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REQUEST FOR HRA ACTION Date: 5-18-10 Item No: 9a Staff Approval: Agenda Section: Action Items Item Description: Problem Property Ordinance Background City staff (RHRA, Community Development and Police Department) have been working on creating an ordinance that addresses properties that have repeated issues that require the use of city resources. Under this ordinance, the City would be able to impose and collect fees from the owner or occupant or both of property where the City must repeatedly respond to complaints. Under the ordinance, a “nuisance service call” is defined as response to any violation of city code and certain state statutes. These violations include, but are not limited to public nuisances, prostitution, gambling, controlled substances, firearms, and disorderly conduct. The City can impose a fee when the City has to respond to a violation three or more times within a period of 365 days. Staff is still discussing how the fee would be structured, but the goal is for the City to recover its actual costs for responding. In case of non-payment by a property owner, the fees will be placed on the property taxes pursuant to state statutes. In the case of fees charged to an occupant of a problem property, non-payment will lead the city to pursue a judgment against the person. In addition, if a property has outstanding fees and require a license from the City to operate, the City will not grant the license until the fees are paid. The ordinance requires that the City gives notice after the second call for service and exempts calls for medical emergencies and calls for domestic incidents. Additionally, owners of rental property may be exempted from a service fees if they commence an eviction proceeding against the tenant and enter into and comply with memorandum of understanding with regard to security with the Roseville Police Department. Similarly, large public accommodations, (i.e. bars, hotels, malls) may have fees waived if the property owner has entered into and complied with a memorandum of understanding with the Roseville Police Department. The property owner or occupant has the right to appeal the imposition of the fee by requesting a hearing within 10 business days. The hearing will be conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the City Manager. Staff is supportive of this ordinance as it is another tool in the “tool box” that the City can use to deal with problem areas of the City. By itself, the ordinance will not resolve all of the issues the City faces in certain areas, but it will send a message to property owners and occupants that creating or allowing unlawful activities on their property will not only have them dealing with the criminal justice system but it will also cost them financially. Suggested RHRA Action The RHRA should review and discuss the proposed ordinance and make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the ordinance. Prepared by: Patrick Trudgeon, RHRA Executive Director (651-792-7071) Attachment: Draft Ordinance Problem Property Ordinance