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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/12/2004 B A K E R S F I E L D Alan Tand~Cibj~lVlanager Sue Benham, Chair Staff: Trudy Slater David Couch Jacquie Sullivan AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT LEGISLATIVE AND LITIGATION COMMITTEE Regular Meeting Monday, January 12, 2004 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1. ROLL CALL Called to order at 1:04 p.m. Members present: Councilmember Sue Benham, Chair Councilmember David Couch Councilmember Jacquie Sullivan 2. CLOSED SESSION Committee Chairperson Sue Benham indicated she was delaying closed session until after the second deferred business item. Closed session began at 1:30 p.m. and ended at 1:56 p.m. Committee Chair Benham indicated the Committee gave direction to the City Attorney who will provide follow up to that extent. 3, ADOPT DECEMBER 15, 2003 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None. Agenda Summary Report Legislative and Litigation Committee January 12, 2004 Page 2 5. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. REVIEW, DISCUSSION AND COMMI'n'EE RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO UNDERAGE DRINKING "KEG PARTIES" Police Captain Bryan Lynn indicated that the second response to loud parties and underage drinking and keg parties are two separate issues. He provided the Attorney's Office with information about the second response to loud parties and potential for cost recovery. The cost recovery would be assessed on the property owner. Committee Chair Benham asked the reasons why the City has not pursued this avenue in the past. Both City Manager Alan Tandy and City Attorney Ginny Gennaro responded to this question. City Manager Tandy indicated this action would bring complaints from innocent home owners who had been gone overnight and whose teenagers may have had a party, damaged their home, and then they are assessed a fee by the City; home owners may present themselves as being innocent victims of circumstance, city Attorney Gennaro indicated that previously it was difficult logistically for a second officer to track a second response to the same location within the 30-day period in which the City's current ordinance allows. Captain Lynn felt as 12 hour response time would better serve residents although the 30-day allowance is broader in scope. City Attorney Gennaro indicated the Police Department's records management system should be able to allow officers to better track whether the first warning was given and if a call was in fact a second response. Committee Member Jacquie Sullivan indicated she felt this is an accountability issue. Upon further discussion, Committee Member David Couch motioned and the Committee agreed to have the City Attorney draft a first reading of the ordinance to forward to Council, with the understanding that amendments include a definition of loud and unruly parties within the City's ordinance and tightens up the time frame for loud and unruly parties to a 12-hour period. Committee Chair Benham requested the City Attorney provide Council Members with background information on the initial referral that led the Legislative and Litigation Committee to review this issue. Agenda Summary Report Legislative and Litigation Committee January 12, 2004 Page 3 B. REVIEW, DISCUSSION AND COMMI'n'EE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING MOTOR HOMES PARKED ON PUBLIC STREETS Police Lt. Tim Taylor explained that lots of cities have ordinances that prohibit the parking of motor homes, recreational vehicles and trailers attached to other vehicles in their neighborhoods, many with restrictions based on height and width. The California Vehicle Code allows cities to draft ordinances that would prohibit parking if adequate signage is provided. Discussion was held on what would be acceptable notice, including a warning as a first notice, ugliness of signs, costs of signage, sign placement, the ways other cities prohibit/restrict parking, and the need for a method of effective enforcement vs. an outright ban. City Attorney Gennaro indicated the sample ordinances have exceptions, such as allowing a 24-hour period for loading and unloading and permits through either the City Manager's Office or the Police Department for up to as long as 12 months. A very real issue is how to determine what adequate written signage is. Chairperson Benham asked if other Committee Members had had problems with oversized vehicle parking in their wards. Committee Member Sullivan indicated she currently had a problem with an extremely large band trailer capable of housing band members parking on Akers, near Barbara. She had contacted Code Enforcement who had contacted Streets. She feels an incident like this abuses the neighborhood. Committee Chairperson Benham indicated the Committee needed a little more information on signage and related costs. She was not comfortable recommending an ordinance change without knowing what the costs were going to be. For a historical reference, City Attorney Gennaro distributed a February 17, 1999 memorandum to the Legislative and Litigation Committee discussing prohibited parking for vacation trailers, recreational vehicles and motor coaches as well as a February 24, 1999 letter to a property owner asking compliance to remove the recreational vehicle from the public right of way. City Manager Tandy asked if an ordinance could be crafted which applied practical rather than technical controls, such as restrictions of parking on the same street or within 300 feet of their previous location. If residents were unable to monitor their vehicles sitting outside their living or bedroom windows, they might be more amenable to off street parking restrictions. Agenda Summary Report Legislative and Litigation Committee January 12, 2004 Page 4 Committee Member Sullivan felt that neighbors usually don't complain if the parking is temporary. She encouraged requiring appropriate parking for vehicle owners. City Attorney Gennaro requested permission to contact other cities on whether they just have the ordinance on the books, if they are enfoming it, and in what manner they are enforcing it. She felt staff would be in a better position to provide the Committee with information at that time. Lt. Taylor will share with the City Attorney his ordinance information. City Manager Tandy directed Administrative Analyst Trudy Slater to assist the City Attorney in contacting other cities. Committee Chair Benham indicated that if staff needed more than one month, ii could be brought back at the March Legislative and Litigation Committee meeting. 6. COMMITTEE COMMENTS None. 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1:58 p.m. :' Staff Attendees: City Manager Alan Tandy, Administrative Analyst Trudy Slater; City Attorney Ginny Gennaro; Police Captain Bryan Lynn, Police Lieutenant Tim Taylor; Finance Director Greg Klimko Other Attendees: Tammy Brown