Board of Ordinance Appeals II

CITY OF STERLING HEIGHTS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The Ordinance Board of Appeals II held a public hearing at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday April 16, 2014 at the 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. Chairman Kremhelmer called the meeting to order at 3:00 pm 2. Roll Call: Bruce Kremhelmer - Chairman, Derek B. D’Angelo – Vice- Chairman, Michael Sauger - Secretary, Al L. Kollmorgen, Paul Palmeri (absent), Denice Gerstenberg - City Development Manager, Paul Geiger- Code Enforcement Officer, Dana Vietto - Recording Secretary 3. Report from City Liaison – Denice Gerstenberg a. All petitioners were notified by first class mail about today’s meeting. As of today no properties have been cleaned up prior to the meeting. 4. Removal of Consent Items to New Business a. Moved item 2 to New Business 9a. G14-0038 Folz, Marty & Beth – 40360 Ryan Road 5. Approval of Agenda Motion by D’Angelo, supported by Kollmorgen to approve agenda. Yes: All. Motion carried. 6. Consent Agenda Moved by D’Angelo, supported by Kollmorgen, RESOLVED, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended: 1. To approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 19, 2014, as presented. 2. G14-0039 Sec. Housing & Urban Development – 13345 Westminister Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 13345 Westminister 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. G14-0040 Citimortgage, Inc. – 43506 Goldberg Drive RESOLVED, to declare that a public nuisance exists on the property commonly known as 43506 Goldberg Drive 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 Hearings - None 8. Old Business 9. New Business a. G14-0038 Folz, Marty & Beth – 40360 Ryan Road Code Enforcement Officer, Paul Geiger, stated as of today there have been some changes. Pictures were shown at this time. Marty Folz, owner, was present. Mr. Folz stated that the tree has not been removed because lots of animals live in the tree and they do not want to remove it. The City of Sterling Heights arborist inspected the tree and found it to be hazardous. Mr. Folz does not believe that the tree is hazardous now. They cut down part of the tree and found a family of squirrels living in it. He put the family back in the tree. The tree is not a hazard to anyone and the tree does not reduce property values. Ms. Gerstenberg stated that the two main issues with the tree have been removed by the homeowner. Mr. Kremhelmer stated he would be in favor of having the arborist come back and evaluate the tree again. Mr. Kremhelmer also stated that Mr. Folz definition of hazardous and the City’s are two different things. Mr. Sauger stated that the Board needs to look at the safety of the City and Mr. Folz’s family. Mr. D’Angelo stated that he does not know if spending resources on the Ordinance Board of Appeals II April 16, 2014 Regular Meeting Page 2 arborist is necessarily the best. He asked Mr. Folz if the arborist comes back and deems the tree a safety issue will he take down the tree. Mr. Folz stated that he will disagree with the arborist’s decision but will remove the tree if it is deemed a safety issue. Moved by D’Angelo, supported by Kollmorgen, move to table the case until our next meeting at May 21, 2014 and direct the City arborist to investigate the current status of the tree. Yes: D’Angelo, Kollmorgen, Kremhelmer, Sauger No: None. Absent: Palmeri. Motion carried. 10. Public Participation - None 11. Adjournment Motion by Sauger, supported by Kollmorgen to adjourn the meeting. Yes: All. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 3:33 pm Respectfully submitted. Bruce Kremhelmer, Chairman Michael Sauger, Secretary Ordinance Board of Appeals II Ordinance Board of Appeals II