Board of Appeals

BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING MINUTES MAY 17, 2017 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, Robert Whitfield, John Sims Staff Members Present: Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector; Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager; C. Marcel Stoetzel, Deputy City Attorney; Yolanda Johnson, Code Officer; Tom Engels, Senior Code Officer; Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer; Lisa Silkworth, Secretary Additions/Deletions to the Agenda: Remove 4471 Beckley, 3853 Beckley, and 104 Maple Terrace Approval of Minutes: Mr. Blair mode a motion to approve the minutes from the April 19th, 2017 meeting, seconded by Mr. Sims. Approved Old Business: 1. 31 N Washington Issue#EN15-05908 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property Owner, Attorney Nelson Karre, Representative for Church of Scientology, present. C. Marcel Stoetzel, Deputy City Attorney, spoke regarding a procedural issue. Mr. Stoetzel stated that prior to the February meeting, he spoke with Atty. Nelson Karre to adjourn the hearing on the property to a later date. Mr. Stoetzel noted he did not pass that information to the Board in a timely manner and the Board voted on it in error. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the property was vacant and lacks utilities. Mr. Wilkinson stated no construction documents have been submitted. Mr. Karre requested the Board rescind the previous motion. Mr. Karre stated to the Board the Churches plans for the future construction. Mr. Whitfield noted there has been no progress since the previous meeting in August. Mr. Wilkinson stated no permits have been pulled for work on the property. Mr. Sims questioned the timeline. Mr. Wilkinson noted work could continue on the building even if it is deemed a Dangerous Building. Mr. Blair had a question for Deputy Atty. Stoetzel to clarify the rescinding of the order in February. Mr. Blair made a motion to rescind the order from the February, seconded by Mr. Sims. Order Rescinded. One No, Two Yes. Mr. Karre requested the building not be affirmed as a Dangerous Building to allow the Church to continue work. Mr. Blair wanted clarification as to whether or not the Church would have financing issues if the property was affirmed as a Dangerous Building. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 2 of 8 seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Mr. Blair had a questioned the permitting process. Mr. Whitfield asked for an action plan. Mr. Karre asked the Board to adjourn the matter for a period of time. Mr. Karre requested a one year adjournment. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Whitfield. Affirmed Two Yes and One No Dangerous Buildings Show Cause Hearings: a. 55 Howland (House) Issue#EN17-00007 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Dwayne Nunnally, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the property has been vacant and a safety inspection was done. Mr. Wilkinson noted no work has been completed at this time. Mr. Nunnally stated he was told he could not start work until he had an inspection but the home was inspected in 2014. Mr. Nunnally noted he has a contractor to do some of the work. Mr. Nunnally wanted to clarify the process. Mr. Wilkinson clarified the process. Mr. Nunnally stated the contractor would start with roof repairs. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Blair. Affirmed. All Yes b. 8 Blair (House) Issue#EN17-00562 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes c. 41 Blanche (House) Issue#EN17-0584 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 3 of 8 Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes d. 18 Butler Issue#EN17-00732 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Sims made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Blair. Affirmed. All Yes e. 68-70 Frelinghuysen Issue#EN17-00785 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes f. 45 Magnolia (House) Issue#EN17-00554 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Amanda McNees, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house was severely damaged by fire. Ms. McNees noted she is in a dispute with her insurance company. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 4 of 8 g. 275 Parkway (House) Issue#EN17-00770 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes h. 28 Randolph (House) Issue#EN17-00561 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes i. 9 Thorne (House) Issue#EN17-00585 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes j. 151 Upton (House) Issue#EN17-00563 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, not present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 5 of 8 All Yes k. 353 Upton (House) Issue#EN17-00759 Building Inspector: Don Wilkinson Property owner, Joetta Adams, present. Don Wilkinson, Building Inspector, stated the house is vacant, lacks utilities and lacks property maintenance. Ms. Adams stated she uses the house for storage. Ms. Adams stated the house has no plumbing but it has electricity. Mr. Wilkinson stated the house should be used as a house and not as a storage building. Mr. Wilkinson recommended it be affirmed as a Dangerous Building. Mr. Francisco clarified the vacant monitoring charges. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the property as a Dangerous Building, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes New Business: 1. 215 Robertson Ave Issue#EN16-11102 Code Compliance Officer: Jaqueline Slaby Property owner, not present. Jason Francisco, Code Compliance Manager, stated the exterior violations were noted in 2016 during the routine property surveys. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the order as written do to no owner present, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes 2. 46 Charlotte Issue#EN17-01508 Code Compliance Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, Heather Spooner, present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated the violations were noted from a complaint. Mr. Nowicki recommended granting a 90 day extension do to the size of the roof. Ms. Spooner is trying to get assistance for the Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 6 of 8 repairs. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to August 15, 2017, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. All Yes 3. 296 Hunter Issue#EN17-02462 Code Compliance Officer: Todd Nowicki Property owner, not present. Todd Nowicki, Senior Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were noted and had not been corrected. Mr. Nowicki recommended affirming the order as written do to no owner present. Mr. Blair made a motion to affirm the order as written, seconded by Mr. Sims. Affirmed. All Yes 4. 3853 Beckley Rd Issue#EN16-10267 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson REMOVED 5. 4471 Beckley Rd Issue#EN16-10370 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson REMOVED 6. 195 Bryant St Issue#EN16-09002 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, Max Rambow, present. Yolanda Johnson, Code Officer, stated the exterior violations were scrapping and painting. Mr. Rambow stated he needed more time to make the corrections and asked for a couple months. Ms. Johnson recommended a 60 day extension. Mr. Sims made a motion to grant an extension to July 18, 2017, seconded by Mr. Blair. Extension Granted. All Yes Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 7 of 8 7. 611 Capital Ave NE Issue#EN16-09025 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson REMOVE 8. 761 Capital Ave NE Issue#EN16-09050 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, not present. Yolanda Johnson, Code Officer, stated she had spoken to the owner and the owner needed just two more weeks to complete the repairs. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to June 20, 2017, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. All Yes 9. 73 East Ave N Issue#EN16-09087 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, Randy Blythe, present. Yolanda Johnson, Code Officer, stated the violations were exterior in nature. Mr. Blythe stated he needs more time due to health issues and he does have a plan of action. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to August 15, 2017, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. All Yes 10. 72 Magnolia Issue#EN16-09196 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson Property owner, Juan Luna, present. Yolanda Johnson, Code Officer, stated the violations were exterior in nature. Ms. Johnson recommended granting an extension of 90 days. Mr. Blair made a motion to grant an extension to August 15, 2017, seconded by Mr. Sims. Extension granted. All Yes Housing Board of Appeals May 17, 2017 Page 8 of 8 11. 104 Maple Terrace Issue#EN16-09225 Code Compliance Officer: Yolanda Johnson REMOVED Public Comments: Mr. Luna questioned the Dangerous Building process. Board and Staff Members Comments: Mr. Wilkinson noted the communications with the Owners of 31 N Washington did not start until the Dangerous Buildings process started. Mr. Wilkinson noted they have owned the building for fifteen years. Adjournment: 2:30pm 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