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Home My WebLink About07/31/2008 CEAB MINUTES CITY OF THE COLONY CODE ENFORCEMENT ADVISORY BOARD JULY 31, 2008 After determining that a quorum was present, the Code Enforcement Advisory Board of the City of The Colony, Texas convened into a Work Session which was held on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located in City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, at which time the following items were addressed: Board Members Present: Richard Kuether, Chairman; Lloyd Martin; Linda VanVranken and Casey Truskunas. Board Members Absent: Chris Italia, Robert Taylor. Present from Staff. Iris Browder, Development Services Manager; David Dodd, Legal and Tracey Sherman, Administrative Assistant. 1.0 CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairman Kuether called the meeting to order at 6:40 pm. 2.0 F TIZEN INPUT No citizen input 3.0 MINUTES 3.1 Consider approval of the minutes of the April 24, 2008 meeting. Chairman Kuether moved to approve the minutes of the April 24, 2008 meeting with stated corrections. It was seconded by Board Member Linda VanVranken. 4.0 CONSIDERATION 4.1 Review and discuss proposed changes to Chapter 6, Article III. Of the Code of Ordinances. (Browder) Iris Browder presented the proposed changes to Chapter 6 and 10 of the Code of Ordinances. Legal asked if everyone on the board understood the purpose of the codes for the city. The members of the code enforcement board all stated yes. Code EP., ~i ~.~itf.. ~%z~3. i-it-. °vi`i(.)[ 3' Btirtd i 3 1. 2008 ''afire 2 of J Board Member Truskunas asked if the building official or person of authority have the right to enter all residential properties. Iris Browder stated only if the residence in question falls under the minimum housing code. Legal stated it applies to all residences including multifamily units if they are sub standard. The Building Official checks the outside of the property first to see if there are any violations there. If there are violations that are visible and administrative search warrant must be obtained from the judge to justify entering. Board member Truskunas stated the article does not state where the warrant is obtained from. Legal stated we as a city are going to identify the problem and clean it up. These cases are different from criminal cases. If a person's health and safety are in jeopardy the problem must be addressed. Board member Truskunas asked when the residence is occupied by the owner is there a difference. Legal stated no. Board member Truskunas asked can the police department or the mayor go in without a warrant. Legal stated no. Board member Kuether asked can a building official come in without notice. Legal stated no, prior notice will be given. Board member Martin asked must there be probable cause. Ms. Browder stated yes. Board member Truskunas asked if structural damage is observed and the building official comes in and observes other problems will the person be charged with more than one offense. Legal stated there will be no citation given without a warrant. Board member Truskunas asked if entry was denied would a warrant be issued. Legal stated if entry was denied a building official may go and pursue a warrant. Board member Truskunas asked was the building official limited to the problem listed on the warrant. Legal stated if it is in plain view the building official can address the other issues. Board member Truskunas asked the other members on the board how they felt about the people being able to enter your property. Board member Kuether stated he understood and he has the right to say no at that time; however the building official has the right to then go and obtain a warrant to enter. This is State Law. Board Member VanVranken stated this was a way to protect and maintain the health and safety of the resident. Board Member Martin stated if the city does not have people such as building officials to inspect for problems the code of ordinance book was useless. _i Board member Truskunas stated that the code is vague. He also stated the code should be written so the citizens would be able to understand it. Legal stated this is in place to allow the building official access to the properties. This is not a criminal warrant. The City will not be depriving persons of their liberties. Ms. Browder stated that before the ordinance is presented to council she will write board member Truskunas issues in green. Board member Truskunas asked about article 6.75 he thought the wording was too broad it should state any known or visible conditions. Legal stated we must be able to prove that the resident had knowledge that injury would occur. Board member Kuether asked about indoor swimming pool. Legal stated the code would not apply. Legal stated article 6.75 should state premise or property instead of exterior. Board member Truskunas asked article 677.4 to be change to reasonably level. Legal stated that the code is referring to housing to level. All foundations wall should be maintained structurally sound. Board member Kuether asked could we separate commercial and workspace into separate ordinances. Legal stated we already have. Board member Kuether stated if he owned a business the city should not be able to tell him where to maintain the air temperature. Board member Kuether stated the board should talk about cooling and heating at the temp of 85 for residential. Board member Truskunas asked why force someone to install an air conditioner. Board member Kuether stated we just talked about safety and welfare. Board member Truskunas is against mandatory residential air and heat. Board member Kuether stated he was all for having AC and heat in residential properties. Board member Martin also agrees and felt that having Ac and heat required would help protect the elderly. Ms. Browder asked legal for his input. Legal stated to leave the portion on heat supply. Board Member Martin asked was a code put in place to protect employees in a work place environment. Ms. Browder stated yes, the article would apply to commercial as well. Legal stated the city could go after the owner for sub standard structures. Board Member Kuether asked if carbon monoxide detectors would be required. Ms. Browder stated we can add that to the code for gas heated houses. J i_r1y 3 i, 2008 Fagg 4 of .5 Board Member Kuether asked do we require sprinkler system in houses. Legal stated depends on the size of the residence. Ms. Browder stated City Council did not agree due to the cost. Board Member Kuether asked when we inspect commercial buildings. Ms. Browder stated only before the first occupancy. Board Member Truskunas asked were differences made between an existing residence and a new residence. Legal stated we have to set minimum housing code regardless. Board Member Truskunas stated intrusion on someone's privacy. He also stated the rights of the people are being taken away. It is personal property rights. Board Member Kuether asked was vacant the right word. Ms. Browder stated she would give thought about changing the wording to vacate. Legal agreed. 4.2 Review and discuss proposed changes to Chapter 6, Article VI. Of the Code of Ordinances. (Browder) Ms. Browder presented the proposed changes to Chapter 6, Article VI. of the Code of Ordinances. Ms. Browder stated the health inspector helped make changes to the current ordinance. The City currently does not have an ordinance that would stop a business from closing for six months and then coming back under the same name. Board member Martin asked how this would affect the hot dog stand at the high school level. Do they need a permit every 90 days? Ms. Browder stated that each booster club retrieves their own permit every season. Board member Kuether stated that he would like to see the restaurant grade cards made more visible. Ms. Browder stated we need to define reasonably visible. Ms. Browder stated she was not sure how specific we can be. Ms. Browder stated the health inspector would have the cards placed where she feels they should be. 4.3 Give staff direction on future agenda items.(Browder) Ms. Browder asked were there any other changes or items that the board would like to be brought to council's attention. The board reiterated the concerns that were just discussed. Meeting adjourned at 7:15 pm. Richard Kuether, Chairman ✓►Gt JV114 Tracey Sherm n, Recording Secretary