Board of Ordinance Appeals I

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS BOARD OF ORDINANCE APPEALS REGULAR MEETING MINUTES November 15, 2021 The Board of Ordinance Appeals held a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on November 15, 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 from 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, Julie Windhorst and Jason Castor City Development Director Absent: None Also in attendance: Patrick Willis Code Enforcement Officer 3. Report from Jason Castor, City Liaison following items from the consent agenda as they have been cleaned up prior to the meeting: G21-0275, G21-0276, G21-0277, G21-0288, G21-0290 and G21-0293. 4. Removal of Consent Items to New Business a. Moved item 3 to New Business 9a. G21-0274 Lannoo, George & Alice 40614 Colony Drive b. Moved item 11 to New Business 9b. G21-0282 Zaniewski, Eugene A. 33700 Vandyke c. Moved item 15 to New Business 9c. G21-0286 Pano, Emad & Eva 37308 Mario Drive d. Moved item 20 to New Business 9d. G21-0291 Krisan, Andrea 41305 North Central Drive e. Moved item 21 to New Business 9e. G21-0292 Yousif, Khalid & Helen 41417 Vancouver Drive 5. Approval of Agenda Motion by Stickney, supported by Martin, to approve agenda. Yes: All. Absent: None. Motion carried. 6. Consent Agenda Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Yes: All. Absent: None. Motion carried. 1. Approval of the Minutes Regular Meeting October 25, 2021 2. G21-0273 Watterworth, Diane 39640 Balboa Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 39640 Balboa 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. 3. G21-0278 Hemmen, Gregory W. & Laurel 34143 Coachwood Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 34143 Coachwood 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. Board of Ordinance Appeals November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 2 4. G21-0279 Schumburg, Elaine C. 5661 Fourteen Mile Road RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 5661 Fourteen Mile 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. 5. G21-0280 Brown, Jon & Dawn 11179 Mandale Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 11179 Mandale 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. 6. G21-0281 Moore, Starr Sean & Susan R. 33266 Opus Court RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 33266 Opus Court 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. G21-0283 Fathi, Ayda J. 4875 Venetian Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 4875 Venetian 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. 8. G21-0284 Fadel, Mouktar Bazel 2501 Lorenzo Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 2501 Lorenzo 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. 9. G21-0285 Bakowski, Richard 37852 Lola Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 37852 Lola 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. 10. G21-0287 MGA Development LLC 8872 Sixteen ½ Mile Road RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 8872 Sixteen ½ Mile 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. 11. G21-0289 Stretten, Jason J. -42501 Hanks Lane RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 42501 Hanks Lane 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 November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 3 12. G21-0294 Johnson, Briana 43605 Vivian Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 43605 Vivian 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 a. G21-0272 Lynnes, Scott & Leisa 43039 Chaucer Drive house on a corner lot along Nineteen Mile Road No pool. The homeowner, Scott Lynnes, addressed the Board. He is requesting a variance because they have a corner lot and have a 30-foot side area on the garage. He described along 19 Mile Road they get a lot of pedestrian traffic. Mr. Ervin asked if he will be removing the cyclone fence. Mr. Lynnes answered yes and stated there is 25 feet of site clearance. Mr. Ervin asked for questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Also being none, he asked the Board for a motion. Moved by Windhorst, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to approve case G21-0272 at 43039 Chaucer Drive with the following conditions: 1 that the petitioner agrees to abide by and comply with all applicable rules and regulations and orders of every lawful agency or governing authority having jurisdiction, 2 that the decision of the Board will remain valid and in force only as long as the facts and information presented to the Board in public hearing are found to be correct and that the conditions upon which the motion is based are maintained as presented to the Board, 3 The fence variance approved today does not take effect until the variance paperwork is returned to the City by the applicant and a fence permit is approved, 4 Any violation of these conditions will render the variance void. Yes: Windhorst, Martin, Ervin, Mandl, Stickney No: None. Absent: None. Motion Carried. 8. Old Business None 9. New Business a. G21-0274 Lannoo, George & Alice 40614 Colony Drive Code Enforcement Officer, Patrick Willis, indicated code enforcement is requesting a standing order. He stated as of today this property has been sent to this Board 7 times over the last 5 years. Over the last 2 years there have been 18 enforcement cases at this property, fifteen of them were for tall grass. Most of the violations at this property have been landscape maintenance, debris and gutters. This property is subject to ongoing monitoring by Code Enforcement due to the frequency of violations and complaints we receive. As of today, the City has billed the property owner well over $21,000 for code related issues. This property is vacant and it has been posted on the door for Tax Foreclosure in 2022. 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. He 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 the Board can use, if it chooses to 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. Pictures were shown at this time. Board of Ordinance Appeals November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 4 Mr. Ervin asked for confirmation that this house is vacant. Mr. Willis stated the report from the code enforcement officer indicates it is vacant. There was no representative present for the case. Mr. Ervin asked the Board for any questions. Being none, he asked for a motion. Moved by Windhorst, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 40614 Colony Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the following violations identified by the Code Official during the hearing on this matter. The violations shall be abated 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 seven (7) prior meetings of this Board within the past five years to address such conditions in order to ensure a safe and compliant site. The cost of remediating the frequent violations has exceeded $21,000.00. 