12-03-07 Councl Workshop Minutes

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 3, 2007 that the City does try to enforce its ordinances and if sending letters and talking to property owners does not work, citations are issued. However, once these matters get into the court system, they take a very long time to be processed. Birch stated that this was not his fault. He indicated that it is The City's job to enforce the codes, not his, and suggested that the City just do its job. Keis reported that the Code Enforcement Officer spends a lot of time enforcing the codes in Ryan Industrial Park. Keis again noted that once citations are issued and violations get into the court process, it can take two to three years to resolve some violations. Keis also noted that some property owners will simple pay their citations and then the enforcement process starts over again. Blesener indicated that the City needs owners who care and are proud of their property. Keis stated that the issue is how do we starC to turn things around in the park, and help each other to get the job done. Keis noted that this is why the Council is getting together with the owners. The Code Enforcement Officer indicated that she spends most of her code enforcement job in the Park. She noted that while many properties have CUPs, most of the owners do not remember the details of their CUP nor do they know the City code requirements. The CEO indicated that while she has made some progress on some properties, there are others that could be further along than they are. The City Administrator also pointed out that the code issues have been somewhat cyclical in the Park. In the late ] 990's most of the property owners either obtained or updated the CUPs for their properties. Some property owners have done a great job in maintaining compliance, while others have simply forgotten their CUP requirements. The Administrator indicated that the CUPs that were issued at the time were very specific, and when business changes were made, the CUPS were not updated to reflect those changes. The Adminish•ator agreed that it is the City's job to enforce its codes, but noted the extraordinary amount of time this takes in the Park. The Administrator noted that this expense is not fair to all the taxpayers in the City. The Administrator also noted that the Council has talked about the instituting a business licensing program, with license fees to help offset enforcement costs. Outdoor storage licensing is another option discussed. The Administrator pointed out that the City is still trying to figure out a way to go with improving the situation and providing adequate City control when problems arise.