Minutes for
NAC 3 Meeting
April 12, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Monocacy Elementary School
Cafeteria
Board Members Present: Connie
Pryor, Beth Conny and Kathy Griffee
Connie Pryor opened the NAC
3 meeting at 7:05 pm by introducing Stephanie Davis, the City of Frederick’s
Community Outreach Specialist.
Community Announcements
Stephanie defined the
purpose of the NACs for new
attendees. She also reported Allegheny Power decided that the power
boxes at the intersection of TJ Drive and Hayward Road were not an
impediment to safety so at this time, the boxes are not going to be moved for
better visibility. Stephanie also
brought a message from Alderman Donna Ramsburg regarding the issue of overcrowding. Alderman Ramsburg said she will address this
issue with the Mayor and the Board of Alderman after the Budget is finished in
May. Last, Stephanie reminded residents
about the upcoming yard waste collections, which are the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month for NAC 3.
Police Report by
Corporal Stanley
There were 250 calls for
service between March 1 and April 10, 2007.
Only 31 of the calls required reports. There were only 6 arrests, non of a
violent nature. Corporal Stanley
reminded residents that if they see something suspicious, call the non-emergency
number (301-600-2100) and request that an officer be dispatched. (The caller does not need to give his or
her name or have the officer come to the home). Calls are answered according to priority so
it may be a while before an officer comes depending on what other calls he has
at the time. Residents were reminded to
report graffiti because the City tracks this closely as an indicator of gang
activity.
A question from the floor
asked the Officer about the legality of double parking in townhouse
communities. Parking is a problem
all over the city, townhouses are no exception.
Parking complaints are handled on a case by case basis.
Developer for the
Frederick Research Park
Pam Reppert, from the
City’s Planning Dept. (preppert@cityoffrederick.com 301-600-1718) showed a diagram of the two proposed new Buildings on the old F&M property on TJ Drive. Pam introduced Sean Moore, the
development coordinator, from Corp Office Properties Trust (COPT) of
Columbia, MD. (sean.moore@copt.com) Mr. Moore said that COPT develops properties
near government buildings and military bases.
They are currently redeveloping the Fort Ritchie property in
Sabillasville. COPT has a commitment to
Environment Design and plans to develop the 2 new buildings on TJ Drive with
these same standards. COP creates
healthy environments by keeping green house principles with energy use, water
efficiency, and providing areas for bikes to encourage workers to bike rather
than drive to work. COPT’s
construction tries to reduce their
carbon footprint.
Jeff Fuller, from DNC
Architects, Inc. in Rockville, MD (JFuller@DNCArch.com) explained some details of the proposal. The F&M building will remain and there
will be two 3 story buildings constructed, one on each side of the entrance road to the
F&M building. The storm pond between
the Amber Condos and the proposed Frederick Research Park will need to be
reconfigured and the developers are working with the condos on this
matter. Once completed, they will create
“forest” areas bordering the property and landscape each building so that they
aren’t just concrete and pavement.
Attending residents
voiced their concerns about the existing traffic congestion on TJ Drive and wanted to know how many more cars the Research
Park would bring. Mr. Fuller said that there would be about a total of 1,000
parking spaces when the construction is
completed.
Many residents opposed any additional traffic on TJ Drive
until the City addresses the current congestion. Pam Reppert will pass the citizens objections
to the traffic engineer for reevaluation and discussion. Citizens
asked, “How can we be more proactive?
We don’t want to wait until the decisions are made.” Pam recommended that everyone attend the
public meetings with the Mayor and Alderman.
They listen to the citizens on these matters. She reminded everyone that the City now has
an APFO (Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance) and COPT must comply with the
ordinance. Developers will make
contributions to address any old, current or future problems that exist due to
the construction.
Concerns were voiced about
what is going to happen with the property that burned down at the corner of
Opossumtown Pike and TJ Drive.
Attendees commented that the intersection is a nightmare and could
potentially get worse depending on the type of construction takes place where
Jim’s Liquors, etc. used to be.
Residents wanted to know when the traffic study for this Research Park
was done and is anyone considering the impact of more construction on the TJ
Drive and Opossum town \Pike
intersection?
Overview: COPT
is requesting final site plan approval for 191,707 sq. ft. of floor area for
professional business offices from the Planning Commission early this summer.
They hope to obtain permits for building construction around the beginning of
2008 and it would be about 14-16 months after the start of construction before
occupancy would take place. They
estimate that there would be any additional cars on the property by April
2009. When the first building is
completed, construction on the second building would start. There are no tenants signed for either of
the buildings at this time. There are limitations on who can go into the office
spaces. High intensity labs, etc. are
not permitted.
Code Enforcement
Presentation
Mike Blank, the Division
Manager of Code Enforcement,
defined his job as addressing the quality of life Issues in neighborhoods. Mike and the inspectors use the Livability
Code and Property Maintenance Code to determine violations. Besides Mike, Code Enforcement has a staff of
4 inspectors and 2 secretaries to handle all the complaints for the City. In 2005 there were 39 complaints in NAC 3
and there were 47 in 2006. Most of
the calls/work for Code Enforcement Inspectors are complaint driven.
About 75% are complaints from residents
and only 25% are self initiated calls by the City. Basically, the City is very
busy trying to handle the increasing complaints that come in. Code Enforcement addresses complaints about
private properties, not complaints of vehicles on city streets. That would require a phone call to City
Police.
Residents can contact
Code Enforcement at Violations@cityoffrederick.com Residents
calling to report a violation can request that their name and email address
remain confidential. The only way the information would get to the
person(s) the complaint is against is for them to go to court and have a judge order the names on the complaint
be released. Mr. Blank said that it is
never worth the time and effort for people to go to court and find out who complained. Mr. Blank noted that an effective complaint
contained as much information as possible: license plate numbers, or any pertinent information
that is relevant to the complaint. A
complaint with documentation is more readily addressed because it indicates a seriously concerned resident who can show
legitimate concerns rather than someone who calls and “wants something done”
without providing much detail. Mike
said that his office has been very successful when addressing complaints by
using the “Cold Calls” method which is
when an inspector knocks on the door and asks to inspect the property due to
complaints. It is direct and simple and
surