HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007/06/26 Board of Appeals & Advisors Agenda Packet CITY OF CHULA VISTA
BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS
SPECIAL MEETING
AGENDA
Tuesday - 5:15 p m City Council Chambers June 26, 2007
276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910
CALL MEETING TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
West_ Turner_ Buddingh_ Hieronimus_ Buencamino- Andrews_ Flach_
Romo
1.. DECLARATION OF EXCUSED/UNEXCUSED ABSENTEEISM:
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: April 9, 2007 and June 11, 2007
3. NEW BUSINESS:
A Property Transfer Report.
4 CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS/REPORTS:
5. BUILDING OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS/REPORTS:
6. COMMUNICATIONS (PUBLIC REMARKS/WRITTEN CORRESPONDENCE):
7.. ADJOURNMENT TO REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING ON
MONDAY, July 9, 2007 AT 5:15 PM IN CONFERENCE ROOM 137
BRAD REMP, C.B O DATE
ASST. DIR. OF PLANNING & BUILDING/BUILDING OFFICIAL
SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS I
COMPLIANCE WITH AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The City of Chula Vista, in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), request individuals who require special
accommodations to access, attend, and/or participate in a City meeting, activity, or service, request such accommodation at least '
forty-eight hours in advance for meetings and five days for scheduled services and activities. Please contact Eileen Dimagiba
Secretary, for specifc information at (619) 4073510 or Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (619) 585-5647
California Relay Service is also available for the hearing impaired
J:\Bld_Hsg\Board of Appeals and Advisors\2007\06.26 2007a for special mtg.doc
MINUTES OF A REGULAR ME'ET'ING
BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS
CI'iY OF CHULA VISTA, CALJFORNIA
June 11, 200'7 Planning & Building Conference Room #137 5:15 p.m
Public Services Building li
276 Fourth Avenue
CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Chairman Flach called the meeting to order at 5:15 p m,
ROLL CALLi Flach, Buddingh, Hieronimus, Buencamino-Andrews, Turner, West
MEMBERS A8STAINING: None
CITY STAFF PRESENT: Brad Remp, Asst Director! Deputy Building Official; Lou EI-Khazen, Deputy Building
Official; Doug Leeper', Code Enforcement Manager, Rosemarie Rice, Secretary; and
Eileen Dimagiba, Senior Office Specialist (Recording Secretary)
OTHERS PRESENT': Richard Amonette, Isabel Hall (McMillin Realty), Gary and Gail Nordstrom (McMillin
Realty), Dan O'Hanlon (McMillin Realty), Negar Mirgoli (McMillin Reaty), Mark Scott i
(Realtor), Patti McKelvy (McMillin Realty), Brad Wilson (Realtor), Chris Lewis
(McMillin Realty), Lupe Sofo (McMillin Realty), John Miller (Realtor), Uante Lora
(Realty Executives), Mariana Alan (McMillin Realty)
1 DECLARA'TIONOFEXCUSEDIUNEXCUSEDABSEN'T'EEISM: MemberRomoisattendingaMeetinginLOS
Angeles.
2, APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None. Mc Remp announced the minutes from April 9, 2007 meeting will be
r
broughf to our next regularly scheduled meeting,
3 NEW BUSINESS: I
A Member Flach announced thaf hew nominations for Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are in order
and open for nominations
It was also announced by Mc Rerrip that Member Romo's 2ntl term expires this month and is no
longer eligible for re-election.
Results of Election: MSC (Flach/8uddingh} (5--0-1-1) motion to elect Ben West as Chairman; !
MSC (BuddinghlAndrews) (5-0-1-1t) motion to elect David Turner as Vice Chairman.
B Brad Remp, Assistant Director/ Deputy Building Official presented information on a proposed ordinance ~I
for a Property Transfer Report Program that will enhance the City's ability to detect and resobe code i
enforcement violations This program will focus attention on ensuring that potential buyers of existing
homes are given relevant code enforcement information about the legal status of the property prior to
completion of the sale.. Sellers, of residential properties, ortheiragentswill be responsibleforrequesting
a property transfer report from the City within 10 days of placing the property on the market for sale, A
$ 70 fee will be charged as a means of recovering the cost of administering the program The report can
be accessed through the city's Internet website Mr. Remp clarified that this is not intended to "holdup" a
sale of a property. Ne presented a list of 23 otherjurisdictions in California that are currently engaged in
this type of a program, and stated that they have been successful. I
Doug Leeper, Code Enforcement Manager presented information on proposed ordinance
This draft ordinance for this report does not require an on-site inspection, but should the seller or
potential buyer request one from the City,-one will be provided to them at their own expense Mr Leeper
i
Boards of Appeals & Advisors -2-
Minutes _._-June 11.200'7
also said that the report would be used as another tool, which is available through the California
Government Code to Local Jurisdictions, to aid in identifying and resolving issues of unpermitted I
construction. This issue is one that code enforcement deals with daily., In speaking with other
jurisdictions in California, that have passed this kind of ordinance, he discovered that they had fewer j
cases ofunpermittedconstruction Mr.Leeperthoughtadoptingthisordinancewouldbeinstrumentalin
curtailing the amount of problems that the City is experiencing with building without a permit.
