Agenda - Council - 09/11/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE # '1 ADOPT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 5 (MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS), SECTIONS 5.08 (PUBLIC NUISANCES), 5.11 (WEEDS), AND 5.12 (CONDITION OF PREMISES) OF THE CITY CODE; CASE OF CITY OF RAMSEY By: Associate Planner Breanne DaInes Background: The City Council has recently adopted an abatement ordinance that is effective as of August 13th. In the process of crafting the ordinance, it came to Staffs attention that there were changes necessary to the public nuisance, condition of premises, and weeds sections of Chapter 5. Without these changes, the implementation of the abatement ordinance becomes difficult. The purpose of these proposed amendments is to consolidate public nuisances, identify City Code violations that would be subject to abatement, and clarify and specify the definitions of inoperable/abandoned vehicles, and other nuisance activities. On August 14th, the City Council discussed the following changes: 1) establishing an administrative citation process as an alternative to a citation that is routed through the County court system; 2) requiring a maximum of seven days for the City to organize the abatement process; and 3) requiring property owners to state specific reasons for appeal. All of these suggestions were incorporated into the draft ordinance presented to Council on August 28. The following items are included in your packet: 1) City Council minutes from August 14, 2007 2) City Council minutes from August 28, 2007 2) Proposed Ordinance, revised September 4, 2007 Observations: The City Council discussed this ordinance in further detail while considering its adoption on August 28, 2007. The primary points of discussion included the following: 1. Refining the definition of prairie restoration and exempting prairie plantings associated with landscaping from the 12 inch height restriction for grass and weeds. 2. Consider varying standards for urban vs. rural landscaping/lawn maintenance. 3. Consider changing the definition of "nighttime" from 10:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 4. Address stockpiles of rock and dirt as a-public nuisance. 5. Address the location of garbage receptacle storage. 6. Expand upon the definition of abandoned/inoperable vehicles. Staff has amended the ordinance to address the following items: 1. Clarified the definition of prairie restoration and plant materials; included an exemption from the 12 inch height restriction. 2. Better defined abandoned and inoperable vehicles. 3. Added "stockpiles of rocks and dirt" to the public nuisance list. -193-