Agenda - Council - 02/13/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The meeting recessed at 6:48 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 7:31 p.m. 2.04: Continuation of Nuisance Code Update Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick reviewed the Staff report in regard to the continuation of the review of the nuisance code. Councilmember Woestehoff asked about the exemptions for prohibited parking and shared an example of a box truck breaking down and the contents of the truck having to be loaded in another truck. He asked if something like this would be covered by an exemption. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick noted that would fall under the emergency repair exemption. Councilmember Musgrove asked if this also includes buses. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick said no as buses have their own category under State statute. Councilmember Musgrove stated she made comments on the whole body of the work and not just the sections being discussed today. She asked how she will know what the other parts were that were or were not changed in order to discuss them. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick explained that if they would like to open up the entirety of the code then they can do so. He noted that for the purposes of time he was asked to just bring forward changes. He added that they can go back and review the existing codes if the Council desires. Planning Manager Larson noted that this project was to update the Nuisance Code and there were some things that worked better in other codes. He stated that there are a lot of things in these other chapters that are not nuisance related which is why they were not brought forward. Councilmember Musgrove shared she understands the purpose of this; however, it seems like a duplication of services and staffing to handle the same thing as another agency. Zoning Code Enforcement Officer Swalchick explained that in these situations, a police officer would have to cite the property owner, not necessarily the vehicle of the problem. He noted that the Police Department Staff is already overworked and understaffed, he gets a majority of these complaints during the day and if his department is able to address these issues rather than the police officers then they would have the potential to reach a resolution without issuing a ticket. He added that the goal in code enforcement is education over enforcement action. He noted that this was an opportunity to work with property owners to get their issue into compliance without involving the police. He stated this makes things streamlined for the enforcement of properties. City Council Work Session /January 23, 2024 Page 4 of 9