02152005 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I Regular Meeting February 15, 2005 101. Page 7 or alley He encouraged the Council to enforce this law so these citizens will use the beautiful park the City built He also encouraged the Council to start with the smaller violations, such as trash containers not being pulled back after emptied, or cars parking in yards or on the sidewalks Mr O'Leary stated two weeks ago the Council held a Workshop to discuss the unrelated persons restrictions He stated Council requested some alternatives to help strengthen the enforcement of the Ordinance He stated the unrelated persons restriction is an attempt by local governments to regulate undesirable behaviors and to control the proliferation of rental properties into homeowner-occupied neighborhoods He provided a presentation with three options, Option 1 Status Quo, Option 2 Full-time Nuisance Abatement Department and Option 3 Rental Inspection and Licensing Mr Bose inquired how these options would address the problem of parents buying a house for their children to live in while they are attending the University and the behavior problems this creates Mr O'Leary stated the City does not have the authority to regulate families who live in a single-family home Mr Bose stated that is where the behavior problems exist Mr O'Leary stated if the City suspects persons are not related, the City would have to prove that in Court, beyond a reasonable doubt Mr Thomaides stated problems occur when a parent buys a house for their child while they are attending school and then the child graduates, and then the property becomes rental, and that is the problem He stated he feels Option 3, the Landlord License, might be effective in those circumstances Mr Taylor knows this is an emotional and political issue A rental business may feel this could put them out of business and impacts property values Mr Taylor stated he has seen parties and the litter from beer bottles and cars parked that prevent access to emergency vehicles Mr Taylor stated he does not want Council to overreact and stated he wants no more than one or two Code Enforcement officers and is more concerned with the behavioral issues Mr Guerrero stated he is interested in pursuing Option 2 He stated he would also like to see how Options 2 and 3 can be interrelated He stated he is comfortable with leaving the number of unrelated persons at two Mr Diaz stated he would have a problem licensing people He stated he supports Option 2, which he feels is a more aggressive enforcement of all City Codes Mr Thomaides stated he supports Option 3, but is also concerned with it having a negative impact on the housing market He stated he feels the City needs to take a bold step and draft a new Ordinance He also stated he feels rental properties are a business, and the City licenses and regulates many other businesses in our community Mr Thomaides stated he feels this problem is going to take a combination effort from students, real estate agents, property managers, citizens and the University Families that buy homes in R-l want to live a decent quality of life He also stated if the City went with Option 2 and 3, then the City could charge for the license and help offset the cost of a full-time Nuisance Abatement Department Mr Bose stated he supports Option 3 because it is more aggressive and involves more accountability from renters Mr Taylor stated he does not like creating new laws and restrictive laws, but agrees with some of the