REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
October 5, 2023
FROM: ANDREW JANZ, City Attorney
City Attorney’s Office
BY: ERICA CAMARENA, Chief Assistant City Attorney
City Attorney’s Office, Code Enforcement
SUBJECT
Title
Progress of Code Enforcement, including ASET Quarterly report.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Per Council Resolution, the City Attorney’s Office is to provide an ASET quarterly report, which includes a Code Enforcement update.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Code Enforcement Division of the City Attorney’s Office includes six Teams: Rental Housing, Community Compliance, Special Teams, Administrative Support, Legal, and the recently implemented Night Team. Rental Housing includes the Anti-Slum Enforcement Team (ASET), Reactive Rental Housing, the Rental Housing Improvement Act (RHIA) Inspection Unit, Hotel/Motels, and the Mobilehome Parks Team. Community Compliance teams are dedicated to each Council District, as well as inspectors dedicated to commercial vacant buildings and the Blackstone corridor. Special Teams includes the School Area Team (SAT), and other teams dedicated to abatements, illegal dumping citations, tires, demolitions, and vacant lots. The Administrative Support Team includes the public facing counter, FresGO, Public Records Act (PRA) response, and accounting. Code Enforcement partners with the Legal Team on compliance agreements, inspection warrants, and court actions, such as petitions for receivership and injunctions. The Night Team aims to target code occurring after business hours and on weekends.
BACKGROUND
Cannabis Administrative Prosecutor Program
On August 29, 2023, the City entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to join forces in developing the Cannabis Administrative Prosecutor Program (CAPP). This MOU integrates the resources of the OAG with the powers the City has to undertake efficient enforcement actions against illegal land uses that constitute public nuisances. Working in conjunction with one another, this partnership allows CAPP to enforce all laws related to illegal commercial cannabis activity, including retail and cultivation. The CAPP team is in the process of developing its procedures, which should be finalized and ready for implementation by October 1.
Night Team
During the FY23-24 Budget Hearings, the Council provided funding for Code Enforcement to create a night team comprised of five inspectors and one supervisor. Code Enforcement has been working with Personnel on recruitments for the positions.
To move forward with some of the night team objectives, Code Enforcement launched a temporary night team comprised of two Senior Community Revitalization Specialists. These two inspectors work during the Tower District’s Farmer’s Market on Thursday evenings enforcing the provisions of the Tower District Sidewalk Vending Pilot Program; and also enforce mobile and sidewalk vending in other locations throughout the City. Additionally, they have been assisting with code enforcement cases that are difficult to enforce during the day (i.e., CUP violations for businesses exceeding their hours of operation) and code violations which typically occur after hours and/or on weekends. As of September 18, the team has issued 12 written warnings and 13 citations to sidewalk vendors in the total amount of $2,900. The team has also issued 4 citations to mobile vendors in the total amount of $2,000.
Rental Housing
ASET/Reactive
ASET’s goal is to increase the stock of affordable and habitable rental housing by pursuing and improving slum properties with substantial health and safety violations through enforcement, education, fines, receiverships, and compliance agreements.
ASET currently has 18 open cases with properties containing 321 rental units. Since the last quarterly report in May 2023, ASET has opened 6 new cases in properties containing 63 units. The attached ASET Weekly Status Report is updated and posted on the City’s website every Friday, and it has additional information regarding each open ASET case. Since May 1, 2023, the Reactive team has opened 540 cases, closed 437 cases, and currently has 383 active cases.
Please see below for highlights related to three of the active cases.
1. 510 W Hammond Ave. (137 violations) [Property Owner: BDHOV, LP; LEHOV, LP; WRHOV, LP; JDHOV, LP, District 3]
This is a two-story apartment building with eight units. This case began as a tenant complaint, but was re-assigned for an ASET inspection. The initial inspection took place on January 25, 2023. The Notice and Order had a deadline of March 31, 2023, and contained 137 violations. The violations included peeling paint, large holes in the walls, pest infestation, plumbing leak, broken windows, and missing sheet rock. An extension was requested, and progress continued at the property. As of today’s date, all violations have been cleared, except the repairs needed for the fire-damaged garages. This case remains open as the ASET Team works to gain full compliance.
2. 444 S Dearing Ave. (145 violations) [Property Owner: Lai Properties, GP, District 7]
This is a two-story apartment building with 10 units. This case began due to a prior case at the location and information gained through the vetting process. The initial inspection took place on July 5, 2023. The property first cleared a Notice of Violation for the smoke alarms, and then received a Notice and Order for 145 violations including damaged roof shingles, extension cords, inoperable appliances, pest infestation, mold/mildew, and bedroom egress issues. We have begun the re-inspection process at this complex and have cleared approximately 85 percent of the violations. This case remains open as the ASET Team works to gain full compliance.
3. 3079 E Weldon Ave. (106 violations) [Property Owner: JC Home Restorations LLC, District 7]
This is a one-story apartment building with 4 units. This case began in 2019, after being referred for a substandard rental housing complaint. The original Notice and Order contained 106 violations, including a pest infestation, damaged walls, egress issues, damaged tiles, and a fire damaged carport. As time went on, below average progress was made at the property and the property owner did not remain in communication with inspectors. The property was sold in March 2023 to the current property owner, who began the rehabilitation of the apartments. The property has cleared most violations at this time, pending clearance of permits. This case remains open as the ASET Team works to gain full compliance.
RHIA
Currently, there are 87,965 individual rental units registered in the Rental Housing Registry, which are located at 30,787 registered rental properties. Since the inception of the program, over 18,366 Baseline Health & Safety and Compliance Re-inspections have been performed. The virtual inspection program continues to be a viable alternative and are performed on an as needed basis. As of September 14, 2023, the Proactive Rental Housing Unit has billed $1,175,750 and collected $986,400 which is an 83.89% collection rate since the program’s inception. The team also continues to move forward with locating additional properties that should be registered.
The Rental Housing Team is also tasked with enforcing and educating owners and tenants of the City’s new Multiunit Housing Smoking Prohibition Ordinance, which went into effect on January 1, 2022. There are currently nine open and 211 closed smoking cases.
Mobilehome Parks
From May 1, 2023, to present, 8 complaint-based inspections have been completed, 10 cases have been closed, and 32 cases are currently active. Additionally, the team has completed two maintenance inspections with a total of 421 spaces and is scheduled to inspect a third park with 119 spaces before the end of the year.
There are 27 mobilehome parks with a total of 3,754 spaces in the City of Fresno. The Mobilehome Park Team recently welcomed a new senior to the team and is currently prepping for their next maintenance inspection scheduled for November. To date, the Mobilehome Parks Team has conducted approximately 1,228 initial inspections. The team has mailed approximately 579 initial Notice of Violations. Outreach events and question and answer forums have been held at mobilehome parks to provide residents with as much information as possible about the maintenance inspection process. The team completed the hand delivery of 3,754 brochures to individual lots. They continue to work closely with the Finance Department to streamline the Permit to Operate process, as well as working on administrative tasks related to the Rental Stabilization Ordinance.
Community Compliance - Council District Teams
As of September 21, 2023, there are 1,361 open and active cases in the City, and each Council district has the approximate caseload below:
District 1 - 206 cases
District 2 - 137 cases
District 3 - 353 cases
District 4 - 133 cases
District 5 - 207 cases
District 6 - 94 cases
District 7 - 231 cases
Community Compliance also has two Special Projects: Commercial Vacant Building Ordinance and the Blackstone Corridor.
Commercial Vacant Building Ordinance
Currently there are 49 active CVBO cases, including six recently opened cases. Fifteen new cases were opened this quarter and twelve cases were closed.
Seventeen of the CVBO cases are currently in the Planning/permitting phase or are being actively renovated.
Some CVBO highlights this quarter include: (1) Demolition of a problematic, long-term vacant structure in District 4 was completed; and (2) The CVBO team worked closely with the out-of-town owner of a grocery store in District 7 that was abandoned by the tenant and which quickly became occupied by transients. The team was able to relocate the transients and is currently assisting the new tenant with Planning submittals and permits to enable him to open his new retail business as soon as possible.
The CVBO team added an inspector, which will increase the capacity. The CVBO Team continues its’ mission to work cooperatively with each of our property owners to resolve the violations at their properties and to maintain them in a secure, unblighted and safe condition. Overall, cooperation with the CVBO process remains excellent.
A new Vacant Building Registry has been created by ISD for property owners to register their vacant buildings/homes and can be accessed on the City Attorney’s website.
Blackstone Corridor
We have a dedicated inspector who focuses on code enforcement issues throughout the Blackstone Corridor and works with the Blackstone Merchants Association. The area continues to improve with increased oversight and security. The inspector regularly walks the project area and works with property owners on security and blight issues.
