TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Quinn M. Barrow, City Attorney
Marisa Lundstedt, Community Development Director
SUBJECT:Title
Discussion of Statement of Intent Process to Address Blight (City Attorney Quinn Barrow).
CONTINUED FROM THE JULY 5, 2016 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
PROVIDE DIRECTION
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council provide further direction regarding the statement of intent process to address blight within the City.
.Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No fiscal implications are associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
At a prior City Council meeting, the Council requested that staff provide a report on the City of San Diego’s requirement that owners of vacant land (typically with boarded up structures) file with the City a “Statement of Intent Process to Address Blight” that identifies the measures that the property owner will take to eliminate or mitigate blight.
DISCUSSION:
In the last decade, communities were faced with large number of vacant, residential properties that were owned by banks and lending institutions via foreclosure proceedings where the former owners defaulted on mortgage payments. Consistent with federal HUD guidelines and HUD “Mortgagee Letters,” those communities adopted “Regulation of Properties in Foreclosure and Abandoned Property” ordinances to require the banks and lending institutions to:
• Submit the property to regular City inspections
• Undertake regular maintenance
• Fence vacant lots
• Board abandoned building
• Pay monthly monitoring fees for vacant buildings declared to be a nuisance
• Pay enforcement response fees
• Maintain landscaping and plant materials on the parcel of land on which the vacant building is located
• Regularly maintain the exterior of the building and exterior signage and signage structures
• Regularly remove all weeds, trash, rubbish and debris
• Remove graffiti
• Maintain the vacant building in continuing compliance with all applicable codes and regulations.
Ahead of the curve, in 1976, the City of San Diego implemented the “Vacant Properties Program” to improve the social and economic health of the City of San Diego by returning vacant boarded properties to productive use in the economy,” which is considerably broader than the ordinances addressing abandonment due to foreclosure. Similarly, as discussed below, there are certain provisions in the Vacant Properties Program, particularly a requirement for a Statement of Intent, that are not contained in the Manhattan Beach’s nuisance ordinance.
The San Diego website states:
“Using a variety of incentives and code enforcement methods, the program works with property owners to eliminate all impediments that keep owners from rehabilitating their properties, or selling them to other parties who will.
The Vacant Properties Program is responsible for developing public/private partnerships to identify potential resources to rehabilitate boarded properties. Through partnerships with various community-based groups the program generates job training and skill developing opportunities for nonprofit organizations working in the redevelopment and construction industry and provides opportunities for affordable housing.” <https://www.sandiego.gov/ced/housing/vacant>
Similar to most abandoned property ordinances and the MBMC Nuisance Ordinance, the San Diego Vacant Properties Program is a graduated process which depends on the property owner’s cooperation, or lack thereof. The San Diego Municipal Code (“SDMC”) includes four main steps:
(1) encourages voluntary compliance;
(2) requires mandatory maintenance;
(3) imposes abatement if the property condition is deemed a nuisance;
(4) undertakes continuous abatement, without additional notice.
As a final resort, the Director may take steps to alleviate the conditions, including demolishing a vacant structure that becomes a continuous nuisance due to the failure of the first four steps.
Statement of Intent
Owners/responsible parties of vacant structures are required by SDMC Section 54.0313 to submit for approval a “Statement of Intent” to bring the property into productive use.
The SDMC Code defines “Statement of Intent” as “a form filled out by the responsible person for an abandoned property which contains specific information regarding the ownership of the property and the responsible person’s plan for its rehabilitation, development, occupancy, and maintenance.”
The SDMC Code defines “Abandoned Property,” in relevant part, as “any property upon which one or more of the following conditions exist:
(1) A vacant lot upon which code or public nuisance violations exist as determined by the Director; or
(2) A vacant structure and code or public nuisance violations exist as determined by the Director; or
(3) A vacant structure which is boarded, irrespective of whether code or public nuisance violations exist at the property; or
….”
Thus, any boarded up building constitutes an abandoned building under the SDMC, regardless of whether the building or property is considered to be a nuisance.
The Statement of Intent must include the following information:
1) Expected period of vacancy;
2) A plan for regular maintenance during the period of vacancy;
3) A plan and time line for the lawful occupancy, rehabilitation or demolition of the vacant structure;
4) A plan for the development or sale of the vacant lot if the abandoned property is a vacant lot;
5) Ownership and contact information; and
6) Any additional information required by the Director.
SBMC §54.0315 (Abandoned Property Penalty) also provides a number of penalties unless:
“(1) A Statement of Intent has been filed and approved by the Director; and
(2) One of the following applies:
(A) A vacant structure exists on the property and it is the subject of an active building permit for repair or rehabilitation and the responsible person is proceeding diligently in good faith to complete the repair or rehabilitation;
(B) A vacant structure exists on the property and it is maintained in compliance with this Division and is actively being offered for sale, lease or rent;
(C) The abandoned property is a vacant lot and there has been no recurring code violations or nuisance activity; or
(D) The responsible person can demonstrate that he or she made a diligent and good faith effort to implement the actions set forth in the approved Statement of Intent within the time line contained within the Statement of Intent.”
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
ALTERNATIVE #1:
Direct staff to draft an ordinance requiring a statement of intent for abandoned structures.
ALTERNATIVE #2:
Receive and file.
ALTERNATIVE #3:
Direct staff to review the San Diego Municipal Code to determine whether additional provisions can be recommended for inclusion in the City’s nuisance ordinance.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This staff report is not a "Project" under CEQA, because it does not contemplate any action which has a potential for resulting in a physical change in the environment, directly or indirectly.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.