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HomeMy Public PortalAbout09) 8A - Pool Maintenance for Reduction of Mosquitos _staff ReportAGENDA ITEM 8.A. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE: November 4, 2020 TO: The Honorable City Council FROM: Bryan Cook, City Manager Via: Scott Reimers, Community Development Director By: Andrew J. Coyne, Management Analyst SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 20-1049, POOL MAINTENANCE FOR THE REDUCTION OF MOSQUITO BREEDING RECOMMENDATION: The City Council is requested to: 1. Introduce for first reading by title only and waive further reading of Ordinance No. 20- 1049 (Attachment “A”), Pool Maintenance for Vector Control; and 2. Schedule the second reading of Ordinance No. 20-1049 for November 17, 2020. BACKGROUND: 1. At the July 2019 San Gabriel Valley San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District (District) Public Works Technical Advisory Committee meeting, the committee voted to recommend that a unified, cohesive, and collaborative region wide ordinance for the maintenance of swimming pools be adopted by cities throughout the region. 2. At the September 2019 San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) City Managers’ Steering Committee meeting, the committee discussed the public health risks of unmaintained swimming pools and requested that the SGVCOG Governing Board urge cities to adopt a region wide swimming pool ordinance. 3. On October 24, 2019, the SGVCOG Governing Board voted to Adopt Resolution 19- 46 to encourage cities to adopt a region wide swimming pool ordinance. 4. On October 20, 2020, the City Council reviewed the staff report and ordinance and asked staff to return with more information regarding the citation amounts in the City Council November 4, 2020 Page 2 of 3 ordinance drafted by the District and with more information about the District’s citation authority and process. ANALYSIS: The District’s effort to have local agencies adopt their proposed draft ordinance stems from the fact that the District only has abatement authority and not citation authority. Abatement authority is the power of an agency to physically cause an issue to be stopped, in this case that might mean the draining of a swimming pool. Abating an unmaintained swimming pool is a costly process that takes approximately three months and requires significant staff time. The District is seeking to partner with the City to use the City’s citation authority to reduce the time it takes to gain compliance. The proposed process would have the City and the District partner together, relying on each other’s strengths. The District will continue to investigate the location of unmaintained swimming pools. If compliance cannot be gained in a timely fashion by the District, their staff will reach out to our Community Preservation staff for assistance. Given the public health risk, our staff would leave a Code Compliance Notice (CCN) and a Request for an Inspection. The CCN would include a note that this is the last and final notice and that if compliance is not achieved within 72 hours the property owner will receive a citation. If the issue is not abated in the time specified, additional citations will be issued. If access cannot be gained to the property, the District will take the lead on obtaining a warrant. Table 1 demonstrates the difference between the District’s proposed citation amounts, the City’s existing citation amounts for public nuisances, and a possible Hybrid Approach. Table 1: Comparison of Citation Amounts SGVMVCD’s Proposal Existing Citations Amounts Hybrid Approach First citation $500 $100 $100 Second citation $1,000 $300 $500 Third citation $1,500 $500 $1,000 Staff has met with the District Manager of the District, Jared Dever. Mr. Dever stated that the District would be generally supportive of any citation program that the City Council deemed to be effective. Staff recommends using the citation amounts found in the existing fee and fine schedule. The existing public nuisance citation amounts have been effective in the past and will likely prove effective in the future. In all Code enforcement cases, the existing citation schedule generally captures the attention of the property owner and results in quick compliance. This year the City has opened 873 cases, of which only 10 cases or 1.15 percent required the issuance of a citation. Also, in 80 percent of the cases where a first citation was issued, a second citation was not necessary. The City has not issued a third citation to date. It is important to note that staff has the ability in the existing code to continue writing citations every day that a City Council November 4, 2020 Page 3 of 3 violation exists. If an issue is not corrected after the third citation, staff can issue a citation for $500 every day until the issue is corrected. Adopting fines greater than $1,000 requires the City to classify the violation as a misdemeanor rather than as an infraction. To do adopt these higher fines, additional recitals are required demonstrating that the issue is an immediate threat to health and safety. Additionally, the Ordinance will need to be adjusted to make the appeal rights clear. If the City Council desires to adopt the citation amounts in the District’s draft Ordinance, staff will return with a modified Ordinance for first reading on November 18 that includes the necessary legal findings necessary to adopt a citation amount greater than $1,000 along with a resolution modifying the City’s Fee and Fine Schedule. If the City Council desires to have a higher citation amount than the existing