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09-15-2020 - AGENDA ITEM 11 CONSIDERATION OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT WITH SAN GABRIEL VALLEY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENT FOR HOMELESS PROGRAMS12/1/2020 Print Staff Report AGENDA ITEM NO. 11 AGENDA STAFF REPORT City of West Covina I Office of the City Manager DATE: September 15, 2020 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: David Carmany City Manager SUBJECT: CODE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION UPDATE RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council receive and file this informational report. BACKGROUND: The Code Enforcement Division has added several part-time officers since February 2020 and it is important that the City Council and community have a full understanding of the Division and how it functions. DISCUSSION: Staff will present an overview of the Division's operations, procedures and data on violations (Attachment No. 1). OPTIONS: It is recommended that the City Council receive and file the update from Community Development - Code Enforcement Division. Attachments Attachment No. 1 - Code Enforcement Division Presentation CITY Enhance the City Image and Effectiveness COUNCIL Protect Public Safety GOALS & OBJECTIVES: https://destinyhosted.com/print_ag_memo.Gfm?seq=947&rev_num=0&mode=6demal&reloaded=true&id=93782 1/1 ■ANDROID ■IPHONE ■PHONE ■WEB ALL DEPARTMENTS 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST ■ OPEN ■ CLOSED 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 CODE ENFORCEMENT MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST ■ OPEN ■ CLOSED ■ Open Case: The address of the property where a code violation exists must be verified to determine if it falls within the City of West Covina. ■ Inspection: An inspection is conducted to determine if there is a violation. ■ Courtesy Notice (only if first time violator): Courtesy Notice is mailed to the property owner, business owner and/or tenant, if required, requesting voluntary compliance. An alternative method could be a verbal warning requesting voluntary compliance. ■ Follow-up inspection occurs, and if the violation has not been corrected, a Notice of Violation is issued with compliance to be achieved within ten (/0) days (or less, depending on the violation). ■ /f the violation(s) has been abated, a Thank You Letter is mailed to property owner/tenant. ■ Notice of Violation: Notice of Violation is mailed to the property owner and all responsible parties for the subject property outlining code violations and possible remedies to abate the violations. ■ Follow --up inspection occurs, and if the violation has not been corrected, a Notice of Administrative Citation is issued with compliance to be achieved ten (/0) days (or less, depending on the violation). ■ Notice of Administrative Citation: Notice of Administrative Citation is mailed to the property owner and all responsible parties for the subject property outlining code violations and possible remedies to abate the violations, once again requesting voluntary compliance before fines are imposed. ■ In extreme cases where an imminent threat to public health and safety exists, such as slumlord living conditions or fire/life safety issues, an Administrative Citation may be used as a first step in order to ensure immediate compliance. ■ If there is no correction after the initial visit and subsequent requests for correction, the handling Code Enforcement Officer would evaluate the situation. If it appears the violation is not going to be corrected after the noticing process, an Administrative Citation would be prepared and mailed, which includes a fine, and gives the violator twenty-one (21) days to pay the citation. ■ Administrative Citation: Citation issued to the property owner and all responsible parties regarding outstanding code violations found at subject property. The Administrative Citation will also include remedies to abate the outstanding violation(s) before additional fines are imposed. ■ Additional Administrative Citations: If an Administrative Citation has been issued, and the violation persists after a seven (7) day period, additional citations may be mailed which would include an increased fine and gives the violator twenty-one (21) days to pay each citation. Notice to Appear at Office Conference: Final attempt to gain voluntary compliance at the staff level will be a Notice to Appear at Office Conference with the Code Enforcement Manager. These conferences are held to obtain voluntary compliance by setting goals and timelines that are acceptable to both staff, the property owner, and all responsible parties. ■ After the Office Conference, the handling Code Enforcement Officer will mail a letter to all responsible parties outlining the meeting. This letter is intended to memorialize the meeting with any agreements, timelines, and recommendations etc. that were provided to the violator. If the violator failed to appear at hearing, a Failure to Appear Notice would be issued, and the case will be referred to the Code Enforcement Manager for additional enforcement assessment. ■ These actions may include additional Administrative Citations or the City may pursue other legal remedies, such as civil penalties, nuisance abatement hearing, criminal prosecution and/or civil injunction up to and including an emergency application to appoint a receiver to prevent, restrain, correct, or abate the violations with costs of abatement including attorney's fees payable by responsible parties (Cal. Health & Safety Code §§ 17980.6 & 17980.7). 564 CODE CASES OPENED vs. CLOSED 684 398 440 231 233 279 0 301 ili2587 271 331 307 A16,f pw 4l►+� t . ■ OBSERVATION ■ RESIDENT o CITY STAFF MANONYMOUS CA PUBLIC NUISANCE '1101b 1996 BUILDING AND SAFETY 144 VEHICLES 103 GRAFFITI 32 ILLEGALTRASH HAULERS 27 BUSINESS LICENSE 20 ZONING 16 OTHER 19 TOTAL: 2357 Overgrown/ Dead Vegetation 1256 Trash and Debris 790 Structure Maintenance 528 Inoperable /U n permitted Vehicles 507 Trash Cans 430 Building Permit Required/Stop Work 318 Yard Parking 231 Parkway Landscaping 224 Tree or Shrub Encroachment 99 Other 177 TOTAL: 4560 Inspections 4923 Observations/Complaints 2896 Phone Calls/Emails 1824 Courtesy Notice 1659 Case Note Entries 1448 ThankYou Letters 1 191 Notice of Violation 1047 Notice of Administrative Citation 418 Administrative Citations 377 Other Letters 372 TOTAL: 16155 During the first six months of Enforcement Officers have mailed residents and business owners. operation, over 5 000 our Code letters to SEEING IMPROVEMENTS SEEING IMPROVEMENTS 2_.W-4 �'e SEEING IMPROVEMENTS ,A. SEEING IMPROVEMENTS Increase the training and development of our code enforcement officers. Continue working in collaboration with the community to address concerns. Preserve and enhance the property values of residential and commercial properties through Code Enforcement efforts. Work closely with commercial and residential property owners to improve and update the appearance of assets. Code Enforcements objective is to gain voluntary code compliance from property owners, business owners, and/or tenants whenever possible. In those cases where we have been unable to achieve voluntary compliance through a series of written requests, or in those cases where the property owner, business owner, and/or tenant indicates that they will not correct the violation, additional enforcement actions may be taken. Milan M. Mrakich Code Enforcement Manager CODE ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Milan M. Mrakich Code Enforcement Manager Part -Time Officer Part -Time Officer Part -Time Officer Part -Time Officer Part -Time Officer Part -Time Officer Part -Time Offi Area I Area I Area 2 Area 2 Area 3 Area 3 Area 4 The Code Enforcement Division is comprised of one full-time manager and seven part-time officers which is the equivalent of one and a half full- time employees. ■ The division services the needs of over 110,000 residents and 3000 businesses in the City. CODE ENFORCEMENT'S PROACTIVE INITIATIVE ■ The City of West Covina has launched a GO -REQUEST app to handle all types of service requests. This system allows City Staff to accept online service requests and communicate with residents via e-mail. This system has also been integrated into the City's website along with a mobile portal for both android and Phone users. You may download the app from yourApp Store.