Law, Buildings and Code Enforcement Committee

Name: Law, Buildings and Code Enforcement Committee — Albany, NY
Start: 2022-03-14
End: 2022-03-14
Location: Albany, NY

Regular Meeting

Albany, NY · March 14, 2022

Agenda Minutes

Minutes

COMMON COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEETING LAW, BUILDINGS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT COMMITTEE Ginnie Farrell , Chair Meeting called by: Ginnie Farrell, Chair Date: 3/14/22 Time: 5:30PM Committee Members Present: Farrell ☒ Anane ☒ Clarke ☒ Keegan ☒ Romero ☒ Invitees/Speakers Council Members Adams, Balarin, Flynn, Hoey, Kimbrough, Johnson, Robinson, Zamer, Council Present: President Ellis City Personnel Present: Danielle Gillespie, Ethan Samuel, Bill Trudeau, Brett Williams Minutes Agenda Item (s):  Local Law A of 2022 A LOCAL LAW AMENDING SECTION 301 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO APPOINTMENTS OF DEPARTMENT HEADS UPON COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW TERM  Ordinance 6.22.22 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 359-75 (PERMIT REQUIRED; HOURS) OF CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PROHIBITING NON-PERMITTED VEHICLES FROM PARKING IN EACH RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMIT ZONE FOR MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS Questions and Discussion:  The Chair called the meeting to order.  Council Member Balarin discussed Ordinance 6.22.22  William Trudeau discussed Ordinance 6.22.22  Council Member Balarin asked William Trudeau if 90 days was reasonable with the placement of new signs  Council Member Anane asked if William Trudeau was discussing physical signs  Council President Ellis discussed about changing signs and informing the public.  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams discussed about the language of the signs and what would change in the legislation.  Council Member Romero discussed that people should be told about the signage and asked Council Member Balarin if there would now be a larger group of people now getting penalties in which Council Member Balarin responded to.  Council Member Romero noted that she will be voting no Ordinance 6.22.22 because it might create more fines  Council Member Anane asked William Trudeau if this is the first time he saw this ordinance and how many signs will need to be changed and how many staffers will deal with the changes of these signs in which William Trudeau responded to.  Council Member Farrell asked about the parking zones in which Council Member Balarin responded to.  Council Member Keegan asked if William Trudeau would be able to have the information Council Member Anane was talking about if they were to table this Ordinance and give it to the Council Members, in which William Trudeau responded to.  Council Member Hoey discussed about the increased number of buildings that could be made and that would hurt people who keep trying to park.  Council Member Balarin said how this Ordinance is happening because of constituent’s complaints to him about parking.  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams clarified the difference that the Ordinance would create.  Council Member Farrell discussed the reality of this issue and discussed if people really move their cars every two hours or not.  Council Member Keegan discussed how Matthew Peter from Albany Parking Authority is having issues with people who keep moving three or four spots away in the .  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams said how the Albany Parking Authority are behind this legislation.  Council Member Romero made a motion to table Ordinance 6.22.22 and it was seconded by Council Member Keegan and it passed by voice vote.  Council Member Johnson discussed Local Law A of 2022  David Galin discussed Local Law A of 2022  Council Member Keegan discussed what concerned her for the Local Law A of 2022, in which Council President Ellis responded to her concerns.  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams discussed not remembering the Council requesting a department head coming to a meeting and not showing up, in which Council Member Johnson discussed the relevance and importance of Local Law A of 2022.  Council Member Farrell discussed how Department Heads did not show up after being requested to show up in the past.  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams clarified what Local Law A of 2022 will do if passed.  Council Member Clarke asked if they looked at other cities that have similar requirements, in which Council Member Johnson responded to.  Council Member Romero discussed that Local Law A of 2022 is the oversight the Council and People need  Council Member Anane discussed the importance of Local Law A and his support for it  David Galin discussed how he can’t think of any situation in where the department head did not come to a meeting after being asked to come on the request of the Common Council and discussed how the Council has the ability to subpoena and discussed the process of reconfirming and what would change with this Local Law.  Council Member Hoey discussed the relevance of Local Law A and discussed the problems he has dealt with when trying to retrieve documents and having people come to meetings  Council Member Keegan discussed that she is concerned that this legislation doesn’t address the issue with lack of responses from department heads.  Council Member Kimbrough discussed about added language to certain sections of Local Law A of 2022.  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams discussed about changing language in the Local Law and what to take out  Council President Ellis discussed about the importance of this Local Law and its affect it can have  Council Member Robinson asked about what are they going to measure when reconfirming the commissioners and Heads of the department and what should the Council take into consideration, in which Council President Ellis and Council Member Johnson responded to  Council Member Farrell discussed the importance of the Council and whatever can give the correct power to the Council  Council Member Zamer asked about if the Common Council if they have any power over confirmation besides the initial and what recourses are there if they don’t get the reports that they are due, in which Council President Ellis responded to.  Council Member Clarke discussed what his opinion is and that it ultimately is up to the voters  Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams discussed Council Member Anane’s motion to amend this Local Law and he does not think that is enough time  Council President Ellis asked Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams how long it took to reaffirm people.  Council Member Anane thanked Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams for his opinion  Council Member Keegan asked to clarify where the thirty days would be going, also stated her concerns on the third section  David Galin discussed everyone who was confirmed or held over in their departments  Council Member Farrell discussed the amendments that will be made to Local Law.  Council Member Anane made a motion to put this out of committee with a positive recommendation  Council Member(s) Anane, Keegan, Johnson, and Council President Ellis discussed the amendments being done to the Local Law  Council Member Anane asked if they could do something about voting and discussed about compromises they wanted.  Council Member Clarke was saying he is not opposed to the Local Law but he does not understand the rush to get out of the committee.  Council Member Johnson discussed how there wasn’t major amendments to the Local Law.  Council Member(s) Farrell, Johnson and Senior Assistant Corporation Council Brett Williams discussed some of the amendments done to the Local Law.  Council Member Anane made a motion with a favorable recommendation to vote Local Law A of 2022 with the amendments out of committee, seconded by Romero, it does not pass out of committee. Public Comment: There was no public comment. Adjourn: The chairperson asked for a motion to adjourn at which was duly made, seconded, and passed. Respectfully Submitted, Ethan Samuel Senior Legislative Aide to Common Council

