City Council - Ordinance Committee

Ordinance Committee Minutes November 22, 2022 Members present: Councilor Derby, Councilor Riley, Councilor Peake Members absent: Also in Attendance: Councilor Gomez, Gwynne Morrissey, Commissioner Church, Planner Bagg, Meeting was called to order by Councilor Derby at 5:00 pm. 1. Public Speak Time: 2. Approval of meeting notes: Councilor Riley motioned to approve meeting minutes for August 4th and September 20th, 2022. Councilor Derby seconded. Vote: 2-0 Approved. Councilor Riley motioned to approve meeting minutes for October 4, 2022. Councilor Derby seconded. Vote: 2-0 Approved. Councilor Derby motioned to approve meeting minutes for March 22nd, 29th, and May 9th, 2022. Councilor Gomez seconded. Vote: 2-0 Approved. Councilor Riley abstained. 3. Continuing Business: Vacant Storefront Ordinance i. Councilor Derby opened a roundtable discussion. Below are a collection of thoughts and questions from participants: Planner Bagg: we need more clarity on when a storefront becomes vacant. Upon receipt of vacancy, the city could utilize certified mail to document the 90-day window of notice. Councilor Derby: questions remain on identifying the owner of LLCs or trusts owning the property. Gwynne Morrissey: How will we be notified when a property is vacant? Derby: It would be complaint-driven with the potential for a registry to track vacancies. Commissioner Church: This isn’t realistic. We’re not doing what’s required in the building code already. Councilor Derby: What is the hourly commitment of the Building Inspector admin? Commissioner Church: Full-time. ii. Councilor Derby gave an overview of the penalty structures to generate revenue. Commissioner Church: Is there any work on compiling this information? Gwynne Morrissey: Only downtown area, not highway business. Commissioner Church: What’s the timeline for  starting the work? Councilor Derby: A couple of months. A completed database linked to the city website would be ready before launch. Gwynne Morrissey: Can a landlord or property owner self-notify without filing complaints? Commissioner Church: Yes, landlords can update their property status. Gwynne Morrissey: We should have an education piece based on the streets that apply. Councilor Derby: The website could have complaint and appeal forms for residents to fill out that could include that information. Planner Bagg: Be modest about the fees being gathered including appeals and economic hardship. Councilor Riley: The Council on Aging has a Senior Tax Write-Off. Let’s collaborate with the Council Director on potentially having a volunteer manage the database in exchange for a tax write-off. iii. Councilor Derby Read from the ordinance regarding authorities granted to public safety officials and the department of health and additional fees for condemned buildings. Planner Bagg: We could create an active permitting process waiver in addition to economic hardship and community benefits. Councilor Derby: Most recent information on the assessor’s database can be used to track LLC or Trust owners. Commissioner Church: We can ATTN to whoever is listed, and they process fees for the LLC, for example. Councilor Derby: We will finalize the wording, schedule a meeting to take a vote, and forward it to the city solicitor for final review. Plastic Ordinance  As an element of the ordinance, industrial composting has been complicated for business owners; the materials to start the composting process aren’t available through supply chains. Councilors had a conversation about amending the ordinance to strike various sections.  Councilor Peake made a motion, and Councilor Riley Seconded. Vote: 3-0 APPROVED to strike sections 6-21.21, 6-21.21-2, 6-21-21-4, and 6-21.21-5 from the ordinance. 4. Other: Next regular meeting: December 12th at 6:00 PM. Councilor Peake made a motion to adjourn, and Councilor Riley seconded. Vote: 3-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:14 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Councilor Brad Riley Clerk to the Ordinance Committee