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HomeMy WebLinkAbout136 - 09/02/1997 - ORDERING THE ABATEMENT OF A NUISANCE THAT HAS ARISEN AS A RESULT OF THE JULY 28, 1997 FLOOD (EMERGEN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 136, 1997 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ORDERING THE ABATEMENT OF A NUISANCE THAT HAS ARISEN AS A RESULT OF THE JULY 28, 1997 FLOOD WHEREAS,on July 28, 1997, a flood occurred in the city which most seriously affected the property described as follows: L The Johnson Center Mobile Home Park, 1799 South College Avenue. 2. The South College Trailer Park, 1805 South College Avenue WHEREAS,the above-described properties have been inspected by the Building Permits and Inspections Administrator and the Fire Chief and said persons have reported to the Council that the premises are in an unsanitary or dangerous condition, that the premises are filthy, offensive and are dangerous to the life or property of person, the details of which conditions are contained in the "Declaration of Nuisance" and the exhibits thereto, which have been received by the Council and which are attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A'; and WHEREAS, notice of such condition has been mailed to the owners of the real property above-described and, to the extent of the City's capabilities, has also been personally delivered to as many occupants of such properties and owners of personal property situated thereon as could be located within the City from information reasonably available to it, which notice has ordered the owners/occupants of property described in sections 1 and 2 of the first recital above to put the property in proper condition as required in the order not later than August 31, 1997; and WHEREAS, certain of the said owners/occupants of the other affected properties have either partially or totally failed to comply with the order of the Building Permits and Inspections Administrator and Fire Chief within the time given in the Order; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions contained in Chapter 20, Article I of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, the Council has afforded all such owners and occupants, their agents and other interested persons of the property situated on the above-described premises an opportunity to be heard with regard to the question of whether such items of property, and/or the premises upon which such property is situated, constitutes a public nuisance within the meaning of Section 20-2 of the City Code; and WHEREAS, the Council believes it would be in the best interest of the City to extend the period of time within which the owners and/or occupants of such properties may be permitted to clean and repair the same, to the extent that such activities can be safely and expeditiously undertaken, so as to abate the conditions described in the"Declaration of Nuisance"; and WHEREAS, Article 11, Section 6 of the City Charter allows the City Council to pass an emergency ordinance on first reading upon the affirmative vote of at least five members of the City Council. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the above-stated"recitals" are hereby made a part of this Ordinance as though stated hereinbelow. Section 2. That the foregoing concerns are hereby determined by the Council to constitute an emergency within the meaning of Article II, Section 6, of the City Charter, and, therefore, this Ordinance shall be immediately effective upon its passage on first reading. Section 3. That the premises described above are hereby declared to be unsanitary, dangerous, filthy,offensive and dangerous to the life or property of persons and that said premises present a real and immediate danger to the health and safety of the inhabitants of the city and are therefore declared to be a nuisance which,under the exercise of the police power of the City Council, must be promptly abated. Section 4. That the immediate removal and destruction of the mobile homes and other items of personal property remaining on the premises of the Johnson Center Mobile Home Park, 1799 South College Avenue, and the South College Trailer Park, 1805 South College Avenue, constitutes the only effective and practical way of abating the public nuisance which exists on such premises. Section 5. That the City Manager is hereby ordered to remedy the conditions described in paragraph(A)of the findings contained in the "Declaration of Nuisance" by the removal of all structures,mobile homes and items of personal property remaining on the premises of the Johnson Center Mobile Home Park, 1799 South College Avenue, and the South College Trailer Park, 1805 South College Avenue as of September 13, 1997,excluding only those structures,mobile homes and items of personal property that, in the judgment of the City's Building Permits and Inspections Administrator,have, as of said date,been satisfactorily cleaned and repaired in the manner described in Exhibit A to the "Declaration of Nuisance." Introduced, considered favorably by 7 members of the Council of the City of Fort Collins and finally passed as an Emergency Ordinance and ordered published this 2nd day of September, A.D. 1997. f_ ,r r'J r Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk 6iilCommunity Planning and Environmental Services Building Permits and Inspection Division i DECLARATION OF NUISANCE City of Fort Collins During the night of July 28, 1997, a flood inundated portions of Fort Collins. The areas most seriously affected by the flooding were the following: 1. The Johnson Center Mobile Home Park, 1799 South College Avenue. 2. The South College Trailer Park, 1805 South College Avenue 3. The buildings located at 113 Johnson Drive, 2004/2006 Spring Court, 2009/2011 Spring Court and 2013/2015 Spring Court Section 20-2 of the Code of the City provides that: Sec. 20-2. Abatement of unsanitary or dangerous premises. (a) If it shall be made to appear to the Director of Engineering, Building Pen-nits and Inspections Administrator or Fire Chief that any premises within the city are in an unsanitary or dangerous condition or that the premises are filthy, offensive or are dangerous to the life or property of persons or may cause an unnecessary fire hazard, they shall forthwith cause notice of such condition to be given to the owner, agent or occupant of the property and order the premises to be put in proper condition within such period as they may deem necessary. Such period shall not be less than twenty-four(24) hours. On August 18, 1997, the Building Permits and Inspections Administrator and Fire Chief conducted an inspection of the premises described in 1 through 3 above. Also inspecting the premises were Jerry Blehm, Director of the Environmental Health Division of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment and Maureen Scullion, Safety and Health Coordinator for the City of Fort Collins. The reports of Mr. Blehm and Ms. Scullion are attached hereto in support of the findings and determinations as contained in this Declaration. The findings of the inspection of August 18, 1997, are as follows: A. All mobile homes that were or are located in the mobile home parks as identified in 1 and 2 above are in an unsanitary and dangerous condition, are filthy and offensive and dangerous to the life or property of persons. Some of the aforesaid mobile homes are located at their original location in said mobile home parks. However, most of the mobile homes have been moved from their anchorage, their wastewater and other utility lines have been severed and they have either been partially (but severely) or fully inundated by flood waters. Many of the mobile homes have drifted from their original locations, some having been drifted or washed out of the mobile home parks and into other areas, including public areas. The same is true of accessory buildings to the mobile homes and other materials that were appurtenant to the mobile home usage. Furthermore, there is a substantial amount 281 North College Avenue • P.O. BOX 580 • Fort( Alm , CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6760 of debris lying about in the mobile home parks identified in 1 and 2 above and in other areas adjacent to Spring Creek where the debris drifted or was washed by the flood. For the reasons stated above and identified in the reports attached hereto, all such mobile homes, accessory buildings and materials constitute a public nuisance within the meaning of Section 20-2 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins and must either be immediately(not later than August 31, 1997) emptied of their content and sanitized by the methods described on Exhibit"A"attached hereto or removed from the area and disposed of in order to prevent the spread of disease and the risk of insect, vermin, bacterial and fungal infestation. B. The buildings located at 113 Johnson Drive, 2004/2006 Spring Court, 2009/2011 Spring Court and 2013/2015 Spring Court are not habitable unless substantial repairs and renovations are made to them. Unless said buildings are fully and immediately(not later than August 31, 1997) emptied of their contents, so as to prevent the creation of a habitat for insects, vermin, bacterial or fungal infestation, said buildings must be removed from the premises in the same manner as described for the mobile homes identified above. If said buildings are fully and immediately emptied of their contents they need not be so removed; however, they may not be used for human habitation until such times as the buildings have been fully sanitized and renovated as required by the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment and the City's Building Permits and Inspections Administrator. Such sanitization and renovation must be completed by January 31, 1998. DETERMINATION OF NUISANCE Based upon the above findings, it is hereby determined by the City's Building Permits and Inspections Administrator and Fire Chief that a nuisance exists that presents an immediate threat to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City on the premises identified on paragraphs 1 through 3 above and that said nuisance must be abated by the taking of actions as described above with regard to the items listed in 1 through 3 above. DATED this 21 st day of August, 1997. v and Felix Lee, u' ng Permits and ?Mulligan, Fire Chief Inspections Administrator 2 EXHIBIT "A" All surfaces and objects that have come in contact with the contaminated storm water should be washed,rinsed and sanitized. The objects should be washed with hot soapy water to remove as much residual contamination as possible, then rinsed with hot water to remove soap and other residue then sanitized with an appropriate strength chlorine bleach solution. The objects should then dry until all moisture is removed. The people performing these tasks should protect themselves with the appropriate immunizations(up-to-date on tetanus),non porous foot wear, gloves and appropriate protective clothing. Porous materials such as carpet, carpet pad, upholstered furniture, insulation materials, paneling, wall board, etc., that cannot be reliably cleaned should be removed and disposed of. LANMER DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH 1525 Blue Spruce Drive Kent N.Campbell,JD Alice Hallberg,RN Fort Collins,Colorado,80524-2004 Jane Higgins,MD Pam Howard General Health(970)498-6700 Sidney N.Waldrop,MS Environmental Health(970)498-6775 • • Fax(970)498-6772 Adrienne LeBailly, MD, MPH,Director August 20, 1997 W. Paul Eckman ° Deputy City Attorney City of Fort Collins pUG % 199� 300 LaPorte Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 } ,� t �� FAX(970) 221-632 Dear Mr. Eckman It is the opinion of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment that the flood-damaged mobile homes, in the area between College Ave. and the Railroad tracks and South of Prospect St. to Spring Creek, can and probably will create a public health nuisance. A public nuisance is defined in part 16-13-305 as any building, the condition of which presents a substantial danger or hazard to public health or safety, or any dilapidated building which is unused by the owner, or uninhabited because of deterioration or decay which constitutes a fire hazard, subjects adjoining property to danger of damage by storm, soil erosion, or rodent infestation. The evacuation of the area in question by civil authorities and the restrictions on residents returning to the mobile homes constitutes a determination that the mobile homes are unsafe or unfit to use as residences. Our department staff has observed that a large quantity of wheat from derailed freight train cars was deposited in the mobile home parks by the storm water and that spoiled food items were left in many of the mobile homes. These rotting consumables and the harborage created by the many displaced mobile homes create a significant potential for rodent infestation. All surfaces and objects that have come in contact with the contaminated storm water should be washed, rinsed and sanitized. The objects should be washed with hot soapy water to remove as much residual contamination as possible, then rinsed with hot water to remove soap and other residue then sanitized with an appropriate strength chlorine bleach solution. The objects should then dry until all moisture is removed. The people performing these tasks should protect themselves with the appropriate immunizations (up-to-date on tetanus), non porous foot wear, gloves and appropriate protective clothing. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS John Clarke,District I Cheryl Olson,District 11 Jim Disney,District III Porous material such as carpet, carpet pad, upholstered furniture, insulation materials, paneling, wall board, etc., that cannot be reliably cleaned should be removed and disposed of. It is our understanding that the construction techniques and material used in mobile home construction make the appropriate cleaning procedure very difficult to follow. We also understand that if all the porous material is removed from a mobile home, very little remains and this practice may not be cost effective. Removal and disposal of the entire mobile home as a unit may be the safest and also the most cost effective approach. The buildings in the area that were constructed of steel, and or cement block with concrete floors and foundations can be cleaned. The residences just South of Spring Creek in this same area with their concrete foundations, slab on grade construction, and having much less porous materials used in their construction can probably be cleaned assuming they are structurally sound. Our investigation showed that these stick built residences had been partially cleaned. They had virtually all the carpet, furniture, appliances, clothing, etc., removed. The heavy siltation had been removed from the residences and yards. It appeared that the mobile homes had, for all practical purposes, been abandoned. All of them flooded to some degree from the floor to over the roof. The vast majority of the mobile homes had been dislodged from their temporary foundations and moved significant distances with all water, sewer, gas and electrical connections being dislodged. Many mobile homes had obvious significant structural problems. The mobile home park area has heavy siltation with large quantities of wet rotting wheat. Most of the mobile homes have a similar mixture of mud, wheat, and mold inside the mobile homes. The mobile home park area is beginning to have a very objectionable odor from the decaying materials and the fly population is very high in the area. We did not see any obvious signs of other vermin infestation on our inspection on August 18, 1997 but the situation is certainly "ripe" for this to happen. We recommend the City inspect each mobile home to confirm the specific condition of each residence. We feel this area is a source of filth and potential sickness. The vermin problems will get worse with time and odors will increase. Our recommendation is that the area be cleaned as soon as possible. The silt, rotting wheat, and all other porous material that cannot be effectively washed, rinsed, and sanitized should be removed and disposed of at a designated landfill. ;S' ereIy ry BI Adrienne LeBailly, MD, MPH vironmental Health Division Director Director, Dept. of Health and Environment Water Utilities _ Stormwater • Water • Wastewats°r City of Fort Collins ME M 0 R A N D U M DATE: August 21, 1997 TO: Paul Eckman, Deputy City Attorney FROM: Maureen Scullion, Safety& Health Coordinator THROUGH: Wendy Williams, Assistant General Manager-Administration RE: Flood Debris Removal/City Council Hearing This letter is in response to your request to survey Johnson Mobile Home Park at 1799 South College Avenue and South College Trailer Park at 1805 South College Avenue and assess whether the property represents a public health nuisance. On Monday, August 18th I toured the mobile home park and observed the damage created by the 7/28/97 flood. Many of the mobile homes are destroyed or torn from their foundation. Others appeared to be anchored to the foundation but damaged by mud, water, tree limbs, trash, and other debris that flowed through the mobile home park. The area between the mobile homes is littered with trash, food, clothing, wheat, shards of glass, metal, or plastic, and other debris. Flood water has pooled in the depressions in the soil and containers throughout the park. The interior of many of the mobile homes are heavily soiled with mud and water. Carpeting, furniture, clothing, and other personal belongings in the mobile homes are saturated with mud and flood water and smell of rotting organic matter. Mold and mildew are also beginning to grow on floors, walls, and ceilings. Food has not been removed from many of the refrigerators. The food has spoiled and developed mold and bacteria. These conditions satisfy the definition of a public health nuisance as defined by Colorado State Statute, 16-13-305 (d): Any dilapidated building of whatever kind which is unused by the owner or uninhabited because of deterioration or decay, which condition constitutes a fire hazard, or subjects adjoining property to danger of damage by storm, soil erosion, or rodent infestation, or which becomes a place frequented by trespassers and transients seeking a temporary hideout or shelter; City Code, Section 20-2 (a): P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 81 iS22-0580 • (970) 221-0081 ... any premises within the city are in an unsanitary or dangerous condition or that the premises are filthy, offensive, or are dangerous to the life or property of persons or may cause an unnecessary fire hazard; and are in violation with the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Sanitary Standards and Regulations for Mobile Home Parks. The flood water is likely to be contaminated with sewage and other pollutants and may pose a serious health hazard to the community. Fecal material was likely released when mobile homes were torn from structural bases or otherwise disconnected from sewer service lines. Emergency responders reported observing fecal material in the area outside many homes. Some common illnesses caused by sewage-contaminated water are tetanus, hepatitis, dysentery, salmonella, shigella, and food poisoning. Flood waters can dislodge tanks, drums, pipes, and equipment containing hazardous chemicals from nearby businesses. Household cleaners, pesticides, solvents, aerosol cans, and gas grill propane tanks may also contaminate flood water. The rotting organic matter present both inside and out of the mobile homes attracts insects and rodents and is an excellent media for the growth of fly larvae. Flies carry bacteria and viruses in their digestive systems and can be agents or mechanical carriers in the spread of infectious disease. The standing water present throughout the park leads to increased mosquito populations. Encephalitis is one of the diseases frequently transmitted by mosquitos in August and September. Rats are carriers of disease organisms, fleas, lice, mites, and intestinal parasites. Wet grain and other organic/agricultural materials often grow large amounts of bacteria and mold with warm summer weather. Molds also grow in cellulose containing materials such as books, paper, and cloth. Breathing these organisms and the organic dust produced may cause lung disease. Molds can cause allergic reactions or irritate skin. The buildings and grounds within the mobile home parks are unsafe. The residents were ordered to evacuate their homes and have not been permitted to return due to significant concern for their safety. The mobile homes which sustained heavy structural damage have been declared inhabitable by the City's Building and Zoning Department and should be removed from the site as soon as possible to prevent unnecessary injury to the former residents, curious children, or transients. The mobile home park grounds need to be thoroughly cleaned and cleared of food, trash, clothing, and other debris which may transmit disease or attract insects, rodents, or harbor stray animals. All chemicals or hazardous materials must be identified and delivered to Larimer County's Household Hazardous Waste collection site at the mobile home park. Grass, weeds, and other vegetation not considered part of the ornamental landscape should be removed. The park should be graded to facilitate proper drainage and eliminate standing water. All of the remaining mobile homes are unsanitary and require extensive cleaning and repair. Mobile home park residents would need vast amounts of time and resources to return them to sanitary living spaces. The work is also dangerous unless properly trained in construction and electrical repairs. Therefore, the only practical,reasonable, and cost effective solution is to remove the mobile homes from this site. To protect the community at large, remedial action should be taken quickly.