fee and fine schedule allows, staff has developed a “Hybrid Approach” found in Table 1. This hybrid approach starts with the lower fine to get the violator’s attention, provides a higher second citation amount of $500, and doubles the existing third citation amount from $500 to $1,000. If the City Council desires to adopt such an approach, staff will bring a resolution modifying the City’s Fee and Fine Schedule at second reading of the Ordinance. CITY STRATEGIC GOALS: Adopting the proposed ordinance would further the City Strategic Goals of Public Health and Safety and Quality of Life. FISCAL IMPACT : The proposed ordinance would have no impact on the Fiscal Year 2020-21 City Budget. ATTACHMENT: A. Ordinance No. 20-1049 Page 1 of 5 ORDINANCE NO. 20-1049 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY AMENDING TITLE 4 (LAW ENFORCEMENT), CHAPTER 2 (NUISANCES) OF THE TEMPLE CITY MUNICIPAL CODE TO ADD A NEW SECTION J (POOL MAINTENANCE FOR THE REDUCTION OF MOSQUITO BREEDING). WHEREAS, Section VII of Article XI of the California Constitution provides that a City may make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 38771 provides that legislative bodies of Cities may declare what constitutes a nuisance; and WHEREAS, the Temple City Municipal Code in Sections 3-2A-5, 4-2C-2, and 4-2I-5, declares that unmaintained swimming pools and stagnant water are a public nuisance. THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY FINDS: 1.Stagnant sources of water create breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can transmit the causative agents of human diseases; and 2.Inadequately maintained swimming pools are a significant source of stagnant or standing bodies of water within the city; and 3.It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to protect public health, safety and welfare by developing regulations that will promote the maintenance of swimming pools in the city in a healthful, sanitary and safe condition; and 4.It is further the purpose and intent of this chapter to establish administrative procedures to cause the swift abatement of inadequately maintained swimming pools.; and THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMPLE CITY, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 4-2J-0 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: 4-2J-0 DEFINITIONS The following definitions govern construction of this Article unless the context clearly requires otherwise: CITY: The City of Temple City. CODE: The Temple City Municipal Code, and laws incorporated therein by reference, as well as any adopted and uncodified ordinances. CITY MANAGER: The Temple City Manager and/or his or her authorized designee(s). OW NER: Any person having legal title to any real property in the city, including all persons shown as owners on the last equalized assessment roll of the county assessor's office. Owner also includes any person with powers of attorney, ATTACHMENT A Page 2 of 5 executors of estates, trustees, or who are court appointed administrators, conservators, guardians or receivers. PERSON: For purposes of this chapter, means and includes any individual, partnership of any kind, corporation, limited liability company, association, joint venture or other organization or entity, however formed, as well as trustees, heirs, executors, administrators, assigns and any public entity or agency that acts as an owner in the city. POOL: Any swim ming pool, whether above-ground or in-ground. For purposes of this chapter, "pool" also includes any above-ground or in-ground hot tub or spa, ornamental pond, fountain, bird bath, or any other man-made structure or fixture capable of collecting water. PROPERTY or PREMISES: Any privately-owned real property in the city on which a pool, as defined in this chapter, is present. RESPONSIBLE PERSON: Any person, whether an owner as defined in this chapter, or a person who leases, rents, occupies or has charge, control or possession of property, who allows, causes, creates, maintains, suffers or permits the presence of a pool that is not maintained in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, by any act or the omission of an act or duty. The actions or inactions of a responsible person's agent, employee, representative or contractor may be attributed to that responsible person. SECTION 2. Section 4-2J-1 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: 4-2J-1 Enforcement; Administration. A. The city manager is hereby authorized and directed to enforce the provisions of this chapter. B. The city manager is authorized to designate certain city personnel to assist in the enforcement of this chapter. The designees will have such enforcement powers as are delegated by the city manager. C. The city manager is authorized to promulgate rules, regulations, policies and procedures to implement the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, administrative policies and procedures for the city's use, independently and/or in conjunction consultation with the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District, to investigate, identify and abate pools that are not maintained in compliance with the provisions of this section. SECTION 3. Section 4-2J-2 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: 4-2J-2 Inspections; right of entry. A. The city manager is authorized to make such inspections and take such actions as may be required to enforce the provisions of this chapter. Authorized inspections will be limited to exterior portions of premises. B. When it is necessary to make an inspection to enforce the provisions of this chapter, or when the city manager has reasonable cause to believe that there exists on a premises a pool that is not maintained in compliance with Page 3 of 5 the provisions of this chapter, the city manager may enter the premises at reasonable times to inspect. 