Continued effort by property owners and business owners has led to positive results, including a reduction of loitering and blight around the Family Dollar, Super Clean Laundromat, the former iHop restaurant, and the Walmart, among others.
Special Teams
School Area Team (SAT)
The SAT provides pro-active code enforcement around schools. This team is focused on improving neighborhoods, providing pro-active code enforcement support to reduce blight, enhance safety, equip residents to become civically engaged, and connect low-income residents to housing resources to improve their quality of life. Since its inception in February 2020, the SAT has provided its services in 71 school areas.
Since the last quarterly report, the SAT has completed inspections and outreach in the following nine school areas: Turner (D7), Bullard Talent (D2; D1), Viking (D4), Slater (D1), McCardle (D6), Fort Washington/Clovis West (D6), Lincoln/Kastner (D6), Maple Creek (D6), and Mountain View (D6). A small number of cases in these areas will continue as they require additional time and effort to reach compliance.
SAT enforcement and outreach is now underway in the following four school areas: Hidalgo (D7), Addams (D3), Greenberg (D5), and Webster (D7).
SAT’s community outreach currently includes virtual neighborhood improvement discussions, virtual landlord forums, and SAT trailer events in each school area. The trailer events involve interaction with the community, providing useful information and resources to residents, and giveaways of SAT swag! In the last quarter, SAT also presented at multiple School Coffee Hours, and took part in various community events, including D1’s Community Resource Fair at Inspiration Park, D7’s Beat the Heat at Romain Park, and D4’s Ready, Set, Splash at Vinland Park. SAT also continues to reach the community via social media in several languages.
Abatement Team
The abatement team has completed 244 abatements since the last Code Enforcement report. This includes multiple board-ups, tall grass/weed abatements, and junk/rubbish clean-ups. The team also conducts abatements pursuant to warrants and cleans alleys throughout the City.
Other Special Teams Highlights
- The Demolition Team has facilitated seven demolitions since the last Code Enforcement report; one completed directly by the City, and six completed by property owners with Code Enforcement oversight and motivation. Additionally, six demolitions are in progress, six demolition applications are in progress, seven rehabilitations by owner in lieu of demolition are in progress, and nine applications for rehabilitation by owner in lieu of demolition are in progress.
- The Vacant Lots Team has achieved compliance on 617 cases since the last Code Enforcement report. Property owner compliance pursuant to enforcement and abatement by Code combined to account for these successes. The team also continues to work with Fire to prioritize and maintain a list of 122 high risk properties through fire season.
- The Tire Team collected over 5,000 waste tires from various locations throughout the City since the last Code Enforcement report. The next Waste Tire Amnesty Day event is scheduled for October 7, 2023, in District 7 (5015 E Olive - Mennonite Community Church parking lot). Additionally, 120 waste tire facility inspections were conducted since the last Code Enforcement report to ensure compliance with state and local regulations.
- The Illegal Dumping Team has issued 116 administrative citations since the last Code Enforcement report. Seventeen covert camera units are being used to combat illegal dumping and address complaints received from residents and businesses. One of the covert cameras recently captured video evidence of a drive-by shooting and was utilized to assist law enforcement in their investigation.
Administrative Team
The Administrative Team is managed by the Business Manager who oversees the accounting and clerical staff assigned to code enforcement. The clerical staff respond to approximately 1,663 calls per month, while also opening cases, processing notices and citations, and meeting with constituents who walk in with questions. Between July and September, this team processed 152 code enforcement related Public Records Act requests.
Assessment Hearings
Our Accounting Team, with help from legal staff, participates in quarterly assessment hearings. Most recently, these were held on August 29 and 30, 2023, and a total of $175,461,81 was assessed from 182 cases. These assessments are for past due fines, administrative costs, and abatement costs, and they are assessed on the property owner’s property taxes.
Legal Team
The legal team continues to see success in obtaining inspection/abatement warrants and petitioning the court for receivership. The legal team works on research memoranda and some ordinances and resolutions for Councilmembers on Code Enforcement related topics. The legal team also represents Code, Fire, and the Police Department at administrative hearings, and oversees the Eviction Protection Program.
Since May 1, 2023, the legal team has worked on 28 inspection and/or abatement warrants, successfully petitioned the court to appoint a receiver on two properties and represented the City at eight administrative hearings.
Attachments: Attachment A - ASET Weekly Status Report
Attachment B - PowerPoint Presentation
EMC:th