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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-17-2008 NA I I in , I I MINUTES NUISANCE ABATEMENT HEARING CITY OF lAKE ELSINORE 183 NORTH MAIN STREET lAKE ELSINORE, CA 92530 TUESDAY, JUNE 17,2008 ****************************************************************** 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 Lorraine Watts. ROLL CALL n PRESENT:. BOARD MEMBER: PRESENT: CHAIR WOMAN: FAGAN WATTS PRESENT: CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER: CHIPMAN Also present were: Code Enforcement Officer Burks and Office Specialist Teyler. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. The following Minutes were approved: A. Minutes for May 20, 2008. PUBLIC HEARINGS Chairwoman Watts opened the Public Hearing at 4:37 p.m. n 2. 606 E. Minthorn. APN 377-340-020. Lake Elsinore. CA Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 2 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17, 2008 r Chairwoman Watts indicated Mr. Rotellini did not sign the speaker sheet. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated that was okay they would let him speak if he would like. He asked Code Enforcement Officer Burks to give a brief description of the case. I Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated May 20, 2008 was the first Nuisance Hearing. She stated we were back for the thirty day continuance from that point. She inquired regarding the Planning Division's comments on if Mr. Rotellini would be allowed to have his trucks on the premises. She noted she wrote an itemized list of the violations that still existed on the property which all Board Members had in their packet. She indicated on June 5, 2008 she met with Hazmat Kelly Winters, Deputy DA Ted Ryan and County Code Enforcement to do an inspection of the hazardous waste. She stated a violation was found with the county under Ordinance 651(a), (b) & (c) which the county will handle separate from the City. She indicated on June 6, 2008 she mailed the nuisance letter regarding the thirty day review which was signed and returned. She stated she had done another inspection which showed significant change and cleanup. She commented the hazardous fifty gallon barrels and tires were still there and considered hazardous waste which was her concern at the last nuisance hearing. She noted she saw one white box truck, three storage bins and three to four small trailers that needed to be removed. She indicated there was still metal, construction equipment, batteries, trash and debris on the premises. She commented they had put up a six foot green fence to block the heavy equipment from public view. She noted the fence visible from the 15 Freeway was still dilapidated and needed repair. Mr. Rotellini asked what dilapidated meant. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated it meant it was falling apart or decaying. She commented it needed to be repaired, painted or removed. She stated the furniture, trash and debris in front of the house had been cleared away. She indicated it looked satisfactory. She stated there were three inop vehicles in the driveway that were not visible from the freeway or from the entrance to the driveway but still needed to be removed. She indicated there were numerous tires which were considered hazardous waste that needed to be removed. She stated her concern was the construction material, car parts and tools. She indicated those things were cleaned up and organized into piles which she suspected was still being worked on. She noted she was satisfied but not one hundred percent. She indicated she still wanted more work done. Board Member Fagan asked her what was her recommendation. n Code Enforcement Officer Burks stated her recommendation was to declare the property a nuisance. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 3 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17,2008 n Board Member Fagan indicated from what he read Code Enforcement Officer Burks had a question regarding some hazardous material. Code Enforcement Officer Burks concurred. Board Member Fagan indicated she had been in touch with an officer in that department. . Code Enforcement Officer Burks stated also the Deputy DA. Board Member Fagan stated Code Enforcement Officer Burks had indicated the hazardous material officer was unable to inspect because there was no permit. Code Enforcement Officer Burks concurred. Board Member Fagan indicated that meant the resident was running a business without a permit. Code Enforcement Officer Burks asked Mr. Rotellini if he had a business license and if that was determined. ~ Mr. Rotellini concurred. Code Enforcement Officer Burks questioned Mr. Rotellini regarding "Save the Planet." She inquired if he had two businesses due to the Deputy DA's comments. Mr. Rotellini asked if she was referring to the barrels. Code Enforcement Officer Burks concurred. Mr. Rotellini indicated the barrels were empty. He stated they looked brand new and if you moved them you could tell they were empty, except for one that was half full with hydraulic fluid from a back hoe. He commented all the others were empty. He stated he was planning on removing them anyway. He noted he had a license with an EPA ID number with the State of California. He indicated Evergreen was a company that would come and pick up oil. He asked if she had seen the sticker on the barrels. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 4 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17, 2008 n Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated he needed a manifest which meant "cradle to grave." She commented he needed to have a listing or notebook from beginning to end from the time he picked up the hazmat. She indicated she was not going to look in the containers to see if they were empty or not. She stated she saw them leaking and saw the soil with six to twelve inches deep of oil and other hazardous mass. She indicated she was advised to not touch it to leave it to the Fire Department and Hazmat to determine. She noted it was unsafe for her and she was not going there. She commented this came from the expert Kelly Winters. She stated he had put on gloves, some of the hazardous waste barrels and it did contain oil. She commented she was concerned of what was in the barrels at the beginning and why they were empty now. Mr. Rotellini indicated those were filled with oil from his own trucks. He stated he did not pick up oil from other people. He commented he would run the containers and when he did his oil changes on his own trucks he put it in his barrels. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman asked if he was Mr. Rotellini. Mr. Rotellini concurred. n Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated he wanted to revert back to May 20, 2008. He stated he realized there were issues regarding the drums, tires and other stuff but he wanted to go back to the heart of the matter. He stated he was given a continuance on May 20, 2008. He commented he was to return today with documentation to show the Planning Division for Lake Elsinore would allow him to operate any type of business out of that property and short of him providing that information, the discussion did not need to go any further. He commented he was inclined to declare the property a nuisance. Mr. Rotellini indicated he had received a letter from us indicating the Nuisance Hearing was to be on July 17, 2008 not June 17, 2008 which through him off. He stated we sent him two letters one certified and one regular and when he received that he was glad because he thought he had two months. He commented he was still cleaning the property. He indicated it was not easy. Board Member Fagan asked if both letters were from the same department of Lake Elsinore. Mr. Rotellini said yes. He asked the Board to look at the letters. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated she showed June 1 ih. n Mr. Rotellini stated a week ago he received another one. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 5 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17,2008 nil Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated obviously it was a clerical error. Code Enforcement Officer Burks inquired if that letter could be regarding the inspection with the Hazmat. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated it was not. He stated he signed the letter and he agreed there was a clerical error on the letter. He commented he was not going to dispute the fact the letter stated July 17th and was incorrect but there was no misunderstanding the last time he appeared before the Board when they had given him thirty days to come back with the documentation. He inquired if he had contact with the Planning Division for the City and had they given him any kind of approval to operate a business at that residence. Mr. Rotellini indicated no. He commented he had gone to the City a few times to try to find the planning guy but he was never there. He stated he just continued to clean the property. He indicated he needed a little more time and then in the end it would be totally clean. He said it was hard to clean; it was not like moving some couches. He indicated there was a lot of equipment, a lot of things he had to destroy and it would not just take a minute. He stated there were a lot of heavy things and it was very hard to work in the heat. He indicated all he needed was more time. ........, Ii Code Enforcement Manager Chipman asked Code Enforcement Officer Burks if the list she provided was what was out there currently. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated yes. Mr. Rotellini asked if he had the list that was before that. He stated there was significant stuff that went out. Code Enforcement Officer Burks inquired if he was talking about her first list on May 20, 2008 to today. Mr. Rotellini indicated yes. Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated yes, he had removed quite a bit. Mr. Rotelini stated at least fifty percent or more. Board Member Fagan noted he had made a lot of progress which he could see from the pictures. n Mr. Rotellini concurred. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 6 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17,2008 n Code Enforcement Officer Burks agreed he had done a significant amount of work but would still fall into the category of what was considered a nuisance. Mr. Rotellini stated if he was given another thirty days he was sure all the stuff you could see from the freeway would be gone. He indicated right now he only had light stuff. He stated all the heavy stuff that was hard to move was gone and whatever was I~ft over was little stuff. He noted it would be faster. He commented he had moved all the hard stuff to move. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman commented he had made great progress on the property, he appreciated that. He agreed it was hot and if it was just the item of more time to remove items, he would be inclined to do that but he felt the heart of the matter, the problem here was he was operating a business out of a residential zone and that could not continue. He stated regardless if all of the mess was gone he would still be operating the business and he would still be in violation. He commented he would clean it up he did not have a choice, it was going to have to be cleaned. He stated the bigger issue was operating a business out of that property. ~ Board Member Fagan indicated the first notice on the case was February 28, 2008 so as far as they were concerned from February 28, 2008 up until now had been the time he had to clean it up. He stated judging from the way he had operated over the last thirty days he could not understand why it took so long to get started. Mr. Rotellini indicated he also had to make a living. He stated he could not just stop whatever he was doing. He commented he did not make any money cleaning his property actually he was losing a lot of money. He said he still had mortgages to pay so he had to make a living. He stated there was only one of him which was the problem. He stated the majority of the stuff was gone. He asked for thirty more days and all the stuff would be gone. Chairwoman Watts asked for the reason he did not go the Planning Division. Mr. Rotellini indicated he went to the Planning Division but could not find the guy. He stated he was never there. He commented he had gone five times. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he would have to argue that point. He stated there was a planner assigned to the counter the entire time that City Hall was open. n Mr. Rotellini indicated he was looking for one particular one. He said he could not remember his name but Code Enforcement Officer Burks had given him a card. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 7 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17, 2008 n Code Enforcement Officer Burks indicated Tom Weiner. Mr. Rote/lini stated he guessed he would have had to have made an appointment. He commented he did not make an appointment. He stated whenever he could he would stop at the City. He commented he asked why he was never there and was told the best thing to do was to make an appointment. He said he would just drop by whenever he could but apparently he was a busy man and was never there. Chairwoman Watts asked if there was another planner there why he did not just talk to him, he could have relayed the information to Mr. Weiner. n Mr. Rotellini noted he did not ask for any other planner. He stated he figured he was the main guy and Code Enforcement Officer Burks recommended him. He said he was going to leave his name, make an appointment with him to contact him that way to see if he would authorize him to have a business there. He stated he was shutting it down. He said he was not doing business there any more he was just cleaning the property and in the meantime looking for another location where he could go which was very hard to find. He stated they were just not around so if they could just give him another thirty days he would appreciate it. He indicated by then the property would be done, it would be clean and by then he would assume he would have some results with the Planning Department. He commented he did not believe he would have been approved. He indicated it was just a waste of time and he would just have to find another location. He commented they did not want him there and that was the way life was. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman agreed that Planning was probably not going to approve any type of business out of there other than a home occupation business wherein you just send mail from an office. He indicated short of that he would have to remove all the itemized things, all of the trucks and the business too. . He asked how he was going to get that accomplished in thirty days. Mr. Rotellini stated he was looking for another location. He indicated he already rented another place to put some of his things. He said he gave away a lot of his stuff. He indicated he had not found anything that would fit him completely yet but he was looking and that was all he could do. n Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he would bring it up to the Board. He asked if they declared him a nuisance he would have a ten day appeal time from the time he was notified. He stated he was hesitant to go another thirty days, declaring it a nuisance at that point and then having to wait a ten day appeal for them to take action. He indicated they needed to get it cleaned up. He said part of the issue he had with this property and he discussed it at the last hearing was that this was not the first time this type of case had Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 8 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17, 2008 n occurred on this property. He stated it was the same type of use, the same violations that were declared a nuisance approximately a year and a half ago so he had less patience to try and get this resolved this time due to this being the second go round. Mr. Rotellini asked if he was going to get another thirty days to finish cleaning the property. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated they were inclined to declare it a nuisance which would give him a ten day right of appeal from notification by mail which was going to end up being fifteen days and if he could get it cleaned up by that time he could contact Officer Burks and she could come out and inspect the property. Mr. Rotellini indicated he was not asking for that much time only thirty days. He stated he was being put up against a wall. Board Member Fagan stated the thirty days he was asking for had passed. He indicated this was done last month. Mr. Rotellini indicated he knew but he had a lot of stuff over there. n Board Member Fagan commented he would have liked to have seen more progress in the last thirty days. He stated he was inclined to go along with Code Enforcement Manager Chipman. Mr. Rotellini asked what thirty days would hurt. He stated when the next thirty days came around and he did not accomplish cleaning everything then he would expect to be told you had two chances now you are out. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman said he did not think thirty days was going to make or break it. He stated he honestly did not believe he would have it done in thirty days. Mr. Rotellini asked why he thought that. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he felt he had a lot to accomplish and the fact remained he could not operate a business from that property. He stated Hazmat would deal with it on their terms but the City could not wait for Hazmat; we would have to continue with our case. He commented we had to force this to happen. He noted this was not first time this property was declared a nuisance. He commented this was not new to him, this had happened before. n Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 9 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17,2008 n Mr. Rotellini stated since that had happened he had applied for a license. He indicated when they gave him the license he said great. He commented for the four years that he had the license they should not have ever given him the license. He said they should have told him they could not give him a license but they did not say anything. He commented he had been working on his property for four years, no one had approached him and then they decide in February. He indicated the whole thing came about because his driver put some things for sale on the freeway. He stated for four years he had been working fine and he had assumed since he had a license for four years and no one told him anything, he was good. He indicated obviously they made a mistake giving him a license or he was just invisible for three and a half years. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman stated they did not make a mistake giving him a license. He indicated no license gave him the right to violate any municipal codes or vehicle codes or any as such. He said the license was misconstrued by you as giving you the opportunity to park your trucks and operate that type of a business. He stated the person who issued the license thought you were a home occupancy business. n I I Mr. Rotellini indicated she had asked him what he was doing there. He stated he told her he was in the trucking business and the hauling business. He indicated he told her he cleaned properties and he was going to park his equipment there and she said okay fill out this form, pay us $97.00 and that was that. Code Enforcement Manager Chipman indicated he posed that argument thirty days ago in May and that was why they asked him to come back with documentation that would state he had the right to operate that type of business there and he had not provided anything. Mr. Rotellini stated they are talking about two different things here. He indicated he was not asking to be allowed to continue the business there all he was asking was to have thirty more days to finish cleaning the property including the trucks. He said he did not believe the City was going to allow him to do it anyway. He stated he felt it was a lost cause. He commented he needed thirty more days to finish cleaning the property and finding another location where he could go before they declared the property a nuisance. He stated he was spending a lot of money by cleaning. He indicated things are tough and he was only asking for thirty days. He stated if he did not comply in thirty days, lock him up. He indicated he gave his word in thirty days it would be done. n MOVED BY BOARD MEMBER FAGAN, SECONDED BY CODE ENFORCEMENT MANAGER CHIPMAN, AND CARRIED BY UNANIMOUS VOTE OF THOSE PRESENT TO DECLARE THE PROPERTY AT 606 E. MINTHORN, APN 377-340-020, LAKE ELSINORE, CA A PUBLIC NUISANCE. Agenda Item No Page of PAGE 10 - NUISANCE ABATEMENT MINUTES - JUNE, 17, 2008 n 3. Code Enforcement Comments: None. 4. Nuisance Abatement Board Comments: None. ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY CHAIRWOMAN WATTS TO ADJOURN THE NUISANCE ABATEMENT HEARING AT 5:08 P.M. (J(~(.i tiJuft- Chairwoman, Loraine Watts n Respectfully Submitted, Joyce M. Teyler Office Specialist II ATTEST: to the Board n Agenda Item No Page of