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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/16/2016 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 093, 2016, AMENDINAgenda Item 7 Item # 7 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY August 16, 2016 City Council STAFF Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 093, 2016, Amending the City Code Pertaining to the Disposition of Tangible Personal Property. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on July 19, 2016, amends the City Code to eliminate the current provisions pertaining to disposition of tangible personal property and replace with a reference to administrative procedures. The disposition of lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property found within a natural area, park, trail, other outdoor City property, and within a City facility will be governed by administrative policies adopted by the City Manager and on file in the City Clerk’s Office. The disposition of firearms, illegal property, identification documents, financial transaction devices, computers or electronic items that store personal identification information will be governed by Fort Collins Police Services Standard Operating Procedures. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, July 19, 2016 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Proposed Administrative Policy (PDF) 3. Ordinance No. 093, 2016 (PDF) Agenda Item 18 Item # 18 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 19, 2016 City Council STAFF Wendy Williams, Assistant City Manager SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 093, 2016, Amending the City Code Pertaining to the Disposition of Tangible Personal Property. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to amend the City Code to eliminate the current provisions pertaining to disposition of tangible personal property and replace with a reference to administrative procedures. The disposition of lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property found within a natural area, park, trail, other outdoor City property, and within a City facility will be governed by administrative policies adopted by the City Manager and on file in the City Clerk’s Office. The disposition of firearms, illegal property, identification documents, financial transaction devices, computers or electronic items that store personal identification information will be governed by Fort Collins Police Services Standard Operating Procedures. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION This amendment to the City Code is intended to provide a practical and consistent approach to disposing of lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property. The volume of abandoned, unclaimed or unattended items left within City natural areas, parks, trails, and other outdoor City property has increased significantly over the last few years. This type of property typically includes sleeping bags, clothing, backpacks, tents and other items. By virtue of the property’s exposure to the elements, these articles frequently become deteriorated to the point they are no longer of value or utility. The resulting workload from the collection of such property is rapidly exceeding City staff’s ability to safely and effectively handle the items as current City Code provision requires that the material be inventoried and logged into Police Services’ property and evidence system for a thirty (30) day holding period followed by a ten (10) day publication period. This handling, transport and storage is complicated when these items are soiled with bodily fluids, saturated from precipitation, or contain broken glass, hypodermic needles, or other hazardous material. Likewise, this material left uncollected presents a public safety risk and is incompatible with the City’s responsibility of maintaining public property in a clean and safe condition. An administrative policy provides the flexibility of being able to make changes if and when needed to address any unanticipated issues. The proposed administrative policy states that:  Trash, perishable or hazardous property will be disposed of or destroyed immediately.  Property will be tagged at the site with a notice that property must be removed no later than 72 hours after date and time posted. Tagging requirement will not apply to single items left abandoned, unclaimed, or unattended.  Unclaimed property will be evaluated for value or utility.  Property determined to have little or no apparent value or utility will be removed and destroyed. ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 18 Item # 18 Page 2  Property determined to have apparent value or utility will be removed and stored at the Fort Collins Parks Maintenance Office (Park Shop) for 30 days.  Owner may contact the Park Shop to make an appointment to reclaim items removed by the City.  Items unclaimed after 30 days will be handled in accordance with Purchasing policies. At this time, it is expected that these materials will be provided to a non-profit organization (currently expected to be Homeless Gear) to support a local program that enables residents to have equal access to clothing, gear and other types of personal property to address their basic human rights and needs.  Owner may request an administrative review of the destruction or disposal of property. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Replacing the City Code provisions with an administrative policy will make it easier to remove abandoned, unclaimed or unattended items from City property. Cleanup of this material will include the removal of hazardous waste associated with drug and alcohol abuse, disposal of clothing, sleeping bags and other material with bodily waste, rodent droppings, and other factors that raise human health considerations. Cleaned sites will improve aesthetics and safety for lawful users of natural areas, parks, and trails. Finally, long-term reduction of deteriorated items throughout our public spaces will reduce exposure of hazardous material to City cleanup crews. While the amount of waste going to the landfill will increase, this is preferable to personal property being left to deteriorate in Natural Areas and Parks. SOCIAL IMPACTS Prior outreach to stakeholders regarding proposed changes to Section 23-130 identified several concerns which have been addressed in the proposed administrative policy. Property will be tagged for 72 hours before removal. Tangible personal property will be removed and held for 30 days at a site where owners are more likely to feel comfortable claiming their property. Involvement by a non-profit organization will result in the distribution of lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended items to residents in need of such property. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS No significant City financial impacts are expected. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The current Code provisions which pertain to the disposition of tangible personal property were reviewed at the February 18 Super Board meeting. The key components of the proposed Administrative Policy were also presented, with no concerns expressed. PUBLIC OUTREACH Feedback was sought from the primary service providers in the City, including the Fort Collins Homeless Coalition, Homeward 2020, Homeless Gear and the Murphy Center to an earlier proposal to modify Section 23-130, Disposition of lost, abandoned or other unclaimed property. ATTACHMENTS 1. Proposed Administrative Policy (PDF) 2. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) -1- 2.9 Lost, Abandoned, Unclaimed or Unattended Tangible Personal Property A. Definition. Tangible property shall mean corporeal personal property of any kind that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or is in any other way perceptible to the senses, but excluding the property defined in City Code Section 23-132 (Chapter 23, Article IV, Division 3, Section 23-125). This definition shall apply to Sections 2.9, 2.10 and 2.11 of these policies. B. Lost, Abandoned, Unclaimed or Unattended Tangible Personal Property within a Natural Area, Park, Trail or other outdoor City property. (1) Property Must be Noticed a) With the exceptions of trash, perishable or hazardous property, currency, and as provided in 2.9C and 2.10 of the City Manager’s Policies, all lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property found within a natural area, park, trail or other outdoor City property, by a peace officer or specially commissioned officer of the City, or his or her designee(s) (hereafter referred to as “Officer”), shall be tagged with a notice (both in English and Spanish) at the site of the property not less than seventy-two (72) hours before removal, which states the following: i. That the property must be removed not later than the date and time posted (seventy-two hours from posting) pursuant to administrative policies adopted by the City Manager and on file in the office of the City Clerk; ii. That unremoved items of little apparent value or utility will be destroyed or otherwise disposed of; and iii. That the owner may contact the Fort Collins Parks Maintenance Office (Park Shop) between 8:00 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday at given phone numbers to make an appointment to reclaim items of value or utility that are removed by the City. (2) Property Must be Evaluated for Value or Utility a) All lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property found within a natural area, park, trail or other outdoor City property shall be evaluated for value or utility. In making the determination regarding value or utility, an Officer shall consider the following factors: ATTACHMENT 2 -2- i. The apparent condition of the property, including, but not limited to, whether it is damp, soiled, moldy, infested, or in a state of substantial disrepair, and its apparent ability to serve its intended purpose in its current condition; and ii. The material of which the property is made or constructed; and iii. Whether the property would have significant marketable value in its current condition; and iv. The degree to which the property is protected from or exposed to the elements of nature and therefore susceptible to damage or deterioration; and v. Whether the property could reasonably appear to have personal value to the owner for sentimental or business purposes, such as photos, documents of identification, letters, or other written materials; and vi. Any other factors apparent to the Officer which would have an impact on its value or utility. b) If the material is other than currency, firearms, illegal property, identification document, financial transaction device or computer or electronic item that stores personal identification information, and is reasonably determined by an Officer to be of apparent value or utility, it will be removed following a posting of notice in the form described above, and stored at The Fort Collins Parks Maintenance Office (Park Shop) for thirty (30) days. Currency, firearms, illegal property, identification document, financial transaction device or computer or electronic item that stores personal identification information will be processed in the manner described at 2.12 of the City Manager’s Policies. (3) Property Determined to be of Little or No Apparent Value or Utility a) Lost, abandoned, unclaimed, or unattended personal property of little or no apparent value or utility, as reasonably determined by an Officer, that is found upon and within a City natural area, park, trail or other outdoor City property may be removed and destroyed or otherwise disposed if it has been determined that: i. No person is within the immediate vicinity of such property at the time the Officer discovers such property and the Officer has posted notice as indicated above; or -3- ii. A person claiming ownership of the property is within the immediate vicinity of such property, and fails to remove all of his or her property within seventy-two hours after posting of the notice above; or iii. Identifying contact information is readily apparent at the site of the property and the Officer has attempted to, but has not been successful in, contacting the property owner to obtain removal of the property. (4) Trash If the material is reasonably determined by an Officer to constitute trash, it will be destroyed or disposed of immediately without notice or hearing. Trash shall mean material that is worthless, useless, or constitutes litter, and includes, but is not limited to, used food containers, soiled food, plastic or paper bags, destroyed objects, broken pieces of objects, debris, pieces of paper dropped on the ground, and similar detritus. (5) Perishable or Hazardous Property If the material is reasonably determined by an Officer, to constitute perishable or hazardous property, it will be immediately destroyed or disposed of without notice or hearing. Perishable or Hazardous property shall include consumable substances and other materials of a nature subject to decay, environmental contamination, or otherwise deemed inadvisable to retain for public health and safety reasons. C. Single Items of Tangible Personal Property Left Abandoned, Unclaimed or Unattended in a Natural Area, Park, Trail or Other Outdoor City Property. Except as otherwise provided in Section 2.10, single items of tangible personal property left abandoned, unclaimed or unattended in a natural area, park, trail or other outdoor City property will be handled as follows: (1) Trash, perishable or hazardous property will be disposed of or destroyed immediately. (2) Unclaimed property will be evaluated for value or utility. (3) Property determined to have little or no apparent value or utility will be removed and destroyed. (4) Property determined to have value or utility will be taken directly to the Fort Collins Parks Maintenance Office (Park Shop), and then shall be used or disposed of as determined by the Purchasing Agent. -4- 2.10. Lost, Abandoned, Unclaimed or Unattended Tangible Personal Property within or on the grounds of a City Facility Lost, abandoned, or unclaimed personal property within or on the grounds of a City facility, owned or operated by the City shall be handled as follows: (1) Trash, perishable or hazardous property will be disposed of or destroyed immediately. (2) Unclaimed property will be evaluated for value or utility. (3) Property determined to have little or no apparent value or utility will be removed and destroyed. (4) Property determined to have apparent value or utility will be stored on site for 30 days. (5) Items unclaimed after 30 days will be taken to the Fort Collins Parks Maintenance Office (Park Shop), and then shall be used or disposed of as determined by the Purchasing Agent. 2.11 Administrative Review (1) Administrative review of the destruction or disposal of any property under Sections 2.9 and 2.10 and review of any request for reasonable compensation in connection with the same shall be as provided in this Subsection. a) To request a hearing to review the decision regarding the destruction or disposal of property and to request reasonable compensation, the owner of the property must notify, in writing, the City Manager’s Office within thirty (30) days of destruction or disposal. b) Except as agreed by the requesting party, any requested hearing must take place within thirty (30) days of receipt by the City of the request for hearing. The hearing officer may be an independent contractor to the City or any employee or officer of the City appointed as the hearing officer by the City Manager’s Office, so long as such appointee was not involved in the removal, destruction, or disposal of the property at issue. c) The hearing decision may be appealed in accordance with Colorado law. d) A request for a hearing by said property owner as provided in this Section shall not constitute a written notice of injury as defined in §24-10-109, Colorado Revised Statutes. 