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REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 28, 2016 <br />wouldn't be counted toward any violations. If anything comes up at the Fire Department, Chico <br />will notify Keenan, and he will check to see if that property has had any prior issues and take that <br />into consideration. <br />Councilmember Scott further explained that the Fire Inspectors are part of that investigative task <br />force, working similarly to Officer Keenan Lane on the Fire side. They subsequently collaborate <br />with Officer Keenan Lane and/or Code Enforcement. He stated that Santi Garces, who is with IT, <br />was also present at the meeting to help develop the backbone of the reporting mechanism, by <br />which they may collate and sort through Code, Fire, Police data. <br />Councilmember Davis stated that he wanted to make sure that if someone needed to procure <br />information, they could do so from the Fire Department as well as the Police Department. <br />Councilmember Scott confirmed that they could. He recounted a situation where a person burned <br />every piece of lumber that he came across and Fire Marshall Rodriguez, who inspected the <br />matter, gave him the appropriate letters. The individuals who complained about the violator <br />actually called the Police to begin with, so it filtered through Officer Keenan Lane or another <br />member of the Police Department to the Fire Department, who then went out to investigate. <br />Legal Research Assistant Rodriguez further explained that the letters sent by the Fire Department <br />go through Assistant City Attorney Colborn, illustrative of the collaboration between the Fire <br />Department and the Police because, as Ms. Rodriguez explained, it all goes through Ms. <br />Colborn. <br />Councilmember Scott expressed appreciation for the Council who had voted for the original <br />version of the ordinance. There has been tremendous success with the ordinance. The number of <br />nuisance calls has dropped. He stated that the number of properties on the Chronic Nuisance List <br />that he normally sees online is from two (2) to eight (8). Officer Keenan Lane processes <br />hundreds (I 00's) of first warnings, though. At three (3) violations, one receives a warning letter, <br />at which point Officer Keenan Lane contacts the requisite enforcement bodies to work through <br />the issue. The original goal was to not have any violations or anyone on the list. The City's tax <br />dollars, as a result, are not going toward repeat offenders. Councilmember Scott stated that the <br />ordinance is working much better than he had anticipated. <br />Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston stated that she appreciated the ordinance for doing a <br />better job of getting at issues Council attempted to address with landlord registration. She <br />expressed appreciation for the collaboration necessary to effectively enforce the ordinance and <br />also expressed a desire to be present at future meetings and discussions. Councilmember <br />Williams- Preston stated that she was concerned, though, that there was an issue of subjectivity <br />that could creep into the enforcement of the ordinance, arguing that the ordinance in its current <br />form does not distinguish between smaller and larger properties, requiring an officer to <br />determine through investigation whether or not a property is in violation of the Code instead of <br />passing over smaller property cases altogether. She stated that she had questions about the <br />constitutionality of using fines to bring about compliance, but thought it was wise that the <br />ordinance includes in its language the notion that any part of the ordinance should be stricken if <br />proven unconstitutional. Councilmember Williams- Preston then asked, in relation to the <br />dedication of fines and fees, what the reasoning was behind the money going to the Law <br />Enforcement Continuing Education Fund. <br />Councilmember Scott responded, I think that we needed to support that fund. The administration <br />is not a big fan of reverting funds. Most of the legwork being done with this is in the Police <br />Department, and I think, out of anything, we need more education within our Police Department. <br />Councilmember Williams- Preston stated that she remembered that civil penalties coming out of <br />Code Enforcement go to the Unsafe Building Fund. She stated, I'm not sure how that parses out. <br />Councilmember Scott responded that the Police fund was what was decided on at the time. <br />Councilmember Williams- Preston responded, Maybe it's a difference because this is specifically <br />Chronic Nuisance =like how it comes about. If it's one thing, it will go to the Unsafe Building <br />Fund; if it's another thing, it goes into this Law Enforcement Continuing Education Fund. <br />10 <br />