Mr. Remp read off the list of cities in California chat have adopted this type of ordinance; including those
cities that had incorporated the inspection component He stated that about two-thirds to one-half of
these cities have a mandatory inspection component, but stressed, ourcity is not recdmmending thatas
part of this proposal
I
i
Member's Comments-
Chairman Ftach pointed out that some of the information from the city report was not complete, Mr.
Remp stated they intend to solicit the support of the City Attorney's Office to include a disclaimer that
states that the information will be as ab6urate and up to date as can be
i
Member Buddingh brought up the fact that there is a liability waiver in the draft ordinance. He I
suggested a provision be added: If the buyer chooses to purchase the property regardless of any
violation Issues, there should be lariguage fn the ordinance that states the buyer is waiving any claims
against the seller for those issues being raised in the report. Another issue was that limiting the list only
to properties that are listed, is too narrow:. He suggested including properties that aren't listed as well,
Mr. Buddingh also addressed an issue under XX XX 090 REMIDATION-CORRECTIVE ACTION, how
the notice of violation should not just be issued to the owner of record.. If there was a case where thr
owner had sold the property, it should be issued to the prospective purchaser as welt. Lastly, he
addressed issues under XX XX 170 APPEALS, Mr Remp stated that this was cross-referenced and the
appeal process would be the same as the code enforcement appeal process Chairman Flach then ~ ~i
asked if the real estate agent is responsible for giving out this information. Mr Remp stated that the ~
seller of the property would be the one that is ultimately responsible
Member Buencamino-Andrews stated she agrees with idea of the buyer having the option to sign a I
waiver if they choose not to correct issues identified in this report and waiving any legal action from the !
buyer to the seller
Member Turner asked if the property reportwould cover problems that have already been identified by a
city building inspector. Mr Leeper said that the report would cover all known building permits that were
issued on that property and their status, Mc Turner said that buyers would likely interpretthis report as
saying that the City has approved any projects on the property The details of an on-site inspection were
discussed. Mr. Turner asked about the average cost of an on-site inspection by a code enforcement
officer: Mr Leeper said it would be a minimum of two hours of full cost recovery at about $198.00 an
hour The public would be notified of this optional on-site inspection through public outreach.
Member West commented that he would welcome this ordinance as a potential buyer and see this as an
extra layer of protection He stated that fie'was in favor of this.
1
Member Hieronimuswasconcernedthatifthecurrentsellerdidnotknowabouttheillegalconstruction,
was it fair to hold fhem responsible? Mr, Leeper ariswered that this is one of the main reasons for this
ordinance to stop this kind of transfer: If the construction can be legalized by obtaining the proper
permits, the seller can come in and get the proper permits to avoid casts and difficulty in the future
Code Enforcement would apply the building codes that were in effect at the time the construction way
made Mr Leeper stated this ordinance is "protection" for both the buyer and the seller unaware of illega,
construction that may pose a life and safety hazard.
Boards of Appeals & Advisors -3-
Minutes _ June 11, 2007
Public Comments:
i
? Richard Dascoli from Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors commented that no one from the
public has read the staff report prior to this meeting. The board will be making a decision based on I
a report that Mr, Remp gave to them that "wasn't very detailed" without the board's complete
insight. Mr Remp and Mr Leeper stated that they will have time from now until July 9th, which is
when this needs to go to council, to meet again, to further discuss the draft ordinance if they need
to
? Dan O'Hanlon from McMillin Realty applauded the fact to provide a "voluntary on-site inspection"
from
the city However, everything that was discussed is already in place in their procedures as a i
realtor. 1t would be difficult to explain this "voluntary inspection" to the buyer because the wording
and language is complex ;
? Gary Nordstrom stated he was a former Planning Commissioner and former Chair of the Growth
Management Oversight Committee Hethoughtthisordinancewoulddictatetoeveryprospective
seller that before they could Sell their home they have to ensure that any upgrade or renovation
- had the proper permits In his opinion, this would cause chaos and would defer people from
complying. He asked that the board table this issue because this information was not provided in I
a timely manner, and that the board takes acommon-sense approach to this issue that could
cause all kinds of liabilities to buyers, sellers, realtors, and to the City of Chula Vista. I
? Negar Mirgoli, Broker, from Abercrombie & Associates asked who would get the $70 fee from this i
report Mr. Remp stated that the City would get most of it and a portion would go to the outside
vendor. Ms. Mirgoli also commented on this issue of"properties listed within 10 days" She noted
in today's market properties listed are taken off within days (because they aren't selling) and
turned into rentals.Therefore, the owners of this property are payinga$70feethattheydon'tneed ~i
to incur. In her view, itwould make 6ettersense that this be done prior to the close of escrow, so ~ i
that the $70 expense can be taken off the seller's shoulder until transaction is finalized Mr
L eeper added that this report is not designed to delay or sabotage a sale, butjust to make sure the
homes that sell, are safe to live in ii
? Mark Scott, stated as a realtor they are already required to do an "agentvisual inspection", per civil I
node to see any deficiencies or potential problems.. It's beyond their expertise to identify the I i
problem as a code issue, so they get the appropriate people to inspect He said that the law ~
already exists, and the city is "double-legislating" what laws are already in place. He also brought
up XX.XX,-030 REQUIRED; and said that itwould be better to take out the word "agent' and just
leave broker, so the responsibility would fall only on the broker and not the agent. He doesn't like
the fact that it is now the duty of the agenUbroker to get this report and pay for it too. Mc Remp
staled the City and Code Enforcement are trying to protect the individuals who are buying these
individual units and the community as a whole This program would solve the illegal construction
problem through an effective exchange of information. i
? Patti McKelvy from McMillan Realty stated thatthis would cause a problem and she disagrees. In
her opinion, it was the city's way of getting extra revenue
? Brad Wilson, Real Estate Agentl General Contractor thoughtlegtslation should bewritten towards
the building inspectors hired to inspect these properties, instead of the realtors
? Mark Scott stated that for a layperson itwould be difficult to understand the information on these
reports Mr. Remp commented that every permit that has been issued since December 1991, are I
digitized and in our automated system
? Isabel Hall from McMillin Realty stated That the city may have good intentions but California is
already a "requirement-heavy" State and this information is already available to the buyer. What
the City is doing is legislating and making it a requirement that they MUST know this information.
She said that this City does not have "compliance inspections" in place, which is something that
should be required if this ordinance passes.
(Chairman Flach stepped out temporarily; Mr, West temporarily stepped in as Chair)
? Chris Lewis with McMillin Realfy addressed the issue of agents/ real estate community
Boards of Appeals & Advisors -4-
Minutes _ _ June 11.2007
being the "watchdog° on this He pointed out that agents aren't code experts and shouldn't be held
accountable for submitting reports and disagrees with this ordinance.
? Lupe Soto, with McMillin Realty stated she was against the ordinance, as it would create chaos
Sellers will be discouraged from selling their properties, In her opinion, this ordinance forces the '
agent to interpret the codes and they shouldn't be put in this position because agents are not code
experts
? Member Turner stepped in to comment on what's tieen addressed so far He was in favor of ,
the report. He emphasized that this is not a "burden" to the seller, like everyone perceives ittc be.
He stressed again that the idea of this ordinance is to stop illegal construction from being passed
from one seller to another
? John Miller, Realtor, suggested itwould be a good idea to make the inspection "official" by making
it from a city building inspector, then there will be no question about what is code compliant and
what is not
? Dante Laura from Realty Executives mentioned the language pertaining to disclosure is already
incorporated into their real estate documents He cautioned the city to be prepared for an j
onslaught of inspections because o{this ordinance most every buyer will want one
? Mariana Alan from McMillin Realty said that realtors already have forms and procedures to do
this When they've encountered this problem of unpermitted construction on a home for sale,
they've made corrections right away,
? Another realtor from McMillin Realty asked if this ordinance would exclude "for sale by owner"
properties. If it does, it will encourage sellers to sell properties on their own for a lower amount to i
avoid this law and extra fees,
? Richard Dascoli commented that before the Board makes a decision on this ordinance more i
research is needed because it will affect many people.