2.12 Firearm, Illegal Property, Identification Document, Financial Transaction Device Or Computer Or Electronic Item That Stores Personal Identification Information -5- Any firearm, illegal property, identification document, financial transaction device or computer or electronic items that stores personal identification information that is found upon and within a City natural area, park, trail or other outdoor City property or within a City facility shall be immediately turned over to Fort Collins Police Services. -1- ORDINANCE NO. 093, 2016 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING THE CITY CODE PERTAINING TO THE DISPOSITION OF TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY WHEREAS, City Code provisions currently require tangible personal property, regardless of its value or utility, to be inventoried and logged into Police Services’ property and evidence system for a thirty-day holding period followed by a ten-day publication period; and WHEREAS, the handling, transport and storage of such property often times creates a public safety risk and is incompatible with the City’s responsibility to maintaining public property in a clean and safe condition when the property is soiled with bodily fluids, saturated from precipitation, contains broken glass, hypodermic needles or other hazardous materials; and WHEREAS, over the years, City staff has been experiencing an environment in which it is becoming impractical to comply with the current City Code provisions due to both the type of tangible personal property and the ever-increasing volume of such property; and WHEREAS, City staff has identified a benefit in establishing administrative procedures in lieu of the City Code provision to govern tangible personal property in order to allow more administrative flexibility to adjust the procedures; and WHEREAS, City staff has formulated administrative procedures pertaining to the disposition of lost, abandoned, unclaimed or unattended tangible personal property found within a natural area, park, trail, other outdoor City property, and within a City facility to provide a practical, flexible, consistent, and updated approach, including evaluating the property for value or utility, and to dispose of tangible personal property in compliance with constitutional due process requirements; and WHEREAS, these administrative procedures will be approved by the City Manager and remain on file in the Office of the City Clerk; and WHEREAS, staff recommends eliminating the current provisions in the City Code pertaining to the disposition of tangible personal property so that the City Manager’s administrative procedures will consistently govern all City department processes concerning tangible personal property; and WHEREAS, for these reasons, the City Council believes that these amendments to the City Code are in the best interests of the citizens of Fort Collins. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. -2- Section 2. That the title of Chapter 23, Article IV, Division 3 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Division 3 Tangible Personal Property Section 3. That Chapter 23, Article IV, Division 3 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of a new Section 23-125 which reads in its entirety as follows: Sec. 23-125. Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this Division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section. Tangible property shall mean corporeal personal property of any kind that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or is in any other way perceptible to the senses, but excluding the property defined in City Code Section 23-132. Section 4. That Section 23-126 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 23-126. - Surplus and obsolete tangible property; definition. All items of surplus and obsolete tangible property owned by the City shall be disposed of at the discretion of the Purchasing Agent according to established administrative procedures approved by the City Manager and on file in the office of the City Clerk. Such procedures shall be designed so as to recover the market value of the disposed of property except where the administrative cost is expected to exceed the recoverable value or otherwise in accordance with rules, regulations, and policies of the Purchasing Agent. Surplus and obsolete tangible property shall mean all items of tangible property previously purchased by the City or converted to City use which in the judgment of the Purchasing Agent are no longer useful or necessary for the efficient administration of City affairs. Section 5. That Section 23-127 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby deleted in its entirety: Section 6. That Section 23-128 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby deleted in its entirety: Section 7. That Section 23-129 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby deleted in its entirety: Section 8. That Section 23-130 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: -3- Sec. 23-127. - Disposition of lost, abandoned or other unclaimed tangible property. Except as otherwise specifically provided for by law or ordinance, any tangible property seized or otherwise obtained by the City may be disposed of in accordance with administrative policies adopted by the City Manager and on file in the office of the City Clerk. Such policies shall provide reasonable notice of any proceedings and an opportunity to be heard prior to the disposal of any tangible property. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 19th day of July, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 16th day of August, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 16th day of August, A.D. 2016. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk