Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-28 CC WS - ApprovedCITY OF CENTERVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION May 28, 2008 8:25 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Mary Capra Council Member Linda Broussard-Vickers Council Member Jeff Paar p O Council Member Tom Lee 0 O ABSENT: Council Member Michelle Lakso STAFF: City Administrator Dallas Larson City Attorney Kurt Glaser City Engineer Mark Statz Public Works Director Paul Palzar L CALL TO ORDER Mayor Capra called the May 28, 2008, City Council Work Session to order at 8:25 p.m. II. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Nuisance Issues -Ordinance Enhancement City Administrator Larson reported that they had a large list of nuisance complaints. Public Works Director Palzar looked at the list and identified those that were dangerous. Letters were sent to those homeowners, with instructions stating that their specific item(s) needed to be moved out of the right of way. Public Works Director Palzar showed a case where there were bricks in the right-of--way, causing a tripping hazard City Administrator Larson explained that the violations were broken down to the most hazardous nine, using the opinions of Public Works Director Palzar, City Administrator Larson and citizen complaints. Mayor Capra inquired whether there is a term within the Ordinance to specify that the final decisions be at the discretion of the City Council. City Attorney Glaser confirmed that it is at the City Council's discretion whether or not to enforce the violation. City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that she believed they should send a letter to everyone who is in violation, not only the most hazardous. She stated that the homeowners also need to be aware that any costs the City incurs to fix the hazard would be billed back to the homeowner. She added that the violations should be addressed when they are brought up, so it is obvious that the City Council has looked at every case. Councilmember Paar stated that the Council is only enforcing these nine cases, because these have been deemed to be dangerous. Mayor Capra stated that they should send the homeowners with hazardous violations a letter, advising them that the Council has received a complaint. The letter should go on to say that the Council is not taking action at this time, but wants to make them aware that they are in violation and, if the City has to correct the situation, the cost will be billed to the homeowner. City Attorney Glaser stated that people would say that everyone else is doing it. He believes the reality is that a lot of this list came out of spite. One homeowner was notified of her violation, so she/he wants to accuse others. Councilmember Paar stated that the Ordinance should specify that the decision about each case be at the discretion of the City Council. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that some people have no clue what they are doing wrong. City Attorney Glaser suggested that a list be posted on the website of the alleged violations. Mayor Capra stated that the Council is doing whatever they said they would do. Public Works Director Palzar clarified that anything 6 feet from the curb line or within 1 foot of the sidewalk is definitely a hazard. Mayor Capra inquired whether the City would respond to Mrs. Essex regarding her concerns. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers suggested that the letter say that the City Council has addressed his (or her) concerns, and that is all. City Attorney Glaser stated that he would send a letter to Mrs. Essex. Councilmember Lee stated that there are other Ordinances that are being violated; i. e., homeowners impeding water. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers questioned how they would decide which ones to enforce. Page 2 of 7 City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 Councilmember Lee stated that they have not been enforcing Ordinances; therefore, there are more violations. Public Works Director Palzar stated that they need to look at correcting some of these issues. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that it would cost the City taxes. Councilmember Lee replied that, if you enforce the Ordinance, it is assessed to the homeowner. City Attorney Glaser suggested that if starting this type of enforcement, they should start with education, warnings, etc. If that does not work, then they would start stricter enforcement. He added that it gets very expensive. Public Works Director Palzar suggested that they could put in drain tiles to address some of the rear-yard drainage problems. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers inquired whether they could force homeowners to participate and charge them for 100% of it. Councilmember Paar pointed out that some people have fences in drainage easements. Councilmember Lee stated that these violations should be addressed when a new buyer first buys the property. Councilmember Paar stated that, if they start enforcing every house in violation of any code, they will see 90% of the City's mature trees come down. He stated that he does not believe enforcement should be all or nothing. Councilmember Lee stated that enforcing the hazardous violations would have to be done on a case-by-case basis. Councilmember Paar pointed out that this could open a can of worms. City Engineer Statz inquired whether the Ordinance states that you have to remove the hazard, or the City may remove it at your cost. He stated that the City may do this, and we are doing this to the nine people with hazardous violations. He added that if it stays as it is, homeowners would know that the City could come in to fix it at their expense. Councilmember Paar inquired about the sump pump issue. City Administrator Larson replied that the City has taken care of the ones they received complaints on. Page 3 of 7 City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 Public Works Director Palzar stated that, regarding private water issues vs. city water issues, previous Councils did not fix the private water issues. He added that early development did not have proper drainage. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers suggested that in those areas, rather than letting it carry-on, they should get one at a time off the list as they prioritize them. Mayor Capra stated that she could think of five locations that could benefit. Public Works Director Palzar reported that $100 would buy 300 feet of drain tile. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that, if one out of six people brought forward a complaint and it affects all six, all six should pay. City Attorney Glaser stated that they could go into one house and say it is a problem, but they have to leave neighbors alone if they do not have the problem. Councilmember Lee inquired whether they could selectively enforce a certain number of ordinances per year. City Attorney Glaser replied that, since they have not been enforcing the ordinance, enforcing it now should start with needs (i.e. complaint from a citizen). Councilmember Paar questioned where they are with the sump pump ordinance. Mayor Capra replied that a sump pump could not drain into someone else's yard. Councilmember Paar stated that his neighbors' water comes into his yard, and his goes down Centerville Road. Mayor Capra stated that they could not solve all the issues. They could have Public Works Director Palzar look at these specific issues. She inquired whether this could be fixed out of storm water dollars. City Engineer Statz replied that the City may not have the means to fix backyard drainage problems. He stated that those people bought those lots. The problem should have been addressed when they purchased the house. City Attorney Glaser agreed that backyard drainage problems should be left to the private landowners. Public Works Director Palzar stated that it is private water until it gets to our storm water system. Councilmember Lee stated that the yards upstream are considerably wetter, and it is closer to the rear of the property line. Page 4 of 7 City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 City Administrator Larson inquired whether they could pursue some cost estimates to fix these. Mayor Capra stated that she agreed. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers suggested that they pick one or two areas and go around and see if the homeowners want to pay the assessment to get it resolved. She added that, if there is no success, she is not willing to go through all the trouble. She would then only want to enforce it if it was a nuisance. Councilmember Paar stated that he agreed that nuisance situations should be brought to the Council, like Mrs. Essex's, should be addressed. He added that, as it was done in this case, the Staff should look at it, invest some time, and give it their discretion. Public Works Director Palzar stated that if he does not put drain the in, he could not solve their problems. Mayor Capra inquired whether that one yard is higher than the others. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that if one particular object caused the problem, a letter should be sent, stating that it should be taken out. City Attorney Glaser stated that, if something is impeding the flow of water, it does not have to be in the easement to be considered a violation. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that this should go back to Staff to be handled. Councilmember Lee agreed that these situations should be handled by Staff. 2. Chapter 154 -Review & Provide Feedback to Planning & Zoning Commission City Attorney Glaser read the definition of Chapter 154. Mayor Capra stated that, if property is destroyed, homeowners have one year to rebuild. City Attorney Glaser stated that R4 has been removed from the code. Any new mobile home park would have to be done as a Planned Unit Development. He added that it could cause problems with existing units. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that she could not see redoing this without referring to the Comp Plan. She added that there is no R1 in the Comp Plan. City Attorney Glaser replied that R1 is being phased out. Page 5 of 7 City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that R1 would become medium-density housing, and we do not have medium-density housing zoning. She suggested that they rework it now, if it will soon be irrelevant. City Attorney Glaser stated that they would have to hold a Public Hearing on anything they do with the Planning & Zoning Commission. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that she believes they need to concentrate on the road project at this time. Councilmember Broussard-Vickers stated that Planning & Zoning is mostly concerned with the fence and pool issues. She stated that what is in there is the majority vote. She added that they have already spent four hours on the fencing issue. She suggested that they need to look at some pictures at the same time, and everyone should either come to the Planning & Zoning Meeting or support what is in there. Mayor Capra stated that the Planning & Zoning Commission meets on June 3. Mayor Capra stated that with the LGA cuts, Centerville lost $23,000. 3. Code Revision Mayor Capra stated that because the time had run over on other issues, the Code Revision would be discussed at their next City Council Meeting. 4. CSAH14 Update City Administrator Larson stated that on the far west end, they continue to work on the road constructed on the swamp. He stated that they are starting on some storm sewer issues next week. He added that, eventually, our water main would be constructed on CSAH 14 in the downtown. City Engineer Statz stated that there are some contamination problems. He stated that they are working with the County to figure out how to avoid contaminating the future downtown site. He added that they were right on schedule at this time. Councilmember Paar stated that they would still be able to access everything in the downtown area. City Engineer Statz agreed. He stated that they talked about completely delaying decorative concrete construction in the downtown area until next year. Public Works Director Palzar stated that they want to come up with a better process to give notice before they close off streets. City Attorney Glaser inquired whether they have a go-to number. Page 6 of 7 City of Centerville City Council Work Session May 28, 2008 Mayor Capra replied that it is on the website, and that they have to give them the CSAH14 number. City Administrator Larson stated that the County is often not very responsive, but that if you copy Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah on it, things get done. 5. Schedule Budget Work Session Mayor Capra scheduled the Budget Work Session on July 9, at the end of the City Council Meeting. The Session would be continued at the July 23 City Council Meeting. The Budget has to be completed in August. III. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Capra adjourned the City Council Work Session Meeting at 9:50 p.m. Transcribed by: Bonita Kaska, Recording Secretary Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Page 7 of 7