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. . I . - 6) Immediate Approach, by City staff; (Taken out of order at this time.) '-- Comunity Development Director Nelson, Police Sergeant Manry, Engineering Manager Patterson and Code Enforcement Officer Schnell described recommendations that would provide immediate results, focusing on changing the City Ordinance from 120 hours to 72 hours for on street parking time (with well defined parameters to avoid a "musical cars" loophole.) Code Enforcement Officer Schnell provided a brief history of Council policy in the City, the powers of the City to issue citations, and expressed support for current code enforcement Ordinances. Officer Schnell described the impacts of a zero tolerance policy, and the limited success of the Card Program (for the public to report code violations.) In response to Council questions, Officer Schnell described the backlog of responses to complaints due to their small staff, described the code enforcement booklet as still up to date and said a "Top Ten" information sheet of code enforcement violations will be ready soon for distribution. In further response, Officer Schnell said he believed if the Council wanted to target an area due to limited resources he would recommend targeting commericial areas. He described his department's attempts to cover the entire City and not focus on one residential area more than another. Engineering Manager Patterson said it was difficult to produce materials to cover all - code enforcement issues which include building, fire and vehicular regulations. He referred to Attachments B, D and E to the staff report as possible letters to be distributed that would attack visual code enforcement problems, such as weed abatement and street sweeping. Manager Patterson discussed sign and landscaping ordinances and the current policy of emphasizing enforcement of health and safety Codes before visual blight violations. He stressed the need for the City to clean up its property to encourage private property owners to commit to good code enforcement as well. Manager Patterson agreed with Vice Mayor Howard that new businesses opening in the City should receive a letter from the Council and staff recommending they sweep and pick up litter around their establishments at least twice a day. MEMO 9/24/96 7) Long Term Approach, by City staff; (Taken out of order at this time.) Director Nelson discussed plans for future efforts in code enforcement including: investigating other cities regulations and postures, reviewing Redwood City regulations for effectiveness, grants, mulch for weeds, low cost storage, charges for services, and business licenses for rental properties. Also planned are expanded resources to include volunteers, neighborhood groups, service groups, organizations --- and services agencies, focusing on issues that show success, evaluating CIP for ADJOURNED REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER23,I996 MINUTES MINUTE BOOK NO. 54 PAGE 11 Page No. 506