Approval of Ordinance: Mr Remp asked that the Board table this decision based on the information ,
heard tonight. He suggested meeting again in 2 weeks so additional comments could be made
available. MSC (Buddingh/Andrews} (6-0.1-0) Approve motion to table this ordinance until a
Special Meeting held in two weeks.
;
Mr Remp re-iterated that the next special meeting of Board of Appeals & Advisors will be in two weeks,
and prior to meeting, realtors need to provide us with any written comments to forward to the Board.
C Brad Remp, Assistant Director/ Deputy Building Official presented information on a proposed ordinance
for Distressed Property Registration Program, which is intended to hold lenders and/or banks responsible for
maintaining and identifying these vacant properties. Many houses are going to foreclosure and this requires
lenders who own vacant residential homes to register properties with the City and the ordinance requires
lenders to retain the services of a local property maintenance property to respond to requests for required
maintenance,
Discussion: Mr Remp stated the city is seeing an increase in number of homes becoming
bank owned, causing negative impact to neighbors, with properties not being maintained, and
this will help solve this problem.
? Member Buddingh thought it was a great idea and needs to be done. He suggested several
revisions as follows: On page four, underXXXX.050 MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS sedond
paragraph should include obligation to ".remove such markings"; on page five the fourth paragraph
should be typed in BOLD, UnderXX XX 060 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS, where it refers to "The
posting' it should require that the sign be, "weatherproof'; under XX XX 070 ADDIT'IONAL'
AUTHORITY, the last couple sentences are vague and should be looked at by the City Attorney.
? Member Turner expressed concern on enforceability and howto find out "Who's got it?" and if this
is realistically enforceable and how the citywill track down these lenders Mr. Leeper explained thr'
with this ordinance lenders would realize that it is cheaper to hire a maintenance company i
monitor property than to pay fines from the city. Ms. Buencamino-Andrews also addressed the
issue of prosecution underXX XX990 VIOLATION/PENALTY, and whatexactly are the penalties.
i
Boards of Appeals & Advisors -5-
Minutes _ _ _ June 11.2007 I
Mr Leeper explained the process of civil penalties Memeber Buencamina-Andrews expressed
overall appreciation for this ordinance.
? Member Turner stated language under XX XX 030 might be re-stating law already in place.
Mr-Leeper said from his research with real estate attorneys; he found out that there is no
requirement by law that the lenders record their assignments. Member Turner also noted in the
third paragraph under XX.XX.060, that "and" should be deleted before "24-hour"
? Mr Richard Dascoli asked if the City Attorney has gone through this document, if not, they should. ;
He also felt more clarification on the "30-mile radius" requirement page two was needed.
Approval of Ordinance: MSC (WestlBuddingh) (6 ~0 1-0) motion to move forward with Distressed
Property Registration Program including the changes that were discussed..
4 CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS/REPOR'T': None
5 BUILDING OFFICIAL'S COMMENT'S/REPORTS: 1) The Wild Land-Urban Interface Code dealing with
Buildirg Code requirements for buildings in areas exposed to potential wild land fires will be coming forward i
with adoption process 2) Lou EI Khazen, Deputy Building Official will betaking lead on training this Board j
with new building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical codes effective January 2008 3) Currently still in process
of approving the New Budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year, Planning and Building has let go a significant
number of employees 4 J New City Manager appointed, Mr, David Garcia 5) Mr Romo's 2nd term expires ~
this month and no longer can be re-appointed, however, he can continue to serve until a replacement member i
is appointed, ~ I
' 6 COMMUNICATIONS (ADDITIONAL BOARD COMMEN'iSNVRfT"TEN CORRESPONDENCE!): Member ~
Hieronimus addressed Property Transfer Report and issue of when this ordinance passes, to consider if you ~ j
were the first seller of the home, would this report would apply to them, and addressed the merit of waiver
7 ADJOURNMENT: Member, West adjourned the meeting at 7:45 PM to a Special Meeting in two weeks on
Tuesda-
y~h, 2007 in the City Council Chambers.
i
i
~i~'?~~ _
BRAD REMP, C.B.O.
ASST. DIR. OF PLANNIN & BUII-DING /BUILDING OFFICIAL I
SECRETARY T'O THE BOARD OF APPEALS AND ADVISORS
M N TES AKEN BY:
EIL.EEN DIMAGIBA, SR. OFFICE SPECIALIS'T' (RECORDING SECRETARY)
PLANNING & BUILDING DEPARTMENT
J:~BId_HsgUUdl BelllBoard or Appeals & Advisor106 11 2007m doc