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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_01/31/1996_Public Safety Committee c �' `��A VILLAGE OF TEQIJESTA ; , , Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive �' Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 • (407) 575-6200 ' ° " � � Fa�c: (407) 575-6203 ; o A 4 f, �N COUH VILL�.GE OF TEQII�STA PUBLIC SAFETY �4MMITTEE MEETING MINLITES JANUARY 31, 1996 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Public Safety Committee held a regularly scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Wednesday, January 31, 1996. The meeting ��as called to order at 9:00 A.M, by Chairman Joseph Capretta. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the Recording Secretary. In attendance were: Chair Joseph CaprEtta, and Co-Chair Carl C. Hansen. Village Staff present were: Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford, Attorney Tracey Biagiotti sitting in for Village Attorney John C. Randolph, and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Agenda was amended to include addition of five items under Any Other Matters, requested by Village Manager Bradford. The Agenda was approved as amended. III, REVIEW OF PR�POSED CODE ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENT ORDINANCES (A) MINIMt3M PROPERTY STANDARDS ORDINANCE Village Manager Bradford explained that the result of comments received from the Village Council and the public was a revised Ordinance, with the proposed changes mainly in the area of minimum property standards. There was no longer any Ilecycled Paper PUBLIC SAFE TY CON.@�II TTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 31, 1996 PAGE 2 requirement for a building to be consistent with community c.haracter, or excessive.Zy dissimilar to the color of o�her bui.tdings.....within two hundred (200) feet ,in a11 directions. There was no longer any requirement for principal building color or trim color. References to colors of a house had been delet�d except painted surfaces sha�I be maintained free of graffiti and with uniform and consistent colors, void of any evidence of deteriorat�on. Co-Chair Hansen expressed concern - that deterioration and peeling af paint might present enforcement problems. 5Tillage Manager Bradford responded that there would alvaays be enforcement problems, howeuer,�the Code Enforcement Officer should be abl.e ta recagnize deterioration and peeling paint, so that problems would be kept to a minimum. Chairman Capretta questioned what items were currently being en.forced by the Code Enforcement Officer. Officer Davis responded that the only items currently enforced with regard to a home were grass over 12 inches in height, pool enclosu�es, and pool water condition. Chairman Capretta suggested that driveways might be addressed next. Code Enforcement Officer Davis read the following excerpt from the proposed Ordin.ance, which he stated that he assumed would apply to driveways: "...when a deficiency or combination of deficiencies represents more th.an twenty five percent (250} of the area o� any wall or roof or paved surface as viewed from any single vantage point off the prope�ty." Village Manager Bradford explained that there was also another portion of the zoning code which allowed for maintenance of hard surfaces, which could be used for d�iveways, although it was a vague reference. Code Officer Davis provided the following example: A person had lost his home and subsequently left the country; the bank held title to the property, which became overgrown and deteriorated, and Officer Davis had no authority to get the property PUBLIC SAFETY CON�tITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 31, 1996 PAGE 3 ----------------------- cleaned up. �fficer Davis explained that these were the kinds of blighted properties he needed power to enforce, and that he was nat looking to enforce a missing paint chip. Chairman Capretta commented he had no problem with abandoned homes, to which Officer Davis responded that some rental homes were also in similar conditian. Chairman Capretta commented he had no problems with those situations, but was concerned with the homeowner who lived in the house and kept it in a deteriorated state because he liked it that way or could not afford to fix it. Chairman C�pretta indicated that driveways could be the next logical item to be included for enforcement, and that several homes within the Village had either never had a driveway, or the gravel had long since disappeared, or the asphalt had disintegrated. Chairman Capretta explained that Mr. Laduca was an example of the person who kept his home in poor condition. Officer Davis reported that Mr. Laduca was still not maintaining his property. Attorney Biagiotti explained that the lawsuit was still in place, and that Mr. Laduca's a�torney planned to withdraw since he could not make contact with Mr. Laduca, and at that point she would try to obtain a default against him. Ms. Biagiotti explained that negotiations with Mr. Laduca had fallen through. Chairman Capretta Gommen.ted the only reason he could see that Mr. Laduca would want to reach a settlement would be if he planned to sell the house. The driveway section of the pr�posed Ordinance was discussed further. Co-Chair Hansen suggested that no other conditions be added to this Ordinance