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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Code Review Council Committee - Meeting Date: 4/22/2021MINUTES CITY CODE REVIEW COUNCIL COMMITTEE GLENDALE CIVIC CENTER 5750 W. GLENN DRIVE GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021 5:00 PM CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at approximately 5 PM. ROLL CALL Committee members present: Chairperson Ray Malnar, Councilmember Joyce Clark, Yvonne Knaack, Ron Short, Michael Socaciu, Barbara Lentz, Councilmember Bart Turner, and Warren Wilfong are all present. Committee members absent: Camille Donley and Rich LeVander were absent. City staff present: Jamsheed Mehta (Development Services Director), David Richert (Interim Planning Administrator), Rick St. John (Deputy City Manager, Public Safety), Adam Santiago (Council Assistant), Cody White (Senior Planning Project Manager), and Diana Figueroa (Supervisor, Admin. Support) were present. CITIZEN COMMENTS There were some citizen comments, and one of them was a voicemail from a citizen. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar couldn't get the voicemail to play so that everyone could hear it, so the committee decided to send the recording via email to all of the committee members. The voicemail entails front yard parking, and Chairperson Councilmember Malnar said since this was already addressed in the committee, it will not be addressed again. The second citizen comment was from Mark Schillenberger. Mr. Schillenberger wrote an email complaint about a neighbor of his being a regular nuisance. This residence was cited earlier in the year, but the citation was dismissed on a technicality. Mr. Schillenberger requested an entire overhaul of the city code department. Ms. Garland was present and recently did a presentation about barking dog issues in the zip code 85302. Ms. Garland suggested dog training as a consequence for those who are regularly disturbing the peace. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES A motion to approve the March meeting minutes was made by Councilmember Clark and seconded by Mr. Socaciu. All were in favor, and none opposed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS AND POSSIBLE ACTION. A. Review of Littering Rick St. John sent out copies of his presentation via email. The committee asked to look at criminal littering and enforcement. There was also previous discussion of civil versus criminal offenses with littering. Mr. St. John suggested the first offense being a petty offense and then a second offense within a year would be a class 2 misdemeanor. Mr. Short agreed with Mr. St. John's recommendations and then made a motion to approve these recommendations. Councilmember Clark seconded. All were in favor, none opposed. B. Rental Parking Follow-up Mr. St. John noted this is regarding chapter 29 of the city code. Most of which applies to the property owner, while some areas cover a rental/tenant responsibility. Mr. St. John suggested removing the rental/tenant content and include it only in chapters 24, 25 and 26. Mr. St.John recommended adding language to chapter 29 that says, "when an inspector is on the property to inspect other violations outlined in chapter 29, if there are any tenant violations, we can cite and address them then." Mr. St. John also informed the committee that every time there is a tenant violation, the property owner is already automatically informed. Mr. Wilfong asked is 25-22 vehicles going to be covered in rental property. Mr. St. John hopes to make this change on April 27th upon council's approval. Mr. St. John clarified that any rental properties will experience code enforcement from chapters 24, 25, and 26. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar asked who would take on responsibility to fix a property violation if there is conflict between the landlord and tenant, and Mr. St. John noted if there were any issues, the city would determine responsibility based on how the code is written. Mr. Wilfong made a motion to make these suggested changes, and Ms. Knaack seconded. All were in favor, and none opposed. C. Follow-up on citizen comments regarding animal noise Mr. St. John summarized the specifics of Ms. Garland's animal noise issues in her neighborhood. Ms. Garland's suggestions in March were taken and added to the pamphlet that is given to noise offenders. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar thanked Mr. St. John for his progress with this. D. Temporary fencing Mr. Mehta noted that temporary, permitted fencing was initially discussed in February. Mr. Mehta noted there will be an updated draft sent out shortly by Mr. White, but Mr. Mehta was willing to answer any questions at this time. There were no questions from the committee, so Chairperson Councilmember Malnar asked if this would be taken to council next, and Mr. Mehta confirmed. A motion to approve these recommendations was made by Ms. Knaack, and it was seconded by Councilmember Clark. Mr. Socaciu expressed his thanks to the staff for a job well done, and then he requested adding additional material. Mr. Socaciu asked if instead of saying screening is an option, the wording could say the Development Services Director may require screening for certain situations; these certain situations are as follows: blight, excessive vandalism, graffiti, weeds, or dilapidated/abandoned structures. Ms. Knaack made mention that these are not allowed according to the code as it is. Mr. Mehta and Mr. Socaciu agreed but then noted that even though they are cited and fixed, until the issues are addressed, the property is an eyesore for the community. Councilmember Clark noted the visual blight occurring if a property owner waits until the last day to fix the violation, and Councilmember Clark suggested this being included as another layer of covering the city's 6 desire to maintain the city's aesthetic. Ms. Knaack amended her motion to approve these changes while including this new language (re: blight, etc.), and it was seconded again by Councilmember Clark. All were in favor, and none opposed. UPDATES AND PRESENTATIONS A. Discussion and recommendations regarding Volunteer Program Mr. St. John noted would like to primarily use volunteers to document garage sales on the weekends. The volunteers could also be used to document political signs and documenting temporary signs. Essentially, the purpose of volunteers would be intelligence gathering and basic enforcement. Each volunteer would be trained, and inspectors would follow up on what the volunteers report. Ms. Knaack asked that, if necessary, the court would accept the word of volunteers. Mr. St. John hopes that since photo evidence would be taken by the volunteers, they likely wouldn't need to be brought to court, but the court would accept a volunteer's testimony. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar asked when these policies and procedures can begin, and Mr. St. John said while there may be some necessary tweaking for the program, this volunteer program can begin now. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar said a vote wasn't necessary, so the committee moved forward. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ON SUBCOMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS A. COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE — YVONNE KNAACK Ms. Knaack informed the committee that she will be presenting to the business subcommittee about mobile food vendors. B. RESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE — COUNCILMEMBER BART TURNER Councilmember Turner referenced the "Recommendation on Desert Yards & Weeds" (see appendix), and stated this language was recommended. Mr. Socaciu asked if the term "weed" was defined somewhere, and Mr. St. John confirmed this. Mr. Wilfong expressed concerns about the wording "create a blighting condition." Mr. St. John said the code needs to be mindful of natural desert landscaping, and the goal is to keep people consistent with what they've chosen to do with their property. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar asked for a motion to approve Councilmember Turner's recommendation. It was moved by Mr. Wilfong and seconded by Mr. Socaciu. All were in favor, and none opposed. C. PARKING COMMITTEE — WARREN WILFONG Mr. Wilfong will make some recommendations, but there are some small adjustments that may need to be made. Due to Mr. St. John's unexpected departure from the meeting, Mr. Wilfong continued without him. There are many yards which are wholly concrete, and this is a concern of Mr. Wilfong's. There is also an issue of circle driveways where some may be exceeding the allotted square footage. Mr. Wilfong suggested using terminology identifying "legal driveways" and only one 30 -foot driveway allowed per property. Mr. Wilfong is suggesting reducing the driveway size of 50% to 40% total square footage (including circle driveways) for smaller lots. Councilmember Turner asked for clarification on the legal parking areas. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar confirmed that the code as it is written says the driveway should be 30 feet or 50% (whichever is smaller). 3 Chairperson Councilmember Malnar reminded everyone this will not cover every issue and solve every problem, but it's a matter of the code being consistently interpreted the same way. Council will have to be mindful that this is a complex problem, and Chairperson Councilmember Malnar reminded the committee this needs to be easy to understand and presented well. Chairperson Councilmember Malnar suggested sending the draft as it is now but add an additional note of comments and concerns discussed during this meeting. Mr. Wilfong suggested adding ATVs to the list of recreational vehicles list. Ms. Knaack expressed her support of Mr. Wilfong's specifications, comments, and questions. Mr. Socaciu also agreed. D. MISCELLANEOUS COMMITTEE — RON SHORT Mr. Short noted how impressive the drive from downtown to Westgate is aesthetically with the exception of a few buildings and billboards. Mr. Short feels the regulations for the billboards are well done at this time. COMMITTEE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Next month, mobile food vendors from the commercial committee will be discussed and grass standards from the parking committee. NEXT MEETING The next regular meeting of the City Code Review Committee will be held Thursday, May 27th, at 5 PM, in conference room B3, located at Civic Center, 5750 West Glenn Drive, Glendale, Arizona, 85301. ADJOURNMENT Chairperson Councilmember Malnar adjourned the meeting at approximately 6:34 PM. 4