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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02152006 Special Cf1)' OF HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND SEBASTIAN CITY COUNCIL AGENDA SPECIAL MEETING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2006 - 5:30 P.M. CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1225 MAIN STREET, SEBASTIAN, FLORIDA SUBJECT: Proposed Amendments to Construction Codes, Enforcement Issues and Solutions 1. Mayor McCollum called the Special Meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. ROLL CALL City Council Present: Mayor Nathan McCollum Vice-Mayor Brian Burkeen Council Member Andrea Coy Council Member Lisanne Monier Council Member Sal Neglia Staff Present: City Manager, AI Minner City Attorney, Rich Stringer City Clerk, Sally Maio Police Chief, Jim Davis Building Director, Wayne Eseltine Chief Building Inspector, Rich Schofield Plans Examiner, Chuck Geicz Building Dept. Administrative Supervisor, Karen Park Code Enforcement Officer, Antoine Van Meir Special City Council Meeting February 15,2006 Page Two 4. SPECIAL MEETING ITEMS A. STAFF REPORT There was no objection to Mayor McCollum's request to allow public input during Council discussion. The City Manager reported on a staff committee that met and recommended the following resolutions: -Code Enforcement issues can be addressed by staff -Swale and blockage of swale flow to be addressed by fines - The best location for Porta lets are in the right-of-way - not in street and not in swale. Builders are to be diligent about turning them upright when they are tipped over -Keep the existing hours of operation in place The City Manager provided an ordinance regarding maintenance and upkeep of swales. The ordinance provides that contractors will be notified and given four hours to remedy blockages of flow lines and silt fencing to contain fill dirt. (see proposed ordinance attached) The City Attorney said construction activities are controlled in Chapter 26. Section 26-6 addresses hours of operation and when the ordinance was first drafted, hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. was decided for weekend and it was modified at public hearing to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. He noted that people working earlier is an enforcement issue. The City Attorney then explained the code was changed to move the Portalets out of the right-of-way and input said this was unworkable and so the ruling went back to locating in the right-of-way and that they cannot obstruct flow of water or traffic. He also explained that Chapter 98 allows vehicles to park in the right-of-way of vacant adjacent lots, and provides if swales are damaged they must be restored before receiving certificate of occupancy and if water cannot flow a stop work order may be issued. The recently adopted tree and landscape provisions provide for clearing of construction sites only during open hours of City Hall. He went over R-01-11, which is a schedule of citations for Code Enforcement Officers - broken into 3 classes. He said Council could bump up the fines in this resolution by the time the ordinance is adopted. He explained the proposed ordinance has a silt fence requirement and requires four hours to restore flow when a blockage is discovered at a site. 2 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Three The City Attorney further explained, if drainage remains blocked more than 48 hours, city staff could remove blockage and lien the property, only factual basis (was it blocked or not) can be appealed to the Construction Board, and if the citation is not paid within three days of the appeal, the work is stopped at the site. B. CITIZEN INPUT Ron Celli cited LDC provisions regarding model home permits, noting no requests for renewal permits of model homes have been heard by Planning and Zoning and questioned how all the model homes have been permitted. He questioned recourse for building inspectors who issue certificates of occupancy when all requirements of the LDC have not been met and how this affects the homeowner. Nancy Albrecht, Treasure Coast Builders Association (TCBA), said they agree with the protection of swales, understand that construction is by its nature disruptive to most, she was taken aback by the anti-building sentiment expressed by citizens and some Council members, cited benefits of construction to the City in taxes and impact fees, builders are part of community and Council's constituents, asked that Council keep an open mind as builders address them. The City Manager corrected the millage rate noting 19 mills is for all of Indian River County taxing districts and not the City alone. The City Attorney said perhaps the builders could post contact numbers for adjacent property owners to use if there are problems. Mayor McCollum said there is no longer a pending lawsuit against the City from the TCBA so Council is free to discuss issues with them. Rick Hope, President of TCBA, said they want to be part of the solution and not a part of the problem, cited a "Good Neighbor Policy" established in Port St. Lucie to educate builders, which might also work well in Sebastian. He said if Council would provide them with a list of people who they are having problems with, they would be happy to talk to them; and that silt fencing could be expensive for new homeowners and four hours to remedy blockages is not reasonable. Vern Tolson, past president of TCBA, distributed a Good Neighbor poster, and described the "Good Neighbor Policy" which has more to do with common courtesy than anything else, citing the Indian River County and St. Lucie programs as being very successful. He showed Council a Good Neighbor sticker that can have a contact number written in. The City Attorney said the four hours is negotiable. 