Code Enforcement: Let’s review!

Did you know the City of Fountain has no snow removal ordinance?

During a workshop meeting of City Council on January 20, 2009, the Fountain Code Advisory Board, along with City Planning Director David Smedsrud and legal council Dan Stewart described their progress and where they are now in revising Fountain City Codes.

In 2007, the Advisory Board was appointed, including: Ken Lippencott, Norman Chapin, Mary Blickhahn, Linda Dunlop, Carol Little, Helen McBride, Fritz Prater, Linda Puckett, Rosetta Randall and James Wiese.

Code Enforcement Supervisor, Juan Flores related to council that the people on the Board had put in a lot of hard work to review city codes, culminating in the May 2008 recommendations for code revisions. The report was submitted to council for review, and the revisions were brought back for a final review in 2009.

Over the course of the discussion, it was asked what exactly was the code for residential snow removal. Surprisingly, it turns out there is no such ordinance. Our neighbors, Colorado Springs and Pueblo have specific ordinances requiring residents to remove snow from their sidewalks.

At a later meeting, it was decided that unless snow removal becomes a problem, the city should leave things as they are.
Dan Stewart, legal council for the Code Advisory Board explained to council the overall method of the Advisory Board’s review process. The initial review included a tour of the city with staff.

“How the city enforces the codes is a reflection of how we want the city to look,” Stewart told council.

The board went through the codes line-by-line, reviewing and making recommendations as they felt appropriate.

It was agreed a certain amount of broad discretion and common sense are important to a Code Enforcement officer’s job. Should the Code Enforcement Department be more proactive or reactive? The members of the board agreed the Department’s response to code violations needs to be a balance of both proactive and reactive approaches. Additionally, it was agreed there should be expanded efforts to educate the public about city codes, why they exist and how they are enforced.

Members also agreed more staff would be helpful to the Code Enforcement Department, and it would be a good idea to increase publicity about Department activities, to promote greater community involvement in things like clean up week, etc.

A hearing officer and administrative hearing process were recommended to be added to the enforcement process, although these positions still need to be created. Who the officer will be and how they will be appointed has yet to be decided.

More specific definitions of the term “nuisance” have been added to address issues of unsightly buildings that may be structurally sound, but are an eye-sore in the community. The city will be allowed to collect fees by suit, if the issue cannot be resolved with the property owner.

There is a chance, residents may no longer be required to maintain property to the middle of alleys behind their homes, but the question remains unresolved, because these concerns are more under the purview of council to make a final decision.

The issue of inoperable vehicles is a matter of strong feelings in Fountain, home of “Thunder in the Valley,” as car hobbyists restore antique cars or create custom cars, and do not wish to be confused with people who simply hoard junk cars. What is the difference between a junk car and a hobby car? How many cars defines hoarding?
Board member Norm Chapin added, the issue is not just “how many” but “how.”
He believes so long as safely maintained vehicles are screened from view, they should allow property owners to pursue their hobbies without creating eye-sores for the city. He believes this would be a workable solution for all parties involved. However, the issue then is how many cars can a person accumulate in their back yard, for how long? in which zones, by what lot size, and what defines “public view”?
If a neighbor is living by someone who has accumulated so many inoperable vehicles that it has affected the market value of adjacent properties, then it goes beyond the question of the rights of property owners and infringes on the rights of others. The sentiment weighed toward not allowing excessive storage of multiple inoperable vehicles.
Some suggested allowing one inoperable vehicle per residence, in an effort to allow for “hobby cars.” The goal is to allow people to work on antique or custom cars, without opening the door to “a sea of junk” on residential property.
Whether this will be allowed has not yet been decided, as this is a matter more appropriate for council to come up with a fair and democratic regulation.
Also, the question of whether a warrant should be required to go onto property needs a clearer policy.
Councilman Bryan Johnson expressed some concern that it seemed to be putting the “cart before the horse” to require a warrant before any violation has been identified. The goal of the warrant will be to include the resident in the process as it unfolds, and allow them more time to respond to concerns. However, it makes the process of code enforcement unduly cumbersome and time-consuming, as opposed to simply taking a look — for example, to see if rotting garbage has accumulated behind a garage.
Board member, Ken Lippencott explained to council, one of the goals of the review board was to ensure neighborhoods do not degrade and become areas of blight. From a Neighborhood Watch point of view, dealing with offenses at the lowest level, often reveals greater problems, and allows for community intervention before associated issues arise, such as illicit drugs or prostitution.
While these issues have not yet been decided in a concrete way, the citizens of Fountain have come together to try to decide on ordinances which best agree with the character of Fountain, independent of how Colorado Springs or other municipalities do things.
The people of Fountain will decide what works best for them, and have entrusted those serving on Fountain City Council to arrive at a wise and equitable decision, for now, and generations to come.

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Questions?

For general information, citizens may contact Code Enforcement Department at (719) 322-2032.

Visit the City of Fountain Website at http://fountaincolorado.org/