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April 4, 2011 MinutesCITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 4, 2011 After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Special Called Work Session on Monday, April 4, 2011 at 11:30 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall. PRESENT: Council Member Engelbrecht, Council Member King, Council Member Heggins, Council Member Gregory, Mayor Burroughs, Council Member Watts, and Mayor Pro Tem Kamp. ABSENT: None 1. Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding revisions to the Denton Property Maintenance Code. John Cabrales, Public Information and Intergovernmental Relations Officer, presented an update on the Property Maintenance Code. There were five amendments staff wanted to discuss with the Council. In 2010 the Council instructed staff to bring back any wording changes that might be needed concerning the Property Maintenance Code. Of the five recommended wording changes, four were approved by members of the Citizens Code Committee. The fifth revision dealing with outside storage was sent back to staff with a request to simplify the language and abbreviate the length. That wording change was sent out late last week to the Committee members. Staff received one email in response regarding playground equipment on church property and daycare centers and staff was reassessing that wording. The proposed wording changes involved (1) definition of accessory strictures, (2) elimination of language requiring citizens to request a hearing for junked vehicles in Section 17-35; (3) deleted item (k) from 17-40 dealing with undeveloped lots with vegetation; (4) deleted "housing units" and replaced with "strictures" in the language dealing with lead-based point regulations; and (5) rewrote the definitions of "stricture" and "outside storage" to clarify the intent to regulate the storage of items in public view except for those items designed for outdoor use. Council Member Gregory asked how the change in language would relate to an urban forest area. Lancine Bentley, Code Enforcement Division Manager, stated that understory vegetation was protected. The tall grass and weeds would have to be mowed outside the forested areas. Mayor Burroughs stated that a number of trees already in an area would be a demarcation of the area. Council Member Watts suggested changing the wording regarding compliance with lead-based paint from "may" to "shall". City Attorney Burgess stated that the language was taken from another source and she would review the document. Council Member Gregory asked if individuals would be responsible for performing the lead- based paint testing if they were doing their own home repairs. City of Denton City Council Minutes April 4, 2011 Page 2 City Attorney Burgess stated that staff would look into whether an individual or contractor would be responsible for the testing. Cabrales stated that the interpretation for playground equipment on church property and daycare centers was that the language would not apply as toys were not outside storage. Staff was continuing to look at that language and would revise it further if needed. Mayor Burroughs stated that some things were meant to be stored outside such as hoses and grills and that it was hard to fashion language that recognized things that were typical to be outside versus things not meant to be outside. Not everything could be defined but there was the need to get concepts down as much as possible. Council Member Engelbrecht asked how the section on residential carports applied to carports in an alley. Bentley stated that regardless of the location of the carport, storage under it would be a violation. Council Member Engelbrecht replied even if the carport were only visible from the alley but not from the street. Bentley stated that the alley was a public right of way. The Code Enforcement officers do not travel the alleyways and would investigate only if a complaint were filed. Cabrales stated that staff would prepare an ordinance for Council consideration. If any further changes were made, staff would pass those on to Council before consideration of the ordinance. Council Member Gregory asked who recommended the proposed changes. Cabrales stated that they were recommended by Code Enforcement because staff wanted to make sure they were enforcing the intent of what was trying to be accomplished. Code Enforcement was also working with the prosecutors for any issues with enforcement language. Council Member Gregory asked about that process. Cabrales stated that staff, working with Code Enforcement, Planning and Legal, prepared the proposed changes which were then presented to the Council and Citizens Committees for approval. Council Member Gregory asked how an individual or group of citizens would present changes they felt might be needed. Cabrales stated that both the Council Committee and Citizens Committee had postings on their agendas for citizens to give input and that practice would continue whenever they had meetings. Citizens could also contact Council and staff with suggestions. Council Member Gregory asked when the Citizens Committee was appointed. Cabrales stated that it was appointed in 2008, following the appointment of the Council Committee. City of Denton City Council Minutes April 4, 2011 Page 3 Council Member Gregory asked if there had been any discussions on the Council Committee of formalizing the Citizens Committee on an ongoing basis. Cabrales stated that the Citizens Committee was specifically asked to help complete the task with direction from the Council Committee members on how to proceed. Council Member Watts felt that it had come a point that in the near future there may be a need to look at that. Once the Code was produced and enforced, there were people with a good history to continue the process and transition from creation to monitoring and development. Consensus of the Council was to proceed to prepare an action item with the recommended wording changes. Following the completion of the Work Session, the Council convened into a Closed Session. 1. Closed Meeting: A. Consultation with Attorneys -Under Texas Government Code Section 551.071. 1. Receive a status report from the City's attorneys regarding Denton's proposed response to the U.S. Department of Justice letter of January 28, 2011 regarding Denton's alleged violations of the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES) Permit requirements and the Clean Water Act; discuss, deliberate and provide Staff with direction regarding same. Consultation with the City's attorneys regarding legal issues associated with the matter referenced hereinabove, where a public discussion of these legal matters would conflict with the duty of the City's attorneys to the City Council under the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Conduct of the State Bar of Texas, or would jeopardize the City's legal position in any administrative proceedings or potential litigation. The Council concluded the Closed Meeting at 1:20 p.m. and in Open Session adjourned the meeting. MARK A. BURROUGHS MAYOR CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS JENNIFER WALTERS CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS