HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 8/8/2023 - Memorandum From Marcy Yoder And Kory T. Katsimpalis Re: Public Nuisance Ordinance Update
Neighborhood Services
281 N. College Ave
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
www.fcgov.com
MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 2, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
THRU: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Caryn Champine, Director, Planning, Development & Transportation
Paul Sizemore, Director, Community Development & Neighborhood Services
FROM: Marcy Yoder, Manager, Neighborhood Services
Kory T. Katsimpalis, Lead Rep, Customer Support, Neighborhood Services
RE: Public Nuisance Ordinance Update
The purpose of this memo is to provide Council with the requested information on how the new
Public Nuisance Ordinance is working.
Bottom Line:
The PNO Committee was formed in January 2023. Thus far, the PNO Committee has reviewed
a total of 35 properties. This has resulted in:
Voluntary compliance achieved with 7 properties after contact prior to notice issuance –
will continue to monitor to ensure compliance,
Issuance of Notice of Chronic Nuisance for 4 properties,
Issuance of Notice to Abate-Public Nuisance for 2 properties, and
Monitoring of approximately 22 identified properties.
Background:
In December 2020, Council adopted an updated Public Nuisance Ordinance (PNO) code with
the passage of Ordinance 136,2022. The purpose of updating the PNO was two-fold. First, to
address chronic and public nuisance properties where repeat nuisance activities were occurring.
Second, to add new processes and enforcement tools that are more administratively practical.
The new PNO enables the City to stop repetitive nuisance activity occurring on properties that
are either a “public nuisance” or a “chronic nuisance property”. The designation of a property as
either a public nuisance or a chronic nuisance property depends on the occurrence or existence
of multiple and/or continuing “nuisance activities” on a property.
After the adoption of the new PNO, a PNO committee was formed whose task was to review
potential nuisance properties in the City. The PNO committee is comprised of representatives
from several departments, including Code Compliance/Neighborhood Services, Police Services,
Building Services, Zoning Services, City Attorney’s Office, City Manager’s Office, and
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Transportation. Guest attendees occasionally join the PNO committee’s bi-weekly meeting to
update the group on specific properties. These guest representatives have been from
Environmental Services, Natural Areas, Parking Services, and the Larimer County Humane
Society.
The purpose of the PNO committee is to allow collaboration and communication among multiple
City departments. Additionally, the PNO committee uses different cross-departmental
perspectives to discuss potential remedies to abate the nuisance activity and gain compliance
from the property owner. The PNO committee is supported and facilitated by one Community
Development & Neighborhood Services administrative staff member. The Committee meets on
the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. Presently staff are tracking baseline data regarding the
number of properties, types of nuisance activities, and resolution of cases. In the future,
indicators and metrics will be established based on current baseline information.
Properties are identified by staff and brought to the meeting for consideration when the typical
means of reaching compliance is not achieving the outcomes. The issues being brought
forward are varied. Some examples include: condemned housing due to drugs, repeated
parties that included assaults and consumption by minors; long-standing code violations for
rubbish, inoperable vehicles, etc. The PNO website also states that community members can
submit concerns directly to the Neighborhood Services Manager. Recently, there were two
requests from community members that will be reviewed at the next committee meeting.
Staff Analysis:
The new PNO is proving to be an effective tool in gaining compliance and abating nuisance
activities at properties where previous administrative enforcement by City departmental action
was unsuccessful. Additionally, the collaboration among the departmental representatives at the
PNO committee meetings is proving an essential element to the success of the PNO
enforcement. Establishing the processes and procedures of the PNO committee took some time
to work through and will continue as new and different situations arise. However, the steps
taken to address and abate nuisance activity occurring in the City during these first seven
months by the PNO committee is proven more effective than the previous version of the PNO.
Next Steps:
The PNO committee will continue to meet bi-monthly to discuss public nuisance properties and
chronic nuisance properties. The next Council report from staff will occur in six months in early
2024.
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