders and that, with the new Code Trak System, it will be easier to identify these people. He suggests the city use abatement to resolve issues as it would be more expedient than going through the entire flow chart process and taking people to court. Bob McCaslin advised he did a 10-city survey and found that some cities abate within a week. Council Liaison Barrentine discussed a letter prepared by the City Attorney to Mayor Wolosyn giving a synopsis of the legal process. This letter was not received by the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee. Discussion ensued. Member Hoagland made a motion to table this discussion until the City Attorney's letter can be distributed to and read by the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee Members. This motion was seconded by Member Hendricks. The motion passed . 3 v. New Business A. Public Awareness of the New Teen Drug of Choice The Committee discussed making the public aware of the new teen drug of choice, aerosol spray , which is referred to by kids "as dusting". Discussion ensued. It was suggested the public be made aware of this through informational handouts provided to: • The Englewood Herald • Local television stations • School newspapers • Englewood School Strategic Planning Committee or Inter-Agency Team • Parent/teacher meetings Council Liaison Barrentine volunteered to contact local businesses such as Office Depot to inquire if they are aware of the issue and how they're handling the sale of aerosol products to youth . The Committee concluded this issue should not be taken on by the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee and is better left to the School District to address. B. Coordination of volunteers to assist with graffiti abatement • Council Liaison Barrentine reported that in her area, a group of neighbors worked • together after the snow fall and cleared both sides of the block; they had a good time and got the work done. She also attended a City of Littleton meeting and was impressed at hear how quickly that city was able to put together a hotline and solicit volunteers to assist those needing help with show removal. She thought this is a good solution to snow removal and /or graffiti abatement. The City currently has assistance programs through Neighborhood Watch, the Malley Senior Center, and the Municipal Court court-ordered work program. It was suggested that other individuals or organizations might like to do volunteer work if the City would set up a phone number, advertise the program , and essentially connect people who need help with people who want to help. Discussion ensued. Mike Flaherty advised the City is currently recruiting a police community relations officer who, among other responsibilities, will be coordinating community involvement and volunteers . C. Code Enforcement Presence at the Canine Corral It was suggested the City maintain a code enforcement or police presence at the Canine Corral especially during times of high usage such as before work, after work and on weekends. Discussion ensued, and it was pointed out this is outside the realm of the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee. 4 • • • • VI. Council Liaison Woodward mentioned that dog owners often take their dog(s) out of the ca r and walk to the gate with the dog(s) off-leash. As the bike path runs past this dog park, he is concerned that "this is an accident waiting to happen ". If the rule to keep a dog on-leash until inside the first gate was enforced, word would get around and it might take care of the problem. Code Enforcement Monthly Activity Report Sergeant Condreay presented the January Code Enforcement Activity Report which focused on snow issues . Code Enforcement officers waited until the City had cleared their sidewalks (the second or third week of January) before giving 233 notices of violations, 39 postings and abating six properties. Chair Gehr pointed out that Spring is not far off, and this is a time for major graffiti offences. VII. Topics for Next Meeting Members of the Code Enforcement Advisory Committee would like to address the following topics at the March 21 '1 meeting. • Current ordinances relating to limiting the feeding of wildlife • Update on the pigeon issue • City confirmation with the State of Colorado of current individual auto insurance coverage • Review of the City Attorney's letter regarding the Nuisance Abatement Timeline/Flow Chart • Update on how businesses handle the sale of aerosol products to teens. • Snow Removal • Weeds VIII. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Member Hoagland made a motion to adjourn the meeting; this was seconded by Member Wilson. The motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 8:3 3 p.m. i }' ' Submitted by: )'.?;<i ;: «./ _.,,Jt~ - 5