Agenda

This meeting is being held in accordance to Governor Hochul’s signed legislation allowing municipalities to resume remote meetings. If the legislation is revoked, then it will be an in-person meeting. Please stay up to date with the status of our meetings by going to our website and following us on Facebook. We encourage residents to continue participating. Constituents can provide public comment on our new public comment line 518-694-3987, by email commoncouncil@albanyny.gov or the form on our website https://www.albanyny.gov/Government/CityOfficials/CommonCouncil.aspx. These comments will be shared with members and/ or read for the record at the meeting, posted on our website and Facebook. Constituents may also register to speak during the meeting and you to will be provided with the zoom credentials if it is your intent to speak email us at commoncouncil@albanyny.gov COMMON COUNCIL MEETING LAW, BUILDINGS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT Ginnie Farrell, Chair DATE: MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2022 TIME: 5:30 PM LOCATION: Virtual Meeting, Live streamed to Facebook TOPICS OF DISCUSSION:  Local Law A of 2022 A LOCAL LAW AMENDING SECTION 301 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO APPOINTMENTS OF DEPARTMENT HEADS UPON COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW TERM  Ordinance 6.22.22 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 359-75 (PERMIT REQUIRED; HOURS) OF CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PROHIBITING NON-PERMITTED VEHICLES FROM PARKING IN EACH RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMIT ZONE FOR MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: YES Council Members Johnson, Hoey and Romero with the Support of Council President Ellis introduced the following: LOCAL LAW A OF 2022 A LOCAL LAW AMENDING SECTION 301 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO APPOINTMENTS OF DEPARTMENT HEADS UPON COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW TERM Be it enacted, by the Common Council of the City of Albany, as follows: Section 1. Section 301 (Mayor’s Powers and Duties Generally) of Article III (Executive Branch) of the Charter of the City of Albany is amended to read as follows: (c) (1) The Mayor shall have sole authority to appoint and remove all nonelected City department and office heads, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor. Effective January 1, 2007, the Mayor's authority to appoint all nonelected City department heads (Department of Water and Water Supply, Department of Assessment & Taxation, Department of Youth & Workforce Services, Department of General Services, Department of Recreation, Department of Development & Planning, Albany Police Department, Albany Fire Department, Department of Administrative Services, Department of Law, Department of Public Safety, and such other departments that are created from time to time) shall be subject to the advice and consent of the Common Council. This advice and consent authority shall be applicable to new appointments after January 1, 2007, only. The Common Council must either confirm or reject any such appointment within 45 days of the Mayor's filing of a written notice of appointment with the City Clerk. In the event the Common Council fails to timely approve or disapprove the appointment, the appointment shall be deemed confirmed. In the event the Common Council timely rejects the appointment, the Mayor shall make a new appointment for such position, which shall also be subject to confirmation pursuant to the above procedure. (i) The Mayor, upon commencing a new successive term, shall re-appoint all current nonelected City department heads and put forth the names of such appointees before the Common Council following procedure described above. (ii) In the event, that a previous Department head is not confirmed, their employment is terminated effective the date of the rejection by the Common Council. (iii) Notwithstanding any provisions of State law, no person shall act in an “Acting” or “interim” or “officer-in-charge” capacity of any department as described above until a person is confirmed. Section 2: This local law shall take effect upon final passage, public hearing, mandatory referendum, and