Board of Ordinance Appeals I

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The Board of Ordinance Appeals held a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on July 12, 2021 Sterling Heights Municipal Center, 40555 Utica Road, Sterling Heights, MI in the Council Chambers, 586-446-2360. At this meeting the Board (1) considered variance requests of petitioners and (2) conducted hearings on abatement of nuisances relating to the property and property owners itemized on the following agenda. AGENDA 1. Mr. Ervin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call: Robert Ervin Chairman, James Mandl, Kathleen Martin, Mike Stickney, and Julie Windhorst Jason Castor City Development Director Absent: None Also in attendance: Dana Vietto Code Enforcement Coordinator 3. Report from Jason Castor, City Liaison following items from the consent agenda as they have been cleaned up prior to the meeting: G21-0103, G21-0109, G21-0110, G21-0116 and G21-0118. Mr. Castor also reported item G21-0114 will be . 4. Removal of Consent Items to New Business a. Moved item 5 to New Business 9a. G21-0105 Stefan, Cristian & Ivoneta 34887 Campus Drive b. Moved item 6 to New Business 9b. G21-0106 Licus, John 34373 Dryden Drive c. Moved item 8 to New Business 9c. G21-0108 Yaldo, Jayden 34124 Tyler Drive d. Moved item 11 to New Business 9d. G21-0111 Henry, Lori & Phillip 4288 Lin Drive e. Moved item 13 to New Business 9e. G21-0113 Dako, Thamer 13189 Plumbrook Road f. Moved item 14 to New Business 9f. G21-0114 Nagy, Gerald G. - Trust 42308 Buckingham Drive g. Moved item 15 to New Business 9g. G21-0115 Vettraino, Frank Jr. 5795 Heindale Street h. Moved item 17 to New Business 9h. G21-0117 Hupfel, John R. 41703 Tetley Drive 5. Approval of Agenda Motion by Stickney, supported by Martin, to approve agenda. Yes: All. Motion carried. 6. Consent Agenda Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Yes: All. Motion carried. 1. Approval of the Minutes Regular Meeting June 28, 2021 2. G21-0102 Consumers Energy Company 14800 Clinton River Road RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 14800 Clinton River Road and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 2 3. G21-0104 Jerjies, Amar & Gorges, Alla 34174 Amsterdam Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 34174 Amsterdam Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. 4. G21-0107 Szymanski, Robert 33139 Sherwood Forest Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 33139 Sherwood Forest Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. 5. G21-0112 Walgreen Co. 4019 Metropolitan Parkway RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 4019 Metropolitan Parkway and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. 6. G21-0119 Campbell, Pamela 5620 Plymouth Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 5620 Plymouth Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. 7. Public Hearing None 8. Old Business None 9. New Business a. G21-0105 Stefan, Cristian & Ivoneta 34887 Campus Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact from the owner and there have been no changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Ms. Vietto explained this property used to be very well maintained and they found out the owners has passed on the same day. Nicole Cotos, friend of homeowner, addressed the Board. Ms. Cotos explained the owners passed away on the same day, June 4th, and the only next of kin is a nephew in Romania. She has been in contact with him and he has retained a lawyer but things are so slow that nothing has happened yet. the city came out. She said she would clean up the nuisance growth but needs an extension of time. Mr. Ervin thanked her for taking an initiative to help clean up the property. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Also being none, he asked for a motion. Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 3 Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 34887 Campus Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding August 2, 2021. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl No: None. Absent: None. Motion Carried. b. G21-0106 Licus, John 34373 Dryden Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today this property has been sent to this Board eight times since 2014 with five of those times being over the last two years. Over the last two years, there have been 28 enforcement cases at this property, 18 of them were for tall grass. Most of the violations have been landscape maintenance, outdoor storage, and snow removal. The property is subject to ongoing code enforcement due to the frequency of violations and complaints received. As of today, the city has billed the property owner over $8,500 for code related issues. This property is vacant and the property owner resides in Sterling Heights. Residents in the area are negatively impacted by the lack of regard for property maintenance at this site, and have regularly sought assistance from the City with enforcement of the Property Maintenance Code. She indicated they have consulted with the City Attorney to address properties like this one that tend to have frequent violations, and the City Attorney has prepared motion language that abate future violations with reduced notice time. That language has been handed out to the Board members for their consideration. The Board has the discretion to decide how long the ongoing review should last, and how much notice should be provided every time a new violation is found. There has been no contact from the owner and no changes have been made to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Mr. Ervin asked if the city has been cutting the lawn. Ms. Vietto answered yes and indicated this year has been about five times. There was no representative present for the case. Mr. Ervin indicated the Board has reviewed the case and asked for a motion. Moved by Windhorst, supported by Stickney, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 34373 Dryden Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board further finds that the evidence demonstrates a history of ongoing violations at the property relating to property maintenance and other nuisance conditions, requiring frequent follow-up and five (5) prior meetings of this Board within the past two years to address such conditions in order to ensure a safe and compliant site. The cost of remediating the frequent violations has exceeded $8,500.00. Therefore, due to the public interest in minimizing the significant public resources and staff time required to repeatedly address recurring and new violations at the site by scheduling additional hearings before this Board, as well as the public interest and the interest of the neighbors of this site in expeditiously eliminating public nuisance and blight conditions that are detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, the Code Official is hereby authorized and ordered to do the following: 1. Regularly monitor the site during the next 365 days. 2. Upon discovering any new or recurring code violation(s) during that time period, the Code Official shall issue notice of the violation(s) to the owner or party responsible for the site in Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 4 accordance with the notice requirements of Section 11-142 of the City Code, with the following modifications: a. The notice shall afford one (1) full business day to cure the violation. b. The Code Official shall conspicuously tag or sticker the item(s) that are to be removed or relocated (or affix the tag as near as possible to the item(s)) to achieve code compliance. c. If the violation has not been cured upon re-inspection after expiration of the allotted timeframe, the Code Official shall cause the violation(s) to be abated without a need for another hearing before this Board, and the property owner shall be invoiced in accordance with Section 11-142(G) of the City Code. The Board also authorizes and orders the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, for each abatement performed by the City pursuant to this Order of the Board, pursuant to Section 11-142(G) of the City Code. Yes: Windhorst, Stickney, Ervin, Mandl, Martin No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. c. G21- 0108 Yaldo, Jayden 34124 Tyler Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact with the owner and there have been some changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. The property owner was not present at the time the case was called. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 34124 Tyler Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. d. G21- 0111 Henry, Lori & Phillip 4288 Lin Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact with the owner but there have been some changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Jordan Henry, the son of the property owner, addressed the Board. He explained he was trying to find someone to do it but the price was too high. He found someone cheaper and was anyone residing in the home. Mr. Henry indicated he lived in the home with two roommates. Mr. Ervin explained most of the things to be taken care of are maintenance items and indicated he understands it may take some time to do the roof. Mr. Henry said he has someone to do the roof and is getting someone for the landscaping and will pick up the trash and debris himself. Mr. Ervin asked how much time he needs. Mr. Henry asked for two weeks for the landscaping and 30 days for the roof. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 5 Ms. Martin stated the down spout should be taken care of right away. Mr. Ervin asked for public participation. An audience member asked about garbage. Ms. Vietto explained that you can have a garbage can outside but it must have a secure lid and be up against the house or in the garage. Mr. Ervin asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Windhorst, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 4288 Lin Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding violation numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 by July 26, 2021 and violation number 1 (roof in disrepair) by August 12, 2021. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl, Martin No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. e. G21- 0113 Dako, Thamer 13189 Plumbrook Road Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact with the owner but there have been some changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. The niece of Thamer Dako, the property owner, addressed the Board. She indicated he fixed the fence and after about two months the city came and took it down. Mr. Ervin explained they are before the Board for the landscaping and the grass areas. The niece consulted with Mr. Dako then asked for two weeks to get it done. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Mr. Stickney commented the initial inspection was in April and there was never any contact from the owner. Mr. Ervin asked for public participation. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 13189 Plumbrook Road and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding immediately. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. f. G21- 0114 Nagy, Gerald G. - Trust 42308 Buckingham Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been contact with the management company and there have been no changes to the property. She explained they were contacted by the Management Solutions company by email and her division was just given this property on July 2nd. They explained it is a HUD insured property which requires bids. Their vendor will need time to obtain all necessary bids and submit them to HUD for approval. They also explained it is in foreclosure status and the sale is on July 16th. If they sell the property, it will not be their responsibility but if it is sold back to them, they will take care of Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 6 it. They are asking for 45 days and were unable to send a representative to the meeting. Pictures were shown at this time. Mr. Ervin asked if the city has it on their schedule to cut regularly. Ms. Vietto indicated the city has already cut it twice and it was tagged to be cut tomorrow. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 42308 Buckingham Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by August 26, 2021. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. g. G21- 0115 Vettraino, Frank Jr. 5795 Heindale Street Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact with the owner and there have been no changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Frank Vettraino, property owner, addressed the Board. Mr. Vettraino explained he been attempting to use non-cancerous sprays for the driveway. The main flower bed has been cut down. He also has plans to have the tree in the front of the house topped off to make it more manageable. He also has a plan with a landscape guy to get rid of the trees along the Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Mr. Stickney asked the owner how much time he needs to get it done. Mr. Vettraino indicated he asked his landscape guy today and he told him he was very backed up and Mr. Ervin asked for public participation. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 5795 Heindale Street and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by July 26, 2021. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Mandl No: Ervin and Windhorst Absent: None Motion Carried. h. G21- 0117 Hupfel, John R. 41703 Tetley Drive Code Enforcement Coordinator, Dana Vietto, stated as of today there has been no contact with the owner but there have been some changes to the property. Pictures were shown at this time. John Hupfel, property owner, addressed the Board. Mr. Hupfel indicated when he moved into the house the wood storage area was already there. He did clean it out but was . He indicated he will take care of it now that he knows. Board of Ordinance Appeals July 12, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 7 Mr. Ervin asked about the trim which needs to be painted. Mr. Hupfel explained he had replaced some of the wood. Mr. Ervin asked how much time he needs to get these issues taken care of. Mr. Hupfel indicated about two weeks and asked what dimensions are allowed high. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 41703 Tetley Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by July 26th. The Board also authorizes and approves the imposition of a lien against the property, in the amount of the cost of abatement incurred by the City, as permitted by the applicable city ordinance. Yes: Stickney, Martin, Windhorst, Ervin, Mandl No: None Absent: None Motion Carried. 10. Public Participation A gentleman from the audience asked about case G21-0104, 34174 Amsterdam Drive. Mr. Ervin indicated because no one was present for the case at 7:00 p.m., the case was already abated. He suggested they call the city in the morning. 11. Adjournment Motion by Stickney, supported by Martin, to adjourn the meeting. Yes: All. Motion carried The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert Ervin Chairman Julie Windhorst Secretary Board of Ordinance Appeals Board of Ordinance Appeals