3 Special City Council Meeting February 15,2006 Page Four Tim Zorc, previous president of TCBA, said he appreciated that Building Department revenues were restored to the Building Department, and suggested a vandalism ordinance for tipping Porta lets because there is not much police can do when called. He asked if private subdivisions will be affected by the ordinance language that refers to "public drainage facility", and the City Attorney responded that the word "public" can be taken out. He asked what would constitute an obstruction to a swale, and asked if staff would be there to verify that the blockages are fixed for calls made on Friday afternoon. He said Building Department personnel is very thorough and have no problem writing violation tickets. Todd Brognano, said most people would say the City's drainage system is poor at best, and now Council wants to hold builders to a standard that the City can't maintain. He questioned how long it takes the City to respond to drainage concerns, noting it probably isn't four hours. He said there are situations whereby an empty lot adjacent to a construction site does not have a cut swale and asked if the builder is going to be held accountable for the vacant lot's non-flow of water. Wayne Tozzolo, stated four hours is not sufficient, silt fence is not needed on every job site, and agreed that the City is not responsive with drainage complaints. Louise Kautenberg, said this is an issue of enforcement of existing provisions, and adding additional layers will do no good, and asked that Council be sensitive to the cost of housing in the City, stating that something needs to be done about affordable housing. Andy Allocco, said he is not sure it is legal to impose a $500 fine after four hours for a blockage that may be caused by an act of nature, asked why members of boards were not invited to this meeting, and questioned how a silt fence can be placed on the front of lots. AI Paternoster, Sebastian Property Owners Association, took full responsibility for bringing this issue forward, appreciated the ordinance but cited issues not addressed such as traffic safety with vehicles parked in streets in the wrong direction, expressed concern for the lack of enforcement and construction during holidays and weekends, expressed concern about the builders saying they could police themselves stating these people should have known these issues were happening, said there is a lack of qualified personnel and that the general contractor is responsible for the work being conducted on their sites, that when people ask for cooperation they are cursed at by workers, and said silt fences are necessary. TAPE 1- SIDE 1/ 6:30 pm He further stated someone needs to come to each site every day to sweep sites, that he measured dirt at four inches across from his house and he had to call the City for a street sweeper to come out and then he power washed the street every three days until 4 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Five the house adjacent to him was built. He said foul language and loud music comes from the sites, as well as total lack of courtesy and consideration for surrounding neighbors, and implored Council to have ordinances enforced. He stated there is a City ordinance requiring service vehicles to have three cones around them. Shane Benson, construction worker, said after Frances and Jeanne people begged builders to work on their houses and they didn't care what day or time it was. He stated that placing a time restriction on him now and then begging him to work when a hurricane hits is not reasonable. Bob Audette, said he was impressed by Mr. Paternoster addressing contractor errors, but was shocked that Council jumped in and bashed contractors afterward, and said he heard this was a staged pre-election campaign event by a council candidate, stating this whole issue should be postponed until after the election. Neil Lagin asked how long a clearing permit lasts. The City Attorney responded six months, and Mr. Lagin thanked AI Paternoster for bringing this issue to the attention of Council and Council for addressing it. Wayne Tozzolo, said the dirt is put on the road to protect the road base and in discussing parking problems, no one mentioned delivery vehicles, and said builders are being isolated. Ron Yerky, who said he runs a framing crew in Sebastian, stated limiting hours of construction will not allow builders to make up time during the rainy season, said citing specific holidays is a religious issue, and he noted Waste Management trucks pick up during very early mornings. Kerry Lanning, Construction Board, suggested giving the builders an opportunity to police themselves first through education before arbitrarily imposing fines, noting this proposed fine