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Home My WebLink About7A 2012 Code Enforcement Report O � PRIp� � � v � 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake_ MN 55372 '��vxESO`��' CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT MEETING DATE: APRIL 22, 2013 AGENDA #: 7A PREPARED BY DALE STEFANISKO, CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER PRESENTED BY: DALE STEFANISKO AGENDA ITEM: CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A REPORT ON THE 2012 CODE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY DISCUSSION: Introduction The purpose of this report is to provide the City Council with information regarding complaints, code violations, and code enforcement activity for the year 2012 and to remind the community about City Code complaints commonly encountered dur- ing spring and summer. Any input or direction the Council wishes to provide to staff is appreciated. Histo In July of 2007, The City of Prior Lake hired its first full time Code Enforcement Officer and has since implemented a well-rounded Code Enforcement Program. The main goal of the program is to enhance the health, safety and aesthetics of the city through voluntary compliance wherever possible. We continue to maxim- ize the attractiveness of residential and commercial properties by effectively en- forcing the standards and requirements of the City Code. i HOW DO WE LEARN ABOUT CODE ISSUES? A resident can contact the Code Enforcement Officer with a complaint, question or concern and a site visit will be made. If a violation is confirmed at the time of in- spection, the property owner will be notified and given a timeline to make the cor- �� rection. If voluntary compliance is not initially achieved within a reasonable amount of time, one or more additional letters may be written to gain voluntary compli- ance. Where it becomes apparent that cooperative efforts will not be effective, it may become necessary to issue a misdemeanor citation to the property owner. A citation requires a property owner to appear at Scott County District Court, this typically results in a fine and confirmation that the violation has been corrected. Enforcement compliance of city ordinances can also be achieved through educat- ing and informing the public of the city ordinances. There are regular contributions in the Wavelength city newspaper reminding residents of seasonal or weather re- lated ordinances. We will now use the new sewer and water bill as well as period- ic notices in the Prior Lake American as well. There have also been direct mailings of flyers for specific codes. Also, the city's website lists several common code vio- lations and directs viewers to the document center where the entire City Code can be accessed. As mentioned, voluntary compliance is the goal of the Code En- forcement Program. SPLASH SOFTWARE January, 2011 marked the start of a transition which documents all code enforce- ment related activity in a new software program called "Splash". Splash is an in- tranet based program which can be accessed by all Prior Lake City Staff. Splash allows any staff inember to record or field a complaint and enter the details onto a service ticket, which is then forwarded to Code Enforcement. The Code Enforce- ment Officer will document the findings of the initial inspection and any subse- quent inspections up until the case is closed. This includes inspection findings, photos, notices, correspondence, and any other updates or developments pertain- ing to a particular case. Implementing this program has improved communication between staff on issues and has helped decrease response time to our customers. Splash also allows any staff member to check on the status of a complaint and easily convey that infor- mation to any resident who may be concerned about an issue. An encouraging result of using the Splash Program is that it has helped us to address more com- plaints than we have been able to in the past. This is important as property owners who maintain their property expect the same action on behalf of their neighbors. When the city is not effective in addressing these matters, our residents find it frustrating. Improvements to Splash were made effective January 1, 2013. A newly created , Code Enforcement Services module went into effect in Splash specific to code �� enforcement services. As a result there is better reporting of case violations, easy tracking and viewing of the case status, notices, violations, complaint source, and photos. All the case information is contained in one data base and easily searcha- ble. Splash has proven to be valuable tool that has improved staff communication and increased efficiencies with the Code Enforcement Program. Current Circumstances This report consists of a year-end summary of the total number of code enforce- ment cases in order to provide the Council with insight that may be useful in eval- uating current resident concerns and future regulatory decisions. A great majority of City residents have pride in their neighborhoods and community. They feel an obligation to maintain a neat appearance on their properties and expect nearby properties do the same. In 2012 there were three hundred fourteen (314) cases for an increase of sixteen percent (16%) when compared to the two hundred seventy-one (271) violations in 2011. Complaints regarding Overgrown Grass And Weeds topped the list of code viola- tions with forty-eight (48), Storage of Junk Nuisances was second in line with for- ty-three (43) violations, followed by thirty-four (34) Right Of Way violations, (34) Vehicles Parked in the Yard violations and (34) Disposal of Garbage and Refuse violations. Other violations are as follows: Parking junk vehicles twenty-seven (27), Property Maintenance twenty-six (26), Public Nuisance twenty-three (23) Animal Control sixteen (16) Permit Violations fifteen (15) Signage (9) and Zoning Use five (5). � � The attached Exhibit A displays the complaints by type of violation for the current reporting period. The attached Exhibit B displays a year to year comparison of complaints from the past three years. Conclusion We continue to work on refining our Code Enforcement Program to be sure we are responsive and accountable to our customers. Voluntary compliance was achieved in nearly 98.5% of the cases this reporting period. In 2013, we will con- tinue to monitor the City ordinance and recommend changes as necessary. Staff will also continue to update the webpage to make it more user-friendly and cur- rent. ISSUES: As of the date of this report, two hundred ninety-six (296) of the total 314 com- plaint cases identified in 2012 have been closed by either meeting compliance or being deemed invalid. It is not uncommon for some violations to remain open due to pending investigations, court proceedings and/or continued improvements to a problem property. There are certain types of code enforcement matters which councilmembers tend i to hear about. Signs in the right of way are one. Both State Statute and city code prohibit signs in the right of way. At the same time we are aware that other cities tend not to enforce these provisions, so any action we take is somehow seen as overly aggressive, anti-resident or anti-business. As if that were not enough, we receive complaints about signs and the complainants know the law. So we are in � the proverbial hard place. Also complicating matters is the fact that most signs go in on Friday and come out on Sunday. Over the past several years, it became in- , creasingly evident that road right-of-way areas throughout the city were being used for commercial and non-commercial advertisement. Signs of all types (pri- ' vate contractor, open house, realty, election, garage sale, etc.) were being dis- played in the ditches and along the roadways. Proactively educating the public and businesses about sign ordinances will be a priority over this next year. But enforcement efforts will continue, if for no other reason than public safety and re- sponding to complaints. A second area is the location of trash enclosures. The City Code states that "Gar- bage cans and other garbage and refuse containers shall be so located as to be out of the public view except on the day of the pickup". City staff has developed a handout to educate the public regarding this City Ordinance. The City has also placed an advertisement in the "Prior Lake American" and "Wavelength" for the ordinance. These education initiatives have helped as many homes are adhering to the ordinance. And the folks that do comply let us know about those that don't. The matter is further complicated by the fact that most properties have two con- tainers, one for recycling and the other for refuse and the same property can be in compliance one week and out of compliance the next simply by where they chose to store their containers that week. On May 13 2013, the City Council will be discussing as part of its work session the Code Enforcement Policy and code enforcement priorities. � FINANCIAL There is no financial impact as a result of this report. IMPACT: ALTERNATIVES: The City Council has two alternatives: 1. Accept the code enforcement year-end report. 2. Provide the staff with additional direction either with respect to information de- sired or enforcement priorities. RECOMMENDED As determined by the City Council. 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