Ramsey Resident - 2007 - July/August

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IN~IDE JULY / AUGUST 2007 Calendar & Contacts 2 Development 3 Public Safety 4 Public Notice 6 Community News 9 City Council Looking to Increase Efficiency of Code Enforcement Procedures Over the past six months, the City Council has been reviewing the code enforcement procedures used for resolving violations of City Code. These code violations generally con- sist of storage of refuse, inoperable vehicles and vehicle parts, tall grass and weeds, outdoor storage of miscel- laneous debris, off-street parl(ing, types and number of animals kept on a property, illegal home occupations and others. The current enforcement pro- gram is complaint-based. This means when city staff receives a complaint, an inspection of the property is made to verify that a violation of City Code exists. If a violation exists, city staff notifies the property owner of the vio- lation and requests correction of the violation within 30 days. A follow-up inspection is performed at the end of the 30-day period. If the violation has not been corrected, a second letter is sent to the property owner granting seven additional days to correct the violation. The letter also notes that if the violation is not corrected, the matter will be turned over to the City Attorney's office for prosecution. The legal procedure for resolving City Code violations can be a very long and time consuming pro- cess. Due to their nature, these types of cases are very low priority in the court system. Often courts will con- tinue the case to allow the defendant more time to correct the violation. It's not unusual for the penalty to consist of a monetary fine with no order to correct violation. In these cases, city staff must re-start the process in order to seek compliance. City Council recognizes that this process can be very frustrating for both the residents and city staff. Additionally, the current process is costly and doesn't assure positive results. City Council has explored various code enforcement programs utilized in other communities and is considering implementing an abate- ment program in the city of Ramsey. An abatement program would remain complaint-based, but would give the city authority to correct the violation if the property owner does not do so within the time allotted. The city IIIIir would then bill the property owner for the costs incurred to correct the violation. Failure of the property owner to reimburse the city for costs incurred in correcting the violation would result in those costs being certified to the property taxes for that parcel. If the property owner pre- fers, the costs can be certified to the County and placed on the tax state- ment as a special assessment. If a property owner feels that a violation cited is not warranted, they do have the right to make an appeal to a hearing officer at the local level. If the hearing officer finds that the violation is non-existent, then no corrections are required. However, if the hearing officer upholds the find- ing of a violation, the property owner Continued on Page 6 Ramsey Star Express RamseyTown Center Municipal Ramp 7650 Sunwood Drive NW Ramsey, MN 55303 Express Commuter Coach Service from Ramsey Town Center to Downtown Minneapolis! Departures Arrivals Leave Ramsey Arrive MPLS I Leave MPLS Arrive Ramsey 5:35 a.m. 6:15 a.m. 3:35 p.m. 4:15 p.m. 6:00 a.m. 6:40 a.m. 4:20 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 7:10a.m. 7:50 a.m. 5:10p.m. 5:50 p.m. 7:35 a.m. 8:15 a.m. 5:55 p.m. 6:35 p.m. Fare: $4.50/ride ~_.1l . .. - iiIiI!J ~ 1-888-528-8880 www.commutercoach.org www.ci.ramsey.mn.us Volume 22 · Number 4