is far too high proportionately with other construction fines. Steve Phelps, provided information that shows that limiting Sunday work is unconstitutional. The City Attorney advised that a former code did prohibit work on Sunday and was amended. Damien Gilliams said Mr. Paternoster's presentation was pretty good, however, it was in everyone's interest that the Builder's Association set up a task force to meet with staff to come up with solutions to the problems. Shane Heist, local builder, explained the process for fill and final grade and installation of culvert pipe. He explained swales for new houses differ than existing houses, the builders work very hard at keeping sites clean and the Building Department does give builders notices when they don't. 5 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Six John Oakes stated the problems when one group of citizens dictates to another group of citizens, suggested not politicizing the issue, encourages Council to decide whether it is reasonable to limit when people can work, and suggested tabling until after the election. Mayor McCollum called for recess at 6:55 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. All members were present. C. COUNCIL DISCUSSION Mayor McCollum said there are currently time limits on the books for construction activities. The City Attorney said issues the Council are hearing about are being done outside of the existing hours, so there was no sense in rewriting new provisions, but to enforce what is there. Mr. Neglia went through his list of concerns and conclusions: · Portalets should be in right-of-way and not in swales · Clearing when City hall is closed should be enforced · Agreed with silt fences · Concerned about damage to edge of roadway · Stated vehicles parked on both sides of street is a problem · Stated some builders police themselves, some do not · Not sure if the ordinance is needed, but more policing of subs by developers · Keep open swales and not damage them · Four hours is not enough time, suggests 12 hours or more · Start with $250 fine · Maybe developers should put quarter round in the right-of-way while building homes · Enforcement is the answer · Work together to keep water flowing · Can probably work out here tonight · Task Force recommendation is good · Stated this meeting is not to get re-elected but to do a job people put us here to do Ms. Monier thanked the business community for being here, doesn't see need for the ordinance, feels that until swales and drainage are working, can't put rules on builders, can see if neighbors have problem they didn't have before call the builder, put stickers on sites with contact numbers, neighbors can call builder before they call police, thinks this is political, let everyone work together, we are a service oriented community, sometimes weekend work is a necessity, let this drop but have a good understanding and'builders are willing to listen and for those who are not, use enforcement. Mayor McCollum said this subject was discussed three different times at Sebastian Property Owners Association meetings which are open to the public, four hours is not enough time for correction, cited a personal situation where he had to fix a swale blockage himself, doesn't know if a silt fence will fix problems, runoff of dirt from rain into 6 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Seven another lot is a problem, if nothing else we need to address the issue of builders damaging another property suggesting that when this occurs the builder be required to make the repair immediately rather than when the certificate of occupancy is issued, stating he had many phone calls about this, he noted the right-of-way belongs to the people of the City, cited existing an ordinance that requires construction clean up before hurricanes, need certain ordinances on the books, suggested builders start reducing cost of houses if you want to go to workforce housing prices and don't blame it on silt fences. Mayor McCollum asked the City Attorney about model home renewal permits and the City Manager stated staff is currently working on that process. Mayor McCollum said Council gets numerous calls from residents and if we enact things that everyone agrees to then what is the problem. He said his issue is damage being caused and the lack of response from the contractor community. Mr. Burkeen said Council is not going to make everyone happy, that he looks at this group as experts, that all members receive numerous phone calls about drainage and damage and lack of response. He stated most of the issues are on the books, Council needs to address reasons for lack of enforcement, he would like to put this back in hands of builders and give them time to fix the problems and if not, it will have to come back to Council. He was not prepared to do anything else with this tonight. Ms. Coy discussed people shocked at anti-construction sentiments, stated this has nothing to do with current election, but has to do with people's concerns in phone calls. She stated if one drives around today there are houses going up all over town. This issue has come about because of circumstances and people are being imposed upon. This is about new home building not hurricane recovery, and said she doesn't like the ordinance. She stated her phone calls are about cars and trucks in swales, in streets, parked the wrong way, blocking mailboxes, driveways and intersections, cited an incident where traffic was detoured by r;mlice- over her yard when a service truck blocked her street. '"* E'{}{Sf toasf 50d ,f Lo-nd5C~~ She states she has never received calls on Ameron Homes, Tozzolo Brothers, Green Brothers, Burgoon Berger, and MGB Homes. Ms. Coy's concerns include: · Portalets on sidewalks and in middle of road · Trash and debris on sites - not in container fence · Excessive fill extending into neighbors yard · Drainage and flooding problems · Storing equipment or materials on empty lots they don't own 7 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Eight · Vehicles speeding through neighborhood - she recently yelled at one and he replied, "Hey lady, I'm on the phone", after a brief conversation the worker then beeped her house every time he drove by, and she found out he was doing work for Fischer and it is now stopped. TAPE 1/- SIDE I She said the solution is common sense and common courtesy, builders need to be responsible for all their subs and supervise their sites. She stated most contractors fix their problems but some don't, and the City needs to enforce their ordinances. She would like to see builders who are not nice to their neighbors get hammered and tighten up what codes the City already has. She favors five days to fix problems. The City Attorney stated fixing swales is in the parking section of the code and explained that construction vehicles can park on the shoulder of the site, shoulders of adjacent, unimproved lots (which aren't up to grade). He said vehicles parked at improved lots are subject to a ticket and drainage cannot be altered. He also said when new construction is next to old, the City gets contractors to fill the easement on the adjoining unimproved lot so there is no flooding, so it crosses the property line without flooding. The City Attorney said our ordinances that do not address anything beyond public property and code currently provides for not obstructing drainage and severe flooding can be addressed under the nuisance code. Ms. Coy said the City needs to tighten up what we have and the City is paying dearly for all the annexations and construction. Ms. Monier asked what happens when a citizen calls about private property damage and Code Enforcement comes out, and the City Attorney responded it comes down to was it accidental or intentional and that the City does not get involved. He clarified the swales are public property and our issue. He said it gets difficult for City to get involved in damage to private property. Chief Davis said there would be difficulty prosecuting accidental situations where private property is damaged. The City Attorney said if there was no reckless activity it would be difficult. Mayor McCollum said citizens need to know that Council is handcuffed and can do nothing regarding damage to private property. Ms. Coy asked if public humiliation is okay and the City Attorney replied as long as the public comment is factual. Ms. Coy said Adams Homes is the builder she receives the most calls about and she would be glad to announce any builder at Council meetings if they cannot take care of problems. Mayor McCollum said citizens need to be advised that private property damage is a civil matter. 8 Special City Council Meeting February 15, 2006 Page Nine The Mayor asked Council if the ordinance was needed and it was the consensus to forego any action on the ordinance, silt fence, or any other issue. Mr. Burkeen suggested that TCBA test policing their building community for a time period. In response to Mr. Burkeen the City Manager said people should call their builder and then the Code Enforcement Department. He stated TCBA's number would be posted at the Building Department, on Channel 25 and the City's website. Mr. Neglia said the public can continue to call him or any member for assistance. The City Manager reiterated that we will post numbers at Building department, Channel 25 and City website. The City Manager explained that the enforcement issues have begun to be addressed by assigning construction related problems to Officer Van Meir and by the promotion of a supervisor in the Code Enforcement Department, and he stated three weeks ago, builders have failed on inspections until sites are repaired. Request for Attorney-Client Session reQardinQ pending litigation in the case of J & S Aviation. The City Attorney stated Section 286.011(8), Florida Statutes authorizing the City Council to meet in private with its attorney to discuss pending litigation, The City Attorney then requested advice concerning J & S Aviation pending litigation, and requested that the Mayor call a Special Meeting for Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at 5:30 p.m. at which time the Mayor will open the meeting in public and the Council, City Attorney, City Manager and a court reporter will convene the Attorney-Client Session in the Second Floor Conference Room of City Hall. 5. Being no further business, Mayor McCollum adjourned the Special Meeting at 8:12 p.m. arch 8,,2099 Regular City Council Meeting. ~ C1..5 CLrnef1ded c- ~J '- MMC - City Clerk 9 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _..___ ____J