1. If the property is occupied, the city manager must, before entering the premises, present proper credentials, and request entry, explaining his or her reasons for the inspection. 2. If the property is unoccupied, the city manager must first make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other responsible person, as defined in this chapter, and request entry, explaining his or her reasons for the inspection. 3. If consent to entry is refused or otherwise cannot be obtained, the city manager must have recourse to every remedy provided by law to secure lawful entry and inspect the premises, including, but not limited to, securing an inspection warrant pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1822.50 through 1822.57. 4. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the city manager has reasonable cause to believe that a pool is in such a condition as to pose an imminent hazard to public health and safety, the city manager will have the right to immediately enter and inspect the premises, and may use any reasonable means required to effectuate the entry and inspection. SECTION 5. Section 4-2J-3 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-3 - Pool maintenance required; maintenance standards; owners' responsibility. A. Owners, as defined in this chapter, must regularly and continuously maintain a pool in one of the following manners: 1. The pool must be filtered and treated so the water remains clear and circulating, and 2. The pool must always be fully drained and kept dry. B. Any pool that is not maintained in conformance with subsection A. will be deemed an "unmaintained pool." C. Notwithstanding any provision of a lease or rental agreement, or other occupancy contract or agreement, which assigns pool maintenance duties to a lessee, tenant or occupant, an owner will be deemed responsible for the regular and continuous maintenance of his or her pool in accordance with subsection A. SECTION 6. Section 4-2J-4 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-4 - Violation; public nuisance; penalty. A. The city council finds and declares that it is unlawful for any responsible person, as defined in this chapter, to allow, cause, create, suffer or permit the presence of an unmaintained pool on his or her property. Page 4 of 5 B. The city council finds and declares that an unmaintained pool constitutes a public nuisance subject to abatement. C. Any person violating the provisions of this section is subject to the penalty provisions set forth in Section 4-2J-6. SECTION 7. Section 4-2J-5 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-5 - Abatement; emergency abatement of an imminently hazardous unmaintained pool. A. The city manager may cause an unmaintained pool to be abated, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 4-2C-10 through 4-2C- 16. B. The city manager may utilize the procedures set forth in Section 4-2C-17 for the emergency abatement of an unmaintained pool if it is determined that the pool creates an imminent hazard to public health, safety, or welfare. Evidence of an imminently hazardous pool includes, but is not limited to, the presence of mosquitoes, mosquito larvae, bacterial growth or algae, or water which is unclear, murky, clouded, green or discolored. SECTION 8. Section 4-2J-6 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-6 - Administrative citations. A. The city manager may issue an administrative citation to a responsible person who causes, allows, suffers, or permits the presence of an unmaintained pool. Issuance of a citation must be in accordance with and as provided in Section 1-4-4. B. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this code, the penalty amount of an administrative citation issued for a violation of this section must be assessed as follows: 1. For the first administrative citation, the penalty will be one hundred dollars ($100). 2. For the second administrative citation, the penalty will be two hundred dollars ($200). 3. For the third administrative citation, the penalty will be five hundred dollars ($500). SECTION 9. Section 4-2J-7 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-7 - Remedies not exclusive. Any administrative citation pursuant to this section shall not prejudice or adversely affect any other civil, administrative, or criminal action that may be brought to abate an unmaintained pool or to seek compensation for damages suffered. A civil or Page 5 of 5 criminal action may be brought concurrently with any other process regarding the same violation. SECTION 10. Section 4-2J-8 of the Temple City Municipal Code is hereby established to read as follows: Section 4-2J-8 - Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this section is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this section. The city council declares that it would have adopted this section, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 3. This Ordinance will take effect thirty (30) days after its adoption. The City Clerk, or her duly appointed deputy, attests to the adoption of this Ordinance and will post this Ordinance to as required by law. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this ___ day of ______, 2020. ________________________ Tom Chavez, Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: ________________________ _______________________ Peggy Kuo, City Clerk Greg Murphy, City Attorney