filing with the Secretary of State. APPROVED AS TO FORM THIS 28TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2020 ________________________________ Corporation Counsel To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: John-Raphael Pichardo, Esq., Research Counsel Re: Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: January 27, 2022 Sponsor: Council Members Johnson, Hoey, and Romero LOCAL LAW A of 2022 TITLE A LOCAL LAW AMENDING SECTION 301 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO APPOINTMENTS OF DEPARTMENT HEADS UPON COMMENCEMENT OF A NEW TERM GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION This local law amends the Charter of the City of Albany by requiring every 4 years that the Mayor is elected, the Department Heads must be reconfirmed by the Common Council. FISCAL IMPACT(S) None. Council Member Balarin introduced the following: ORDINANCE 6.22.22 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 359-75 (PERMIT REQUIRED; HOURS) OF CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PROHIBITING NON-PERMITTED VEHICLES FROM PARKING IN EACH RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMIT ZONE FOR MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS The City of Albany, in Common Council convened, does hereby ordain and enact: Section 1. Subsection A of section 359-75 (Permit required; hours) of Article VIII (Residential Parking Permit System) of Chapter 359 (Vehicles and Traffic) of Part II (General Legislation) of the Code of the City of Albany is hereby amended to read as follows: § 359-75 Permit required; hours. A. No person shall park, or move and re-park a vehicle, nor allow a vehicle to be parked, or moved, and re-parked in any one parking zone as such zones are established in section 359- 74 of this article, for more than two consecutive hours per day between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, except holidays, along any street which has been designated a residential parking permit area pursuant to this article, unless the vehicle is issued displays a valid parking permit issued in accordance with this article. B. A permitted vehicle issued a permit in the form of a decal shall have affixed to the bottom rear corner of the passenger window on the driver's side of the vehicle a valid residential parking permit. All other valid permits shall be displayed in accordance with regulations of the City Clerk. Valid residential permit status shall be checked via license plate of the permitted vehicle. Section 2. This ordinance shall take effect 30 days after enactment. APPROVED AS TO FORM THIS 10TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2022 ________________________________ Corporation Counsel To: Danielle Gillespie, City Clerk From: Brett Williams, Esq., Sr. Assistant Corporation Counsel Sevil Barber, Esq., General Counsel, Albany Parking Authority Re: Common Council Legislation Supporting Memorandum Date: February 10, 2022 Sponsor: To be determined ORDINANCE 6.22.22 TITLE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 359-75 (PERMIT REQUIRED; HOURS) OF CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO PROHIBITING NON-PERMITTED VEHICLES FROM PARKING IN EACH RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMIT ZONEs FOR MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION This ordinance will prohibit non-permitted vehicles from parking in each residential parking permit zone for more than two consecutive hours. NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW Our goal is to ensure residents have access to parking in their neighborhoods & prevent non- residents from occupying residential spots for extended periods of time. This proposed language amendment shall limit the amount of time a non- residential permit holder may park their vehicle or stand in one zone to no more than two consecutive hours, preventing non-permitted vehicles from simply moving to another available residential spot within the same zone after exceeding the hourly parking restriction specified. This will free up residential parking spots during the day for residential permit holders FISCAL IMPACT(S) None.

Get email alerts for Albany

A daily email when new agendas and minutes are posted.

Report an issue with this meeting