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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-20-2008 NA MINUTES NUISANCE ABATEMENT HEARING CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE 183 NORTH MAIN STREET LAKE ELSINORE, CA 92530 TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008 ****************************************************************** CALL TO ORDER The regular Nuisance Abatement Hearing was called to order by Robin Chipman, Code Enforcement Manager at 4:35 PM. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Marilyn Chipman. ROLL CALL PRESENT: BOARD MEMBER: FAGAN PRESENT: CHAIR WOMAN: WATTS PRESENT: CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER: CHIPMAN Also present were: Code Enforcement Officer Salazar, Code Enforcement Officer Burks and Office Specialist Teyler. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. The following Minutes were approved: A. Minutes for April 15, 2008. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairwoman Watts opened the Public Hearing at 4:36 p.m. 2. Vacant Lot, Granite and Flint. APN 377-272-016, Lake Elsinore, CA Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 2 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Chairwoman Watts asked Code Enforcement Officer Salazar to address this case. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman commented the officer had changed her last name to from Guzman to Salazar. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar concurred. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar stated there was no address at the vacant lot on Granite and Flint. She indicated there exists on the property two large abandoned motor homes. She stated one was a motor home the other was a travel trailer. She noted they were abandoned there by a contractor. She indicated there was a lot of junk in the trailer and motor home. She stated she had been working with the property owner to have the nuisance cleaned up since October. She indicated the property owner was a single mother, recent widow so she had been trying to work with her but it was getting out of hand. She noted transients were living in them. She commented it was becoming a bigger mess than what was already there. Chairwoman Watts asked if she had been in contact with the contractor who left the vehicles. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated he had skipped town. She stated the last conversation she had with the contractor he stated the City could abate them. She asked him for the pink slips for each vehicle. She indicated one only had half an Arizona license plate, the other one the VIN number was very vague. She stated they had run the VIN several different ways and each time it would come back with no record on file. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated for the record the City had tried to work with the property owner by trying to get the motor homes hauled away. He indicated it would take a big rig to get them out of there. He commented when they started it was in the rainy season, they were sunk in the mud and they could not get them out. He stated we could not take them anywhere without it costing money so we had no recourse but to go back after to the property owner. He inquired if one of the motor homes had been removed. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar concurred. She stated she had made two inspections yesterday. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman asked which one had been removed the motor home or the trailer. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated the trailer had been removed. She indicated when she was out at the property yesterday at 9:00 a.m., the travel Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 3 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 trailer was gone and the RV was still present. She indicated she went out there right before her EOS at 5:18 p.m. and the RV was still present. She stated she had not seen any type of activity as far as it being broke down. She commented she received a fax from the property owner on the thirteenth which stated she had contracted somebody. She indicated she called the property owner and let her know she had twenty-four hours prior to this hearing to get it done or we would have to proceed with the hearing wherein she would recommend to the Board they declare the property a nuisance. Chairwoman Watts asked if this contractor did work for her. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated he did not. She stated he was a contractor that was building homes in the area and he had some faulty loans or built some of the homes poorly and he skipped town. She indicated at one point he let his sister-in-law live in one of the RV's on the street wherein she had informed him he needed to remove it and a couple of days later it ended up on the vacant lot. Chairwoman Watts asked Board Member Fagan if he had any comments. Board Member Fagan indicated he could see where the property owner had agreed to make payments of $75.00 a month and he inquired if she was telling him that this .contractor skipped town. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated the property owner did not make any agreements with the contractor. She asked which contractor he was talking about regarding the $75.00. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he was referring to the contract from the person who was removing the motor home. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated his name was Steve. She stated she was going to pay him $750.00 in advance and the balance was going to be paid when completed. She commented he was not going to start work until she had made a payment to him. She noted the contract was proof from Ms. Harvey that a contract was set up to have the work completed. Board Member Fagan concurred. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar stated she did not know when the first payment or if the first payment was made to him. She indicated Ms. Harvey had stated she would do it. Board Member Fagan stated the contract was written on May 9th. He asked if she had made any payments to the guy. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 4 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Code Enforcement Officer Salazar indicated the contract read "Upon completion of the above work, she agrees to make payments of $70.00 a month for ten months until the balance is paid off." She stated she did not know how much had actually been paid. She commented she probably just made the first payment of $75.00. Board Member Fagan indicated his only concern was if she was stretching out the $750.00 for ten months, he would expect she would do everything she could to avoid the $463.00 fee from the City. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar stated that was correct. Board Member Fagan stated he had gone by there yesterday or the day before. He indicated he saw there was only one vehicle there. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he had the same concern regarding the contractor who was hired to remove these two motor homes what was his insurance policy to get his money once he moved them. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar concurred. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman commented the contractor was not going to be in a big hurry to move that second motor home until he got a good share of his money. Board Member Fagan inquired if Code Enforcement Officer Salazar stated the contractor had skipped town. Code Enforcement Officer Salazar stated no. She indicated the first contractor was the person who allegedly owned the motor homes was building homes, so he was out of the picture, he skipped town. She commented she is now stuck with a vacant lot that she had been trying to sell. She stated she had been in contact with the realtor who was selling the lot but she got bids of $6,000.00 to get the lot cleaned off. She indicated due to the poor shape they were in no tow agency would tow them due to the liability. She indicated the only thing to do was to dismantle them and take them to the scrap yard. She commented there would be disposal fees on top of the actual hauling fee. Board Member Fagan asked Code Enforcement Manager if he was aware of all the problems in the past. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated no not this case. He indicated he was aware of the contractor who had skipped town. He noted it was unfortunate Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 5 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 the property owner was stuck with this problem but we did not have much of a choice. Board Member Fagan indicated if he did not do the work, she would not have to pay. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman concurred. He indicated she was just an innocent property owner; the contractor that skipped town just left these on her parcel and took off. He stated she had to deal with trying to get rid of them. He commented the City tried their best to find an alternate method. He concurred with Code Enforcement Officer Salazar's comments regarding we could not find anyone to tow them due to it was not safe to tow on the street. He stated they would have to basically be dismantled and taken away. He noted it was unfortunate we went after the property owner. He indicated even though she has had one removed he did not believe he saw any urgency on the part of the contractor she hired to get the other one out of there until he gets at least more than half his money. He believed we would have to declare this a nuisance. MOVED BY CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER CHIPMAN, SECONDED BY CHAIRWOMAN WATTS, AND CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THOSE PRESENT TO DECLARE THE VACANT lOT, APN 377-272-016, lAKE ELSINORE, CA A PUBLIC NUISANCE. 3. 606 Minthorn. APN 377-340-020. lake Elsinore. CA Chairwoman Watts addressed 606 Minthorn Street. She commented there were two people who would like to speak on this issue. She noted a Brandi Somers. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman asked Juan if he would wait until the officer gave her synopsis and then he would have his chance to speak. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated the property was first inspected on the 28th of February. She stated the property had excessive trash, junk, debris, construction equipment, semi-trucks, trailers, inoperative vehicles, hazardous waste which consisted of tires, oil barrels, gas barrels, furniture, vehicles parked on unpaved surfaces and trucks off the truck route. She noted they were issued a $1,700.00 citation recently. She commented she had gone out there on the 13th and there was great improvement. She stated trucks had been hauled away, trash and debris had been taken away but there was still hazardous waste present. She indicated there were still cargo bins and tires. She noted trash had been consistently removed from the property but it was still at a point where there needed to be great improvement. She stated they would need a little more time. She stated she would like to see the hazardous waste removed, the oil bins, the inoperative vehicles, the vehicles in the driveway without VIN numbers or license Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 6 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 plates and vehicles that were smashed and ready to go. She commented there was significant improvement. She recommended the property be declared a nuisance due to the semi vehicles and trailers. She also recommended giving more time for the property owner to work on the property. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman asked Juan if he would like to step up to the podium so we could hear his comments. Chairwoman Watts asked him to state his name and where the property was located. He stated his last name was Rotellini; his first name was Juan Carlos. He indicated the property address was 606 East Minthorn, Lake Elsinore, California 92532. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman inquired if he was the owner or the resident. Mr. Rotellini stated the legal owner was Brandi Somers, his wife. He indicated he was not on the title of the property. He commented they had an agreement, she had her things in her name and he had his things in his name for twenty years. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated it was fair enough. Mr. Rotellini stated he had a letter he would like to read. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman said okay. Mr. Rotellini indicated he was granted a business license under All The Way Hauling. He stated the business license stated he was in the business of trucking and hauling. He commented the business of record was to be located at the Minthorn property, and he currently owned and operated four trucks all of which were properly maintained, registered and insured. He stated his property was located in a very rural area of the City. He noted he did not disturb anyone. He commented he had no neighbors east and only the 15 Freeway within a one mile radius. He indicated the properties around him were undeveloped. He stated he did not have the luxury of parking on concrete. He indicated at times he may have had roller bins and containers on the Minthorn property but since economy was bad he did not get much business for them so he had been storing them temporarily. He commented he owned twenty-two roller boxes and ten containers but he had never stored them all on the Minthorn property because he had known that would be excessive. He indicated he had been cleaning his property but unfortunately at the time the citation was issued he was in the middle of a job. He commented it had to get worse before it could get better and they arrived there right at that time. He stated he was willing to clear his property Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 7 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 of everything not related to his business and if the City Officials do not like the colors of his trucks he was willing to paint them whatever color they would like. He commented if they were not able to reach an agreement it would not only put him out of business but all his five employees. He noted they all had families to provide for and if they lost their jobs they would be faced with unfortunate difficult times. He stated he wished to reach a compromise which would allow him to do what his business license stated he did. He stated he would be allowed to park his trucks and have at least six bins on site. He indicated he wanted to show the Board something. He presented pictures of his property and neighbors which showed his trucks and dumpsters. He indicated he cleaned properties for people. He commented when we had a problem with the truck being removed from the last property, he could take care of that because that was what he did. He stated in the last three years the economy was good, he was busy and got hired a lot so his property got behind. He commented things were not busy any more so he could take care of his property. He agreed he had some junk around and he would be willing to clean it all up. He indicated what he wanted in the end was to be able to park his four trucks and six of his trash cans otherwise where would he go. He presented a current business license and when he applied for it he indicated he had a trucking business and he had trucks there. He commented all the junk would be gone for sure. He stated the hazardous waste containers were empty. He commented the barrels were empty. He indicated when he drained the oil on his trucks, he stored them there, the stickers on the hazardous waste they had the date when they pick them up. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated she did not know that when she went out there and she had a very difficult time trying to meet up with someone. Mr. Rotellini stated you could not see them before but now you could see them. He indicated he placed stickers where they state the date they got picked up. He commented he would be happy to show them to her. Code Enforcement Officer Burks stated okay. Mr. Rotellini indicated they were not full of oil. Code Enforcement Officer Burks noted there were excessive tires and that was considered hazardous waste. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he had a couple of questions. He asked how long had he lived at that property. Mr. Rotellini stated since 1999. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman inquired if he was involved in the last time when the City took the property to Nuisance. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 8 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Mr. Rotellini indicated back then he was not in the same business, he was in the car business. He stated he used to have a car dealership so he moved from Orange County to here, opened a car dealership and then they shut him down. He stated they told him he could not do that so he cleaned up the property. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman said so he was living at the address the last time the City declared this property a Nuisance. Mr. Rotellini stated he did not know it was declared a Nuisance. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated it was declared a Nuisance by the Nuisance Hearing Board but he did not have the exact date but he knew it was because he was at the City at that time and if you were here in 1999 you were here during that time frame. Mr. Rotellini stated Carol. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman noted Carol Gordon. Mr. Rotellini indicated she used to be the Code Enforcement before. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated that was correct. Mr. Rotellini commented she had come to the property a couple of times but then after that she stated it looked good and that was it. He indicated he had never received a letter or anything or else he would have been there. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman noted the issue with the property was the valid business license as the trucking company but that business license only entitled him to operate as a home occupation like business. He stated the zoning for the City of Lake Elsinore prohibits him from actually storing vehicles or any of this kind of storage equipment, construction equipment, bins and all of that kind of stuff. He commented he was in violation of the zoning code. He stated he could operate his business but all he could do was have an office out of the house. He indicated it did not give him the right to park the trucks, the bins or anything else over there. He stated the problem the City had was he was operating a business in a zone that does not allow him to do so. He indicated it was a residential zone. Mr. Rotellini indicated when he applied for his business license they did not state anything like that; they just gave it to him. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated he was right regarding the business license, but if he looked at the description for the license it was for a home Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 9 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 occupancy business license. He commented just like he could not operate a car dealership out of that property, he could not open a trucking business out of that property either or waste disposal or any other kind of commercial property venture. He noted this property was zoned for residential and he would have to maintain that type of use. He stated the storage of vehicles and all that was outside of the zoning. Mr. Rotellini indicated all the vehicles that do not run he was going to get rid of all that. He stated that would be no problem at all. He commented the vehicles that do not run were not supposed to be there. He indicated right now she had stated he had too many vehicles there because he could not sell them so he would just smash them and take them to the scrap yard. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he was concerned about long term. Board Member Fagan asked how long it would take him to do that. Mr. Rotellini indicated three months. He stated last night they were working when his star worker fell down in a bin and he had to take him to the hospital. He stated here was the proof. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated he appreciated he had made good progress. Mr. Rotellini said thank you. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated Officer Burks stated he had made outstanding progress out there but his concern was not that he could give him more time to finish but that ultimately in the end he would still need to operate a business out of a property that was not zoned accordingly. He stated we would come to an end of the line here even if he cleaned up the property he would still be in violation at some point down the road. Mr. Rotellini asked if he could at least park his trucks there, his four trucks. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman commented the zoning did not allow him to do that due to it being a residential zone. He stated those trucks were not suppose to be there because they were off the approved truck route for the City. He noted there was an approved truck route throughout the City and if you were a trucker you would know that all cities have truck routes and he was not to venture off that route except for deliveries and pick ups. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 10 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Mr. Rotellini stated he did not have any neighbors around him. He indicated the road ends at him. He commented he was not by anyone. He stated if he had to pay another mortgage he would go broke. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated it was not that he did not have neighbors around him; it was the zoning for the property around him. He indicated there were residential tracks, condominiums and everything planned for that area. He noted they had not been built yet. Mr. Rotellini indicated he was in escrow with a builder who was going to build on the area. He stated he would be gone right now due to he was suppose to close escrow in December this last year but he postponed the escrow for three more years. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated the Nuisance Board did not have the right to grant him the use of the property. He noted the use of the property was regulated by the zoning code and the Planning Commission was the only one who could allow a variance on that. He stated he would have to go to the Planning Commission and apply for a variance. He commented most likely they would not give it to him just based on the fact he did not have neighbors right now they were going to go on the current zoning, what the proposed future use was and they do not want a commercial type establishment. Mr. Rotellini commented he was not planning to stay there forever. He stated it was temporary. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated temporary turns into years at times that was why he brought up the fact he was there in 1999 and we had already taken the property to nuisance one other time for a similar use. He commented it may not have been a trucking business, you stated it was a car business. He noted he was not involved with it at that time but he was at the City and he was familiar with it. He indicated we were running into the same situation here where he had a commercial establishment out of a residential zone and regardless of how well he cooperates with Officer Burks in removing some of this we are still going to butt heads on the fact that he could not operate that business over there. He commented he could only have an office inside the house but he could not store any commercial type vehicles, construction equipment, bins, anything of the sort. He stated he was not sure how we were going to come to terms with this. Mr. Rotellini asked if we could compromise on some kind of time period until things got better. He stated he had to pay a mortgage on the house. He commented he had already looked for another location but there was nothing around. He indicated the closest he could go was Fontana and he mind as well close his doors and find another job. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 11 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Board Member Fagan indicated it seemed like he understood he was operating a trucking business out of a residential garage. He asked if he understood that. Mr. Rotellini indicated when he applied for the license he said "great they gave me a license." Board Member Fagan stated he understood there was a possibility for some confusion there but right now from what Code Enforcement Manager Chipman had stated that was not legal. Mr. Rotellini asked if he could have some time. He stated the clean up was done no problem. He indicated things were tough right now. Board Member Fagan inquired if he was asking for a time extension to continue the business. Mr. Rotellini indicated just to keep his four trucks, only. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated the Nuisance Board does not have the jurisdiction to grant that to him. He stated it was governed by the Planning Commission in the zoning for the property. Mr. Rotellini asked for eight months until he could find another location and things got better. He stated he was not moving four little cars he was moving four semi-trucks and things were very tough right now. Chairwoman Watts indicated where he was living was strictly residential. Mr. Rotellini asked her to look at the area. He said he did not live next to anybody. Chairwoman Watts stated she understood that he had no neighbors around but every parcel in the City of Lake Elsinore had a zone and if you were living outside of that zone you were not able to operate. She indicated that was what happened to him, he was in a residential zone. She commented perhaps when he applied for his license at that time he did not tell them. Mr. Rotellini indicated he did tell them. Chairwoman Watts stated you were going to park four trucks. Mr. Rotellini said yes he had told them. He indicated he had told them he was in the business of hauling and clean up and he had four trucks. He stated the lady did not seem to mind. He commented he was not planning to stay over there Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 12 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 forever. He stated he was in escrow right now for his property, but unfortunately the economy went down and the buyer, we probably know him, was buying all forty-six acres from there all the way to Railroad Canyon Road wherein he was going to build 1,800 homes but he extended the escrow sale. He said he was home free and he would not have to work after he was paid the money. He stated he was not asking for the whole three years just maybe a year until he found another location or eight months. Chairwoman Watts indicated we could not do that. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated we do not have the authority to do that. He indicated what he would suggest to the Board and he thought it reasonable, to give him a thirty day continuance. He commented in that thirty days he would have to continue to get all the other refuge out of there, the tires, any kind of hazardous waste, drums, everything but your trucks. He indicated also in the thirty days he had to make contact with the Planning Division at the Lake Elsinore City Hall and find out what he could actually do on that parcel. He said he would have to come back in front of the Board in thirty days and show them something from the Planning Division that states he could keep those trucks there otherwise they would have to go. Mr. Rotellini asked if he could have three months. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated he could not give him that. He indicated we had to take care of this. Chairwoman Watts told him to go to the Planning Commission. Mr. Rotellini said he could do that. Chairwoman Watts stated once he goes to the Planning Commission and they make a determination if it could be re-zoned or whatever they could do then when he comes back in thirty days he would have all the other junk moved. Mr. Rotellini concurred. Chairwoman Watts noted except for the four trucks. She stated whatever the Planning Commission stated was what he had to bring back to the Board and then they would make a determination. She indicated if the Planning Commission stated they could not re-zone that lot, then he could not keep his trucks there because it was a residential area so let the Planning Commission make the determination. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he would come back in thirty days and show the Board in writing permission to keep his trucks on that Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 13 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 property. He stated the Board did not have the jurisdiction to do that; he would need to get that from the Planning Commission. Board Member Fagan indicated it was highly visible from the freeway. Mr. Rotellini concurred. Board Member Fagan stated he always thought it was industrial. Mr. Rotellini indicated they called it scenic commercial was what the zoning called it. He stated scenic commercial had different applications but with a conditional use permit. MOVED BY CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER CHIPMAN, SECONDED BY BOARD MEMBER FAGAN, AND CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THOSE PRESENT TO GRANT 606 EAST MINTHORN, APN 377-340-020, LAKE ELSINORE, CA A THIRTY DAY EXTENSION TO GET PLANNING DIVISION OR PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVAL, SHOWING EVIDENCE TO ALLOW A COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT OUT OF THE PROPERTY AND TO CLEAN UP. 4. Code Enforcement Comments: None. 5. Nuisance Abatement Board Comments: None. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY CHAIRWOMAN WATT TO ADJOURN THE NUISANCE ABATEMENT HEARING AT 5:08 P.M. ~~tiJ~ Chairwoman, Loraine Watts Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 14 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - MAY 20, 2008 Respectfully Submitted, ~.~M- . Joyce M. Teyler l Office Specialist II ATTEST: ~k~ Robin Chipman, Secre ary to the Board Agenda Item No Page of