CITY OF PICKERINGTON

CITIZEN’S TASK FORCE FOR PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2005

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

6:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Smith called the meeting to order with roll call as follows: Mr. Barletta, Ms Trout, Mr. Smith, Ms Goodrich, Ms Carter, Mr. Sells, Dr. Henry, Mr. Bowen, and Mr. Walburn present. Mr. King was absent. Others present were: Lance Schultz, Lynda Yartin, and George Parsley.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF December 2, 2004, Regular Meeting. Ms Goodrich moved to approve; Ms Carter seconded the motion. There being no discussion Mr. Walburn, Dr. Henry, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Bowen, Ms Carter, Ms Goodrich, Ms Trout, Mr. Sells, and Mr. Smith voting “Aye.” Motion passed, 9-0.

3. SCHEDULED MATTERS.

A. Review of home business research by Task Force members. Dr. Henry stated he had obtained a copy of the home business regulations from Dublin and it seemed these regulations cover everything that we had voiced as our concerns. Mr. Walburn stated he had also obtained a copy of the City of Columbus regulations as well, and Ms Goodrich stated she had obtained the Home Based Business Council recommended model ordinance. Dr. Henry inquired if there would be community input on the final recommendations this Task Force would make to Council. Mr. Smith stated he would not be opposed to having public meetings. Dr. Henry stated perhaps we could take our recommendations to various civic association meetings or whatever. Dr. Henry stated he felt we needed to address the issue of family members working in the home business. Ms Goodrich stated a lot of what she had found was very similar to what Dr. Henry had provided. Mr. Walburn clarified that residents should be aware that they need a permit, and Mr. Schultz stated that was on the agenda tonight to discuss how to inform residents of code enforcement regulations. After reviewing the various examples provided to the Task Force, Mr. Smith requested Dr. Henry and his group to prepare a draft recommendation for this Task Force to review at the next meeting.

B. Review of parking and storage of vehicles research by Task Force. Mr. Smith stated Ms Carter had distributed a summary of the parking issues the Task Force has been reviewing. Ms Carter stated she felt one of the main issues this Task Force should determine would be the definition of a “trailer.” She stated there are so many types of trailers this could be a difficult issue. Ms Carter stated her group had provided suggestions on collectible cars, parking of junk cars, For Sale signs in vehicles, parking on residential streets, lighting and maintenance of lighting in business areas, and parking on private residential property without the owners permission.

Ms Carter stated they were suggesting the vehicles parked on property should be limited by size rather than weight or whatever. Mr. Schultz stated he felt the Code should define what a “commercial” vehicle was. Mr. Barletta stated the Department of Motor Vehicles does define them by the way they are registered. Ms Carter stated they were suggesting that if someone parks on their property, the lawn should be maintained around and under the vehicle at all times. Mr. Parsley stated most of the newer neighborhoods do not have the space to park on their property without being in the setback. Ms Trout stated if someone stored a small trailer, jet ski trailer or whatever in an outbuilding on their property it was not visible and questioned if that would be allowed. Mr. Schultz clarified that outbuildings over 150 square feet must have a conditional use approved by the City. It was the consensus of the Task Force members that if a trailer is stored in a shed or the garage, that would not be a problem. Mr. Schultz stated he had concerns about parking in the setback because most of our residential setbacks are 8 to 10 feet, and some of these setbacks may be in drainage easements. He stated if you start parking vehicles in the drainage easement we could have issues. Mr. Walburn stated he felt most residents who have a motor home or a large boat would not be storing it outside anyway, but would have it stored somewhere. Mr. Walburn stated he felt the 48 hour restriction for parking trailers or vehicles was reasonable as it would take care of parking it over the weekend. Mr. Parsley stated the Code states you can park in the driveway for 48 hours in any one calendar week, and that 48 hour period is for loading and unloading purposes. Mr. Smith stated a trailer that is parked in a driveway for days and days, that becomes storage, not parking. He continued that would include something such as a landscaping trailer being kept in the driveway during the off-season, and it was his opinion that would be storage. Mr. Smith stated something like that shouldn’t be considered a home occupation, because they weren’t actually working out of the home. Ms Trout stated perhaps there should be a requirement that if you have a trailer that will not fit in your garage and that you are using on a daily basis, you need to apply for a permit for overnight or non-business hour parking. Mr. Schultz stated the permit idea might be a good one. Ms Trout stated when someone applies for a permit, we can have someone go out and look at the trailer, see if it is secure, and all of that. Mr. Smith stated then if the vehicle is not in compliance with the permit, then we have recourse.

Mr. Smith asked if Ms Carter and her group could take all of this and bring something back for the group to review at the next meeting.

C. City informing property owners of Code Enforcement Regulations. Mr. Walburn stated perhaps we could schedule something like a home based business seminar and Mr. Smith stated we could tie the Code into it so it would be educational opportunity for our citizens. Mr. Walburn stated perhaps we could do a seminar that ties into something that is going on at the time, for example, basement flooding. He stated we could get someone from Home Depot or whatever come in and explain what should be done. Mr. Smith ascertained this would be something that could be done monthly or whatever with various subjects. Mr. Smith stated he just wondered if anyone would attend this. Ms Trout stated perhaps a monthly newsletter. Mr. Schultz stated the City did put out a quarterly newsletter however he didn’t know how many people actually read it. Mr. Smith stated perhaps we could do an insert for homeowner’s associations to put in their newsletters. Mr. Schultz stated the problem is that some subdivisions do not have a civic association. The suggestion was made to include a summary of the residential code in the packet of information residents receive from the police department when they move into the area, include some of this information on the City’s web site, or a newsletter delivered door to door. Mr. Smith stated it was his feeling that if George is out and he notices a violation, if he let the property owner know, they would do their best to get it taken care of. Mr. Parsley stated he does not mind doing that, however, he felt we needed to use various methods to get word out to the residents. Mr. Schultz stated currently we do notify the resident of a violation if they are home, if they are not we leave a notice on the door, if we do not receive a response on that then a letter is sent to the residence. Ms Goodrich stated she like the idea of including some of this information in the new homeowner’s packet and Mr. Smith stated he agreed, he would love to have received that type of information when he first moved in.

D. House Maintenance Standards. Mr. Smith stated he would like to discuss this issue at the next meeting.

Mr. Schultz stated at the next meeting he understood we would look at some final suggestions on home occupations and trailers, look further in on and off street parking, and then discuss the house maintenance standards.

Mr. Smith clarified that Ms Trout, Dr. Henry, and Mr. Walburn would work on researching the house maintenance standards and bring something back for the group to review at the next meeting.

Mr. Smith stated when this Task Force sends recommendations forward to Safety Committee he would like to provide them with a background on how those recommendations were reached, such as copies of legislation or Codes from other communities. He stated he felt this might give the Safety Committee and Council more of an idea of what this Task Force was reviewing.

There being nothing further, Ms Goodrich moved to adjourn; Ms Carter seconded the motion. Mr. Walburn, Dr. Henry, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Bowen, Ms Carter, Ms Goodrich, Mr. Sells, Ms Trout, and Mr. Smith voted “Aye.” Motion passed, 9-0. The Property Maintenance Task Force adjourned at 8:15 P.M., January 6, 2005.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk