TITLE
The Mayor and City Council shall hear public comment regarding the proposed modifications to Chapter 10 "Offenses" of the Maricopa City Code.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
In recent years, the Heritage District Citizen Advisory Committee has secured several grants that have been used to fund cleanup projects in the Heritage District area. Last fall, the Committee requested that City Council adopt changes to the City Code to remove exemptions for the Heritage District area in order to prevent future blight and health hazards and encourage further property clean up. City Council directed City staff to work with the Committee to review City Code - Chapter 10: Offenses and propose Code changes for City Council approval. Over the past several months, City staff has worked with the Committee to develop the following recommendations for City Code changes, timeframe for implementation and assistance program. They have been designed to further the Redevelopment District (Heritage) Area Plan and the Committee's efforts while ensuring that an unreasonable burden is not placed on Heritage District residents:
1. Removal of City Code, Chapter 10-Offenses sections 10-1-2 B.3 and 10-1-12 B.1 (b) allowing for special Code exemptions for the Heritage District area.
2. A grace period of 1 year following City Council approval before the above City Code changes would officially take effect. Ability to apply for an extension for Heritage District residents with properties that would require undue effort to bring to Code within 1 year, as determined by City Code enforcement staff.
3. Creation of an assistance program to help Heritage District residents with cleanup or shielding.
On March 8, 2012 a public forum was held at the MUSD Administrative Offices to receive public comments and suggestions on the Committee's proposal. In preparation for the forum, fliers (with both English and Spanish text) were mailed to all Heritage District residents and hand delivered to residents by Committee members. An article was also published in the City's weekly e-newsletter (distribution of over 3,000) during the 2 weeks leading up to the forum. Eleven residents attended the public forum and voiced no objections to the proposed City Code changes. They were in agreement in support of the changes believing that they are needed to ensure that the area can be kept clean. They were also in agreement that a cleanup assistance program would be necessary as many Heritage District residents lack the resources needed to clean up and/or screen their properties. Based on their feedback, the three-year grace period initially proposed by the Committee has been revised down to one year with extensions for special cases.
The group felt strongly that direct door-to-door outreach from City staff to every resident in the Heritage District would be needed to make sure residents know about the City Code requirements and the assistance opportunities available. In addition, the group felt that Code Compliance staff would need to evaluate each property and make the owners aware of exactly what cleanup is required. Attendees also suggested that Code Compliance staff make periodic progress check-ups to ensure that residents are on-track in their cleanup efforts.
Citizens present also shared the following thoughts on how to improve general City waste removal and cleanup efforts in the Heritage District:
· Every resident should have a trash can
· There is a need for regularly scheduled trash pick up
· There is a need for a City dump site where waste can be dumped at no cost
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
It is staff's recommendation that following the Public Hearing, final suggested revisions to Chapter 10 "Offenses" of the Maricopa City Cide will be drafted by staff along with a proposal for a cleanup assistance program and guidelines for extension requests for compliance to be brought back before Council for consideration on or after April 17.