Staff is providing information for discussion purposes on a past effort to adopt a Property Maintenance Ordinance and will be available to answer questions on current code compliance and building safety work.

Attached to the report are staff summaries and minutes from a series of City Council meetings where a property maintenance ordinance was reviewed and discussed between 2011- 2013.  There are also reports and minutes from discussions on distressed properties.  These are properties that are in disrepair, often abandoned.  The Property Maintenance Ordinance was not adopted.  We continue to maintain a list of distressed properties and actively work with property owners to resolve violations and unsafe conditions.

Attached to this report are a number of staff reports and minutes from a previous consideration and discussion of a Property Maintenance Ordinance (PMO).  The reports provide the following: 

December 6, 2011 - background on the history of creating a PMO and includes a draft ordinance
April 10, 2012 - legislative history on the PMO, an overview of the proposed PMO, and an updated draft of the PMO
January 8, 2013- provides an update on distressed properties and offers an alternative to PMO citing existing codes
November 12, 2013 - provides an update on the list of distressed properties

Also attached is the most current Code Compliance monthly activity report.  Consistent with City Council direction from a few years back, Code Compliance has been proactive and sought to more equitably enforce codes.  As shown in the monthly activity report, the majority of cases are initiated by staff, of course, we continue to respond to community-initiated cases which are an important part of code compliance.  The report includes a wide range of issues, some are related to property maintenance. 

The City also has building codes that relate to unsafe buildings and living conditions which can be enforced.  The city maintains a list of distressed properties which currently includes 12 properties.

Code Compliance and Building Safety staff will be available to answer questions on current enforcement activity related to property maintenance issues.