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 accordance with the notice requirements of Section 11-142 of the City Code, with the following modifications: a. The notice shall afford three (3) full business days 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, Martin, Ervin, Mandl, Stickney No: None Absent: None. Motion Carried. b. G21-0282 Zaniewski, Eugene A. 33700 Vandyke Code Enforcement Officer, Patrick Willis, stated violation notices were sent and gave a presentation of the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Board of Ordinance Appeals November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 5 Mark Zaniewski, one of the owners, addressed the Board. He indicated the pallet and the tree stub shown in the pictures belongs to the property behind his property. He stated they cleaned up the dumpster area today. The Lincoln has been removed and the van is being worked on. He explained he is not a convenience store but a gas station with repair garages and has been trying to reopen his business. He asked for allowance to keep the van there while he is in the process of reopening. Mr. Ervin asked if he could put it in one of the bays. Mr. Zaniewski said they could not. He stated he could put it in a parking spot and indicated it has a current plate on it but it is in the side of the door because plates get stolen off the vehicles. A picture was displayed to show the tree limb and pallet. Mr. Zaniewski indicated that is not on his property and explained that past the guard rail is not his. Mr. Ervin asked Mr. Willis if someone will go out and verify the condition of the dumpster area and investigate branch debris area. Mr. Willis explained the code officer who handled this case did indicate the pallet is enclosure. He also indicated the branch debris was partially on this property. Mr. Ervin asked how much time Mr. Zaniewski needs to finish the cleanup. Mr. Zaniewski asked for five days. Mr. Stickney noted the inspection date was from September 10th did the things on the list and he never heard anything again so he presumed it was taken care of. He only knew of something when they posted the letter on the door. He then called to ask what it was about. Mr. Ervin asked if there were any other questions from Board members. Being none, he asked for any public participation. Also, 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 33700 Van Dyke and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by November 17, 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. c. G21-0286 Pano, Emad & Eva 37308 Mario Drive Code Enforcement Officer, Patrick Willis, stated violation notices were sent and gave a presentation of the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Emad Pano, homeowner, addressed the Board. He explained everything has been taken care of as of the meeting. He displayed pictures from his phone. Mr. Ervin asked if the comply with what they were supposed to do. He ended up hiring someone else and he will hat part. Mr. Ervin asked how much time he needs to finish up. Mr. Pano asked for one day. Mr. Ervin asked the Board for any questions. Being none, he asked for any public participation. Also being none, he asked for a motion. Board of Ordinance Appeals November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 6 Moved by Stickney, supported by Martin, RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 37308 Mario Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by November 16, 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. d. G21-0291 Krisan, Andrea 41305 North Central Drive Code Enforcement Officer, Patrick Willis, stated violation notices were sent and gave a presentation of the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Andrea Krisan, property owner, addressed the Board. She indicated she spoke with code enforcement in the a.m. and he told her she needs to take care of the fence, screen and gutter. Mr. Ervin asked how much time she needs to complete the three items. Ms. Krisan elf. or a church group that could help her. Ms. Krisan answered maybe. Mr. Ervin asked Mr. Castor is they offer home chore for something like that. Mr. Castor indicated that would be through the county. He also indicated she could sign up for the Shine Days through Sterling Heights and volunteer groups would come out and do minor things like paint the fence. Mr. Ervin asked for any questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Also 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 41305 North Central Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding as follows: screen repair and fence scraped/painted by December 6, 2021; and gutter repair by December 20, 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. e. G21-0292 Yousif, Khalid & Helen 41417 Vancouver Drive Code Enforcement Officer, Patrick Willis, stated violation notices were sent and gave a presentation of the property. Pictures were shown at this time. Cross Yousif, son of the homeowner, addressed the Board. He indicated the wood that repaired the wall was not done by them. He explained when part of the repair was done four years ago with wood, the city told the business (behind them) it was their wall and they needed to fix it. A couple winters ago another section was broken down. He further explained he has been going back and forth with the inspector because it is not their wall to fix. Mr. Castor explained part of the subdivision plat master deed says that th property is responsible for the maintenance and care of the wall. If someone hits it, the responsible party is the homeowner. He indicated the homeowner should talk to the business owner and let them know their hitting the wall and damaging it. Board of Ordinance Appeals November 15, 2021 Regular Meeting Page 7 Mr. Yousif asked for an extension to the summer so he can talk to all parties involved and figure out what is going to be done. Mr. Ervin indicated an extension might be possible as a barrier is up even though it is not the proper barrier. Ms. Martin asked if any of the bricks are still there. Mr. Yousif indicated there are some but not enough to repair the whole wall. Mr. Ervin asked for any further questions from the Board. Being none, he asked for public participation. Also 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 41417 Vancouver Drive and to direct the Code Official to abate the violations identified in the attached staff reports which give rise to this finding by April 14, 2022. 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 None. 11. Adjournment Motion by Stickney, supported by Martin, to adjourn the meeting. Yes: All. Absent: None Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Robert Ervin Chairman Julie Windhorst Secretary Board of Ordinance Appeals Board of Ordinance Appeals