City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: March 7, 2017
Agenda Item: 7.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: David Martin, Director, Code Enforcement
Subject: Property Maintenance Ordinance Amendments
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council introduce and approve on first reading the Property Maintenance Ordinance amending Chapter 8.96 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code to include additional requirements.
Executive Summary
At its November 1, 2016 meeting, Council directed staff to return with an ordinance to amend SMMC Chapter 8.96 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code (SMMC), Abatement of Nuisances to include additional requirements related to vacant buildings, including but not limited to buildings left vacant and buildings left in a state of partial construction for an unreasonable period of time.
In the proposed ordinance, staff has also included additional updates to the code to address buildings left in a state of partial construction, and certain other conditions that are related to the maintenance of both unoccupied and occupied properties to provide Code Enforcement staff with a mechanism to enforce other hazardous or unsafe conditions and conditions that routinely contribute to blight in the community. The proposed ordinance also provides cleanup of Chapter 8.96 to conform the code to practice, such as eliminating the long abandoned City Nuisance Abatement Board.
Background
At its May 10, 2016 meeting (Attachment A), Council directed staff to review the Vacant Property Registries of other cities with the purpose of determining whether or not such a registry would be appropriate for addressing the issue of properties in Santa Monica that remain vacant for unreasonable periods of time. Council asked staff to return with a recommendation that included alternative solutions for regulating vacant properties in Santa Monica.
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To accomplish this, Code Enforcement staff reviewed Vacant Property Registries and Property Maintenance Ordinances in several California cities. The majority of cities that adopted Vacant Property Registries did so during the housing crisis of 2008-09. Staff found that the majority of those cities no longer enforce the registries and the number of properties on some registries is significantly lower since the recovery of the housing market. Many have instead adopted more comprehensive property maintenance standards that encompass a wide range of issues pertaining to vacant and occupied properties and their associated nuisance violations.
Staff also conducted a field assessment of known vacant properties located within Santa Monica city limits, and a review of the complaints received by the Division associated with vacant properties. At the time of the assessment, there were 29 vacant properties in the city known to staff, and staff received 23 complaints related to nuisance conditions on 12 vacant properties over the previous twelve-month period.
Complaints related to vacant properties typically allege a particular nuisance condition, such as overgrown vegetation, litter, debris or trespassing. To address these concerns, Code Enforcement staff has used existing local and state laws to compel compliance with applicable codes. Staff has faced some challenges addressing some common nuisance conditions on vacant and occupied properties where enforcement authority is limited. Additionally, existing law does not allow staff to address complaints about properties that have remained vacant for prolonged periods of time, in some cases many years, due to incomplete construction.
At its November 1, 2016 meeting, Council reviewed and discussed staff’s findings and directed staff to return with a proposed Property Maintenance Ordinance, amending SMMC 8.96 - Abatement of Nuisances to include additional requirements, including new regulations on buildings or structures that are in a state of incomplete construction for an unreasonable period of time.
Discussion
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Code Enforcement staff periodically receives complaints about properties that have remained vacant for prolonged periods of time. These complaints typically specify nuisances that are occurring on the vacant property, such as overgrown vegetation, trash, debris, or unsecured entryways that invite trespassers. Existing state and local law allows Code Enforcement staff to take enforcement action to remedy these types of nuisance violations.
Local law does not, and likely could not, deem a vacant property to be illegal simply because of its vacant status. Unoccupied properties with active construction are also not a violation of local law, even if the construction project leaves buildings in a state of partial construction for an extended period of time, if there are no nuisance, safety, or other code violations present. Although staff does not typically receive complaints from the public regarding buildings merely being vacant, citizens have expressed concern about some construction projects that have been delayed and/or abandoned, leaving buildings vacant and unfinished for many years.
Staff has identified additional conditions that are routinely associated with vacant properties but can also be found on properties that are occupied. Where these conditions exist on occupied properties, these properties, due to the lack of regular and routine maintenance, can appear to be vacant and abandoned.
In order to ensure that Code Enforcement staff has the means to address citizen concerns about delayed or abandoned construction projects and address other nuisance conditions, staff recommends that Council adopt the proposed Property Maintenance Ordinance, amending SMMC 8.96 - Abatement of Nuisances to include additional violations. In addition to Council direction, staff has included recommended changes that allow staff to address other nuisance conditions to preserve the visual integrity of the city and to eliminate blight.
Property Maintenance Ordinance
Staff recommends that Council approve the attached Property Maintenance Ordinance 4 of 6
(Attachment B), which amends SMMC 8.96 - Abatement of Nuisances. The proposed ordinance would expand the types and scope of nuisance conditions deemed to be a violation, which would include violations for which Code Enforcement staff are currently not authorized to take enforcement action, including:
Any building or structure left in a state of incomplete construction, partial demolition, or left damaged by vandalism, fire, earthquake or other similar acts, for a period of 6 consecutive months, excluding such time when work is in progress pursuant to a valid building or other construction permit.
The proposed ordinance would make unlawful any building that is left in a state of unfinished construction for a period of 6 consecutive months, unless work is in progress pursuant to a valid building or other construction permit. This new provision would allow staff to compel an owner of a vacant building to resume abandoned/significantly delayed construction activity within a reasonable period of time.
To ensure that the proposed Property Maintenance Ordinance encompasses the most common conditions related to property maintenance of unoccupied and occupied buildings, including hazardous or unsafe conditions, and conditions of blight, the proposed ordinance would add the following nuisance violations:
Graffiti on the exterior of any building, structure or fence that is visible from the public right-of-way.
Any driveway on private property that is damaged in such a way as to be hazardous to persons using said driveway.
Any structure that is in a state of substantial deterioration which is visible from the public right-of-way.
Any dead, decayed, diseased or hazardous tree on private property that presents a danger to public safety.
Overgrown vegetation such that:
a) Plant material harbors the presence of rats or vermin; b) Plant material overhangs or grows onto or into any public property, including, but not limited to, any public alley, highway, land, sidewalk, street or other right-of-way, so as to cause an obstruction to any person or vehicle using such public property; or c) Plant material constitutes an attractive nuisance, a fire hazard, or otherwise 5 of 6
create a danger to public health or safety.
Failure to secure all doorways, windows or other openings into a vacant structure, or provide fencing for the entire parcel containing the vacant structure, when required by the City, to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access.
Parking of vehicles, vessels, or similar mobile equipment on the grass, dirt, or other landscaped areas surrounding a residential property.
Repair and/or disassembling any vehicle or vessel in a residential zone and on residential property, where such activity is visible from the public right-of-way except:
(a) Minor repair and service, performed on motor vehicles owned by and registered to the occupants of the dwelling, performed on a driveway, in a carport, or other legally paved surface on private property;
(b) The work does not involve repetitive testing of an engine; (c) No more than one (1) motor vehicle, as viewed from the public right-of-way, is being worked on at any point in time; and
(d) The work complies with the City’s Noise Ordinance.
To aid in the understanding of these violations, staff proposes adding definitions of abandoned structure, attractive nuisance, graffiti, minor repair and service, and substantial deterioration.
Lastly, the proposed ordinance also provides cleanup of Chapter 8.96 to conform the code to practice, such as eliminating the long abandoned City Nuisance Abatement Board. The Board and related code provisions have been abandoned for quite some time, as its makeup and process were called into question by subsequent judicial decisions relating to constitutional due process. The Council later addressed these questions by creating a staff of City Hearing Officers to review appeals of staff enforcement actions. The proposed ordinance continues this, now longstanding, practice, whereby staff enforcement actions relating to public nuisances would be subject to review by independent City Hearing Officers.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the 6 of 6
recommended action.
Prepared By: Denise Smith, Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Vacant Property Study Session Nov 1 2016 Staff Report B. Property Maintenance Ordinance
C. Powerpoint Presentation