Agenda - Council Work Session - 10/14/2008

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;L -- CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION. I .i "/- ~sEY Topic Report: Use of Abatement for ZoninglBuilding/Public Nuisance Violations By: Amber G. Miller, Community Development Director Background: In August 2007, the. City implemented a new abatement process that enables City Staff and its contractors to enter a property and remedy code violations. The process has been working well. However, Staff is encountering situations where, in the opinion of City Staff, the use of abatement is not practical and additional administrative remedies are being proposed. Some examples of situations where administrative versus abatement remedies are preferable include: 1. Completing unfinished buildings: siding, roofing, etc. (City Code requires exterior completion 1 year from date of building permit). 2. Moying accessory structures to meet setbacks (pools, sheds). 3. Removing fences that do not meet setback requirements or are constructed of unapproved materials. 4. Removing animals that violate animal regulations (too many dogs on a parcel, keeping typical farm animals on less than 3 acres, barking dogs, dogs at large, etc.). ^ 5. Installation of lawns, grass or ground cover (code requires establishment of yard 1 year from date of certificate of occupancy). 6. Illegal home occupations. 7. Tracks and trails for motorized recreational equipment in residential neighborhoods. When this item was discussed at length at the July 8, 2008 Work Session there were several items the Council recommended staff incorporate - into the Code moving forward. Staff has prepared a table of the more common situations that staff doesn't believe are adaptable to the abatement program as a remedy. The table includes a brief summary of the current code regulations, the enforcement procedure prior to administrative fines, and the proposed enforcement procedure recommended since the implementation of abatement and administrative fines.