SAFETY ADVISORY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
The Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee Meeting was held on September 23, 2008, at 6:07 p.m. with Chairman Leary presiding. Mrs. Russell was present. Mr. Slavin, Mr. Link, and Mr. Davis were absent. Mr. Ruane was also present.
City Clerk’s Office Note: Due to the lack of a quorum, no official action could be taken by the committee.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Due to the lack of a quorum, Mr. Leary suggested deferring item #1 - Review of Requested Waivers, Land Subdivision Regulations, Streets: Right-of-Way Width and Length of Dead-end Street for College Road Professional Park (SB-08-01C); item #4 - Update on State Council Transportation Hearing of 9/16/2008; and item #5 - Briefing on MPO Projects.
Dangerous Building Standards/Process
Mrs. Townshend, Director of Planning and Inspections, along with Mr. Koenig, Public Services Director, provided information regarding dangerous building standards and the process. It was noted that after bringing buildings forward to City Council requesting that they be declared dangerous and ordered demolished or repaired, staff would receive several questions regarding the process for identifying dangerous buildings and how that process is applied.
Mrs. Townshend advised members that the process for demolition of a structure identified as dangerous is prescribed in Chapter 22 - Buildings and Building Regulations, Article XI - Dangerous Buildings of the Dover Code. In addition, members were provided a check list developed several years ago that the inspectors utilize to take a building through the process.
Mrs. Townshend explained how the process is triggered, stating that each inspector is assigned a territory of the City for code enforcement. On properties where there are chronic and serious violations and where there has been little or no movement toward code compliance, inspectors will request that a building be added to the dangerous building list to move forward to City Council according to the process set forth in the Dover Code. Section 22-381 of Dover Code defines a list of 13 items which, if present, constitute a dangerous building. It was noted that buildings that are brought forward to Council meet numerous items within the definition. Mrs. Townshend stated that many of the buildings added to the department’s list do not reach the level of City Council because initiating the process frequently compels progress towards code compliance.
Recently, Mrs. Townshend stated that staff has determined that there is a need to develop a more objective, systematic way of determining which buildings in the City need to be added to the dangerous building list. Mr. Taraila, Code Enforcement Supervisor, has been requested to establish a new procedure to better define how a building is added to the department’s dangerous building list, thereby triggering the process set forth in Chapter 22, Article XI. Once the process has been triggered, the Code is prescriptive as to the process and the required notifications that must take place. The checklist provided to members outlines this process. For all buildings brought to Council, staff ensures that these code requirements are fulfilled.
Mrs. Russell relayed concern that there are different standards for commercial properties than for residential. She stated that a commercial building was recently purchased and after the purchase, the City inspector indicated to the new owners that there were several code violations that required attention. It was her feeling that the City should have cited the previous owners of the building and required them to bring the building into compliance prior to their selling the building.
Responding, Mrs. Townshend explained that a certificate of occupancy is required for commercial buildings, which requires staff to inspect the property in order to issue the certificate. This type of system is not required for rental residential dwellings, other than buildings that have public occupancy, which have annual inspections.
Referring to the annual inspections required of residential rental properties, Mrs. Russell suggested that the same annual inspections should be required of commercial rental properties. Responding, Mrs. Townshend indicated that the Dover Code does not address commercial rental properties in this respect. Mr. Koenig noted that there are numerous commercial rental properties throughout the City.
After much discussion, Mrs. Townshend stated that staff would meet and provide to members what is required through public occupancy and what the Code provides for to determine if Council may wish to make amendments. Concurring, Mr. Leary felt that this issue should be included for discussion at a future meeting.
Vacant Building Standards/Process
Mrs. Townshend, Director of Planning and Inspections, advised members that since the passage of the Vacant Building Ordinance in June 2006, there have been questions about how the ordinance is implemented and whether or not it has been effective. For informational purposes, members were provided Chapter 22 - Buildings and Building Regulations, Article XII - Vacant Buildings of the Dover Code. In addition, members were provided a memo from Mr. Taraila, Code Enforcement Supervisor, distributed to the code enforcement inspectors, with an updated procedure for vacant building registration.
Mrs. Townshend noted that the City’s list currently includes 40 active vacant building registrations. Of those 40, seven (7) have paid the registration fee. Others have indicated that they are exempt from the registration fee because they are either actively for sale or lease or they are being renovated under an active building permit. Since the Vacant Building Ordinance has gone into effect, 70 buildings have been registered, but many have come off the list because they have either been demolished by the owner or re-occupied. Some examples of these are the new Sonic on Route 13,
the Kidz Inc. Day Care Center on North Street, and 1335 Walker Road (a vacant residence).
Mrs. Townshend stated that many vacant buildings are also in violation of other code requirements, and assured members that the code enforcement inspectors work to apply the Vacant Building Ordinance in conjunction with other codes to address the entire property.
Mr. Taraila reviewed a listing of Case Statistics by Case Type (Attachment #1) and a listing of Licenses by Classification (Attachment #2). He explained that the goal is to occupy such buildings since occupancy serves as the best deterrent against the deterioration of buildings.
Briefing on City of Dover Projects - Wyoming Mill Road Project
Mr. Koenig, Public Service Manager, advised members that he has been in contact with the Wyoming Mill Road Project Manager, Mr. Jeff Niezgoda of DelDOT. Mr. Niezgoda indicated that as of September 8, 2008, DelDOT’s Finance Department was working with Federal Highways in order to transfer the funds for the design phase. The design contract has been issued to McCormick Taylor. Mr. Koenig stated that the design work was halted due to land transfer issues, which has since been resolved. Federal Highway will be releasing the design funds; therefore, this work will begin again. Mr. Niezgoda also indicated that DelDOT received approval from Federal Highways to use the appraised value of the right-of-way for the soft-match (80-20 match). The appraised value of the right-of-way was approximately $88,000. He stated that DelDOT was expecting all design purchase orders to be issued within a week and that the work would ensue.
Responding to Mr. Leary, Mr. Koenig stated that prior to the design phase issue, it was expected that the roadway would be completed by Fall 2009; however, due to the delay, it is anticipated that it will be completed by Spring 2010.
Mr. Leary requested that Mr. Koenig keep members abreast of the development of the Wyoming Mill Road Project.
There being no further business, Mr. Leary declared the meeting adjourned.
Meeting Adjourned at 7:16 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas J. Leary
Chairman
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Attachments to Original Minutes and File Copy:
Attachment #1 - List of Case Statistics by Case Type - Vacant Buildings
Attachment #2 - List of Licenses by Classification - Vacant Buildings