at this time, and that another condition could be added at a later date. Village Manager Bradford referred to item 6-320 regarding proposed landscapin.g language, which Co- Chair Hansen stated he believed was weak, since it stated that if more than 1/3 of the yard was PUBLIC SAFETY COI�IZTTEE MEETTNG MINUTES JANUARY 31, 1996 PAGE 9 --------___--_---------- blighted then the property was def�cient, which would be hard �o determine. Officer Davis agreed tha� it was hard to determine percen'tages. Village Manager Bradford requested direction regarding how specific the section should be. Co-Chair Hansen suggested this section be deleted at this time and that the section regarding driveways be made more specific. Chairman Capretta agreed that the Ordinance should be expanded one s�ep at a time. Chairman Capretta discussed the problem of including specific items in order to deal with. a property like the Laduca property which requirecl tough, enfarceable language, but which seemed like a police state to the average homeowner; and stated that average homeowners would become angry if tough language was adopted even though they were the ones that the Village was trying to protect. Co-Chair Hansen expressed his opinion that the silent majority was in favor of including specific items to be able to deal with blighted situations, however, favored moving toward that slowly by adding items in more than one step. Both Chairman Capretta and Co-Chair Hansen agreed that the en�ire landscaping seetion j6-32(C)) should be omitted at this time, and that Sectians 6-33 and 6-34 should be included as written. Village Manager Bradfo�d explained tha� interior home inspections had been deleted. Mske Meder questioned and received clarification regarding the section which was to be deleted. Discussion ensued regarding whether to increase the driveway deterioration requirement to 50o so that it wauld be easier to enforce, the difficulty of determining the percentages and kinds of deterioration of various surfaces, such as cracks in concrete, pathales in asphalt, and thin layers of gravel. Village Manager Bradford commented that other sections of the zoning code required all driveways to be hard surfaces of asphalt, concrete, or paver blocks, and that there were a lot of nice PUBLIC SAFETY C�NIl�IITTEE MEETING MINUTES JP,NLIAR� 31, 1996 PAGE 5 ----------------------- driveways made of Chatahaochee stone which probably predated the curren.t ordinance. Wade Griest commented that an important point was enforcement of any Village Code, and until that was done and an example set, all the fines did not mean much because the Village never collected them. Village Manager Bradford reported that the Village had been successful in one situation which would be reported under Any Other Matters. Mr. Griest commented on the Lantana Plan which included language in the property maintenance section that re�erred to any physical condit�on af property maintenance wh�ch directly or indirect�y causes a reduction in the value of t.he surrour�ding properties. Mr. Griest stated that was important, since Tequesta was trying to increase property values. Mr. Griest commented that Code Enforcement problems had con.tributed to declining values, which not the fault of the Police Department, but the problem was how the case was handled after a violation was found, since the fines were not collected. Mr. Griest explained that Lantana did not try to straighten out the whole problem at one time, but had proceeded block by block, which might be a way for Tequesta to proceed. After further discussion, the Committee agreed to keep the percentage af 25% in the definition of deficiencies fo� driveways. Code Enforcement Officer Davis expiained that he had addressed Code Enforcement with five homeowners associations and was in the process of ineeting with others. Mike Meder commented that the publ.ic had been upset over the phrase "uniform and consistent colors", which was included in Section 6-32 (A}{2), and suggested that a definition be added to clarify the meaning. Attorney Biagiotti explained that the intent had been to delete any reference to specific colors. After discussion., it was agreed that PUBLIC SA COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 31, 1996 PAGE 6 ----------------------- referencing those items desir�d to be prohibited such as polka dots, stripes, and fluorescent paint would be preferable and aid in enforcement. F'ire Chief Weinand suggested that a definition. also be added to the section rec�arding repairs to state that repairs shall be consistent with the existing material, so that for example, a pothole in an asphalt driveway could not be patched with Sacrete. Wade Griest commented that no matter how specific an ordinance was written that if someone caanteel to beat the ordinance they would find a way, an.d referred to a wall for which a variance for 12 feet fro� the 6 feet allowed by Code had been denied by the Board of Adjustment, and related that the property owner had merely piled dirt up against the wall and measured the 6 feet from the top of the raised ground level. Villaqe Manager Bradford questioned how the Committee wished to proceed after the changes decided upon at this meeting had been. made. Chairman Capretta responded that highlights of the Ordinance should be placed in the Village n�wsletter. Co-Chair Hansen requested that a statement be included indicating that it was the feeling of the Village Council that the majority of residents wanted to do this. Village Man.ager Bradford stated that while he agreed as to Mr. Hansen's assessment of public opinion, that this might appear to }ae presumptuous. Officer Davis reported that after the controversial meeting he had received 15-20 calls in support of the Qrdinance from people who did n.ot wish t� attend the meeting. Co-Chair Hansen reported he had spoken to people in Lantana and Hollywood, Florida who were very happy with their Ordinances. Officer Davis commented that all of the Homeowners Associations supported Code Enforcement. Village Manager Bradford stated he would try to get the article into the February newsletter; however, it might not be possible untzl March; and,the first Publia Safety Committee Meetiag Miautes Jaauary 31, 1996 Page 7 ----------------------- reading would then be in April. (B) SPEC�AL MASTER ORDINANCE Code Enforcernent Officer Davis reviewed the advantages of a Special Master system by agreeing with Mr. Griest in that if someorie did not intend to comply that there was not very much the Village could do; and that this system would 5peed compliance by the majority who wanted to comply and for the few who did not want to comply it would provide a nudge toward compliance. �fficer Davis reported that Palm Beach County Code Enforcement Department had recently instituted a Special Master znto their system in. order to gain speedy compliance. The County's Code Enforcement Board's duties had been limited to those cases that wished to request more time for compliance. Officer Davis reported that Green.acres was moving toward a Special Master since the Code Enforcement Board tended to want to delve into areas beyond their jurisdiction. Officer Davis stated the Special Master system would (1) eliminatE questions in regard to litigation against the Village, since the cases would be handled 1�y a trained lawyer; (2) the Special Master would write out the order so there would be no doubt in either the Code Enforcem.ent Officer's mind or in the respondent's mind as to what had transpired, what the violation was, and what they had to do to come into compliance; and (3} the biggest reason that Officer Davis recommended the Special Master system was that a process which now took 90 days would be reduced to 30 days or Iess. Under the present system, 30 days prior notice must be given to the Code Enforcement Board that a case would be coming before them, the Boa�d met 30 days Iater to discuss the case, an.d 30 days after that met again to decide the outcome. The Special Master hearings were proposed to be held once each month on the third Thursday at 10 A.M. Any citations issued. before a week ahead of the hearing could appear at the hearing to have their case resolved, and there would be no return gublic Safety �ammittee �eetiag Miautes January 31, 1996 Page 8 hearing dates. Village Manager Bradford reported the cost difference between the two systems would be minimal, and explained that the Special Master would be paid $100-$150 per hour for time spent and preparation time. The Village's law firm would not provide the Special Master, and would be available to act as prosecutor if necessary. Officer Davis advised that the Special Master po�ition would be advertised listing certain requirements, and would nat require residence in Tequesta. Officer Davis explained that it might be hard to fin.d a lawyer living in the Village who had Code Enforcement litic}ation experience, and reported that he had spoken to an excellent prospect who lived in Ft. Lauderdale and was the Special Master for Lantana, and also backup Special Master for West Palm Beach. Chairman Capretta suggested that attorney might be hired as a consultant to the Village on Ordinances, to which �illage Manager Bradford commented that was beyond the role af a Special Master. Chairman Capretta clarified that he was thinking of two different people, one to act as consultant and one as the Special Master. Village Manager Bradford stated that Village Attorney Randolph and Attorney Biagiotti had had years of experience writing Ord�.nances and the problem was not wi�th language, it was just that the Village Council. needed to let staff know exactly what they wanted. Chairman Capretta stated he believed the Village Council had not done a very gaod job of selling Code Enforcement as a positive thing for the community, the only people who came to the meetings were those who were against Code Enforcement, and the silent majority were too silent, sa that the Council just had to do what they thought was right. Chairman Capretta recommended that when the article was placed in the newsletter that a presentation also be made at the homeowners associations. Chairman Capretta suggested that political candidates could make presentations. Officer Davis volunteered to help with presentations. �hairman Capretta stated that he likecl the Special Public Safety Committee Meetiag Miautes Jaauary 31, 1996 �age 9 ----------------------- Master system since it would �peed the process, and cited the Siegel case which had dragged on and on and really pointed out the ineffectiveness of government. Village Manager Bradford advised that the Code Enforcement Board members must be properly dealt with, and that even thaugh th.ey were dedicated people who volunteered in a civic capacity that they had contributed to Code Enforcement problems by going outside their quasi juclicial capacity into administrative and policy areas. Officer Davis reported that he still had the very first case he had dealt with 18 m.onths ago, wh.ich was the bird lady. Wade Griest pointed out that the Code Enforcement Board members were required to be residents of the Village which meant they were dealing with their neighbors, and that would be eliminated with the Special Master system. Mr. Griest also commented he thought people who did not comply should be asked why, as was done in Lantana, and sometimes the response was that they were unable to do so and help could be obtained fo� them. Chairn�.an Capretta agreed that more community involvement could show the human side of this issue rather than just the legal side. Villaqe Manager Bradford suggested the possibility of using JASP and public works crew leaders to oversee people required to do community service. Chairman Capretta agreed, and cited the larger numbers of young people now living in the Village who might become involved in programs to help cut grass, etc. Village Manager Bradford reported he had been hesitant to change the system frorn the Board to a Special Master. Attorney Biagiotti advised that the Board could remain intact, although only one or the ather would be active in regard to specific cases, and stated that she saw no reasan to keep both. Village Manager Bradford commented that Lantana had kept both for political reasons, but Public Safety Coamii�tee �eetiag Miautes Jaauary 31� 1996 Page 10 ----------------------- their Board never met. After further discussion, it was agreed to keep the Code Enforcement Board but to change their role to become champions of Code Enforcement rather than to handle cases. In �heir new role they would develop public relation.s programs, study the impact of the Code Enforcement Officer on the town, make recommendations for new Ordinances, become a public support base to sell Code Enforcement, and act as a positive force for the Village. This could entail changing their role to something like a task farce or advisory body. A brief cliscussion followed regarding the need for a positive organization to raise money for the Village for such items as BRITT and the library. The citation process was discussed. Officer Davis explained that it speeded the process and informed the recipient to appear before the Special Master. X. ANY OTHER MATTERS (1) Village Manager Bradford announced that Attorney Biagiotti had been success�ul in foreclosing on the Walters property, which was now toward the end of the ten-day appeal period, and the Village now ov�rned the house and the land. The Village Manager reported that he had ordered a structural report to determine whether the roof was salvageable, and also a written estimate to demolish and dispose of the house; and would make a decision when the reports were received. Also, two prospective purchasers had expressed interest. Attorney Biagiotti reported there was an existing lien. which the Village would have to pay off. Discussion ensued regarding the fact that the fine had been approximately $100,000, which r,aas mQre than the value of the property; and that if handled delicately it could be publicized that the Village might realize $40,000 because of Code Enforcement involvement. (2) Village Manager Bradford reparted that a Village Ordinance allowed anyone to go before the Village Public Safety Coamnittee MeetiAg �tiautes Jaauary 31, 1996 Page 11 ----------------------- Coun.cil to request a handicap waiver of the parkin.g requirements for recreational vehicles. Mr. Little had appeared before the Village Council and the Council had denied the waiver he requested. Mr. Little appeared before the Council at a later date and requested that a change be rnade in the Ordznance and the Cou.ncil had voted 3-2 to have the Cammittee come back with a praposal, which would be an Ordinance which would Iet certain waivers occur if certain requirem.ents were met by the party making the request. After discussion, it was decided ta discuss this matter at the next Public Safety Committee meeting and then make a recommendation to the Village Council. Officer Davis advised that Mr. Little was still in. violation of the existing ardinance and he had not pursued the matter because he had been waiting for a decision by the Village Council, with which the �7illage Manager and the Committee concurred. (3) Village Manager Bradford stated his desire to place a stop sign at the intersection of Tequesta Drive and Country Club Drive, which he believed would be in keeping with the Village's desires to discau�age traffic on Country Club Drive and could al.leviate the problem of many near accidents whieh had been reported at that location. After discu.ssion, it was agreed to proceed with taped stop bars as a test to gauge public reaction. Chairman Capretta reported conversations in which he had received complaints that Turtle Creek residents who had been discouraged from using Country Club D�ive were now shopping at Chasewood instead of patronizing Tequesta businesses. Village Manager Bradford reported a meeting with Jane� Gettig had been a flop. (4) Village Manager Bradford reported that Jupiter had issued proposals for Fire Rescue servzces, whicY� the Village did not propose to bid on, but asked whether the Committee would like the Village to peak Jupiter's interest regarding forming a regional system through this proposal pracess. Chairman Capretta expressed interest in a regional system. �illaqe Manager Bradford reported a P�blic Safety Committee Meeting Miautes Jaauary 31, 1996 Page 12 ----------------------- newspaper article which had endorsed the County giving Jupiter a break on their contract in ord�r to keep them, and stated that if that happened then Tequesta or another municipality receiving County service should sue the County for equal treatment. Chairman Capretta speculated there was no way that Mayor Golonka would embarrass Commissioner Marcus by taking away the last sizeable city from the County Fire Department an.d completely destroying it, and predicted Jupiter would get a$2,000,000 price reduction. jTillage Manager Bradford suggested that instead af a proposal, that a letter be written to Jupiter offering to help them establish a regional system. Mike Meder questioned whether the Village would consider offering a proposal for the area north of the Loxahatchee River. Village Manager B�adford responded that he believed the proposal specifications precluded that option. Mr. Meder suggested it be clone anyway, which would make the Village look neighborly. Chief Weinand suggested that a letter be sent, since the proposal requirements were so extensive. It was decided that a letter would be sent with the suggestion for the area north of the river and for a regional system. (5) Fire Chief Weinand reported N�1MAC had been working on central dispatch and a regional hazardous material team. Each municipality had been asked to contribute $1,000 towards hiring a consultant for advice on establishing a regional dispatch center. The trend to go to centralized dispatch and possible dollar savings were discussed. Chief weinand explained that whether savings would be realized was unclear, which was one of the reasons for hiring a consultant; however, th� cen.tralized system would definitely be more effective by erasing jurisdictional boundaries so that the closest units ta an emergency could respond. Village N�anager Bradford advised that the Village Public Safety Commi�tee Meetiag Miautes sanuary 31, 1996 Page 13 ----------------------- was payin.g $150, 000 to $200, 000 annually now for their own dispatch system. The centralized dispatch would cover the area from Riviera Beach north, and now each municipality in tha�t area was paying far their awn system. Polzce Chief Roderick advised that three communities had refused to contribute the requested $1,000, w�iich were Mangonia Park, Jupi�er Inlet Colony, and Pa�m Beach Shores, who now were receiving free dispatch from the County. It had been rumored that they would no longer receive these free services after a new Sheriff came into office. Discussion ensued � regarding whether enough $1,000 contributions would be received to actually hire a consultant. Co- Chair Hansen favored the contribu�ian in light of the amount being spent by the Village each year and pain out that if not enough pledges for contributions were receiued to pay a consultant that the mone�r would not be spent. The decision of the Committee was to authorize the $1,000 expenditure providing a minimum number of communities participated. Attorney Biagiotti verified that th.e Committee did not want to abolish the Code Enforcement Board at this time, Chairman Capretta suggested that the Village Manager write a Ietter to the members of the Code Enforcement Baard to inform them of a zneetin.g to di�cuss their new role i.n Code Enforcement for the Village, how the minim.um �roperty �tandards wQUld be expanded, a Special Master, and changing their role from a negative to a positive concept. Attorney Biagiotti questioned and received confirmation from Chairman Capretta that insofar as the Ordinance, the Board would be abolished; however, it would then assemble as a group in another ro1e. IX. COI�lUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS Wade Griest referred to a Public Safety meeting in May 1995 where a suggestion had been made that people renting property in the Village receive information regarding the Vi�lage Codes, which had been made during discussion involving people wht� had lived in a travel trailer for over a year. Mr. Griest inquired whether the Village had ever Public Safety Committee Meeting Minutes January 31, 1996 Page 14 ----------------------- notified realtors about the common codes. Village Manager Bradford responded it had not been done because of the difficulty involved. The Village Manager pointed out that many areas had deed restrictions, which people even had difficulty obtaining at their closings, and the Village could not rely on realtors to properly communicate codes because prospective renters would not rent. Village Manager Bradford stated that in such a case the owner would be responsible. XII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 10:38 A.M. Respectfully submitted, '��4i �; g� ��.2.-`,t C.' � � C Betty ��aur` Recording Secretary ATTEST: Jo nn Manganie o Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: � -r� 7 /91`'