Board of Appeals

BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING MINUTES September 21, 2016 CITY HALL 10 N. DIVISION STREET COMMISSION CHAMBERS 3RD FLOOR – ROOM 301 BATTLE CREEK MI 49014 Call to Order: 1:02pm Roll Call for Board Members: Eric Blair, Stan Chubinski, Robert Whitfield, John Sims Staff Members Present: Marcie Gillette, Community Services Director; Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager; C. Marcel Stoetzel, Deputy City Attorney; Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector; Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer; Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer; Eric Morris, Senior Code Officer Additions/Deletions to the Agenda: Remove 21 Merritt, 25 James and 63 Vale Approval of Minutes: Robert Whitfield made motion to approve the minutes from the August 17, 2016, seconded by John Sims. Approved. Old Business: 1. 369 N Bedford Rd Issue#EN16-03473 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Cindy Morgan by Counsel Kent A. Bieberich, present. Marcie Gillette, Community Services Director, stated there was communication between Deputy City Attorney Stoetzel and Attorney Kent Bieberich. Ms. Gillette went over a staff report given to the Board. Attorney Bieberich stated there is ongoing discussion with S.W.E.T about the property and its value. Attorney Bieberich stated the property owner may be willing to pay for a safety inspection but they are requesting more time to handle things. Ms. Gillette noted that if S.W.E.T takes ownership or if Ms. Morgan retains ownership – the house would still need to be brought to code. Ms. Gillette stated there has been no action plan received. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 2 of 9 2. 90 N Division Issue#EN16-04312 Code Compliance Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, Jaykumar Patel, present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated some work had been done and recommended a thirty-day extension. Mr. Patel stated the work could be done in the thirty days. Mr. Patel stated the windows would be replaced and the window installer would pull the permit. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to October 18, 2016 for the repairs and an extension to March 14, 2017 for the screens, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Extension granted Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y Dangerous Buildings Show Cause Hearings: a. 249 S 21st St (House) Issue#EN16-02296 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house was damaged by fire. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y b. 229 Lathrop (House) Issue#EN16-05079 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house lacks maintenance, has been vacant, and lacks utilities. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 3 of 9 c. 724 W Michigan (Commercial) Issue#EN16-05156 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the building is in need of serious repairs, has been vacant, and lacks utilities. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y d. 10 Oneita (House) Issue#EN16-02235 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house was damaged by fire. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y e. 17 Randolph (House) IssueEN16-02423 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Steve Lyons, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house was damaged by fire. Mr. Wilkinson noted the owner has pulled two permits to start making repairs and recommended granting a sixty-day extension. Mr. Lyons stated he hoped to complete the repairs in sixty days. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y New Business: Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 4 of 9 1) 194 Bradley Issue#EN16-05457 Code Officer: Eric Morris Property owner, Mark Wells, present. Eric Morris, Senior Code Officer, stated the violations were found during a routine property survey. Mr. Wells stated the painting issues have been taken care of and he is watching the roof for leaks. Mr. Wells intends to repair the roof next year when it is financial reasonable. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016 to obtain a permit to repair the roof, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 2) 25 James St Issue#EN16-03768 Code Officer: Eric Morris REMOVED 3) 17 Lourim Court Issue#EN16-03880 Code Officer: Eric Morris Property owner, Michelle Herman, present. Eric Morris, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted during a routine property survey. Ms. Herman stated she needs more time due to finances. Ms. Herman stated she is applying for assistance but has not heard back yet. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016, seconded by Mr. Blair. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 4) 15 Byron Issue#EN16-06395 Code Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, Erskine Boshers, present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted during a routine property survey. Mr. Boshers stated he has obtained a home equity loan and hopes to have it Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 5 of 9 completed by the end of November. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 5) 303 Capital Ave NE Issue#EN16-06522 Code Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, Scott McDonald, present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted during a routine property survey. Mr. McDonald stated that they have been getting with contractors and looking for grant money. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to April 18, 2016, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 6) 21 Merritt Issue#EN16-07723 Code Officer: Todd Nowicki REMOVED 7) 203 Fremont Issue#EN16-06638 Code Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, Bruce Phillips for Mary Sweet, present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted during a routine property survey. Mr. Phillips stated Ms. Sweet needs to save money for the project. Ms. Sweet has received one estimate. Mr. Phillips stated she would like a sixty-day extension. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to April 18, 2017, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 6 of 9 8) 12 Latta Issue#EN16-07063 Code Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, Pennie Southwell, present. Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager, stated the violations were exterior and noted during a routine property survey. Ms. Southwell stated the paint was not peeling but it was from a tree. Ms. Southwell stated she could not reach certain spots with her ladder. Ms. Southwell requested until spring to hire some painters. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to grant an extension to April 18, 2017, seconded by Mr. Blair. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 9) 29 Latta Issue#EN16-07071 Code Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, not present. Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager, requested to affirm the order as written due to no owner present. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Blair. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 10) 67 East Ave Issue#EN16-05617 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, ClasSara Morris for Roja Settles, present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, stated the violations were noted during a property survey. Mr. Engels stated most of the work had been completed. Ms. Morris requested an extension to October 29, 2016. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 7 of 9 11) 443 E Emmett Issue#EN16-05738 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, not present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, requested to affirm the order as written due to no owner present. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 12) 39 Lark Issue#EN16-05951 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, not present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, requested to affirm the order as written due to no owner present. Mr. Whitfield made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 13) 140 Lathrop Issue#EN16-07532 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, not present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, requested to affirm the order as written due to no owner present. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 14) 14 Oak St Issue#EN16-02196 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, not present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, requested to affirm the order as written due to no Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 8 of 9 owner present. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Blair. Affirmed. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 15) 98 W Pitman Issue#EN16-06363 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, Marilynn Springman, present. Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer, stated the violations were found during a routine property survey. Ms. Springman stated she needed a little more time. Ms. Springman stated the windows are being replaced and Tenney Co. is replacing the siding. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to November 15, 2016, seconded by Mr. Blair. Extension granted. Blair-y Chubinski-y Whitfield-y Sims-y 16) 24 Vale St Issue#EN16-04016 Code Officer: Tom Engels Property owner, Dwayne Fura, present. Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager, stated the violation was only the fence. Mr. Fura stated he didn’t know what fence they were talking about. Mr. Francisco stated the fence was the only issue and stated removal of the fence would bring it into compliance. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to October 18, 2016, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. 17) 63 Vale St Issue#EN16-04042 Code Officer: Tom Engels REMOVED Housing Board of Appeals September 21, 2016 Page 9 of 9 Public Comments: none Board and Staff Members Comments: none Adjournment: 2:15pm The City of Battle Creek will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired and audiotapes of printed materials being considered in the meeting upon reasonable notice to the City of Battle Creek. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the City of Battle Creek by writing or calling the following: Vicki Houser, City Clerk 10 N. Division Street Battle Creek, Michigan 49014 (269) 966-3348/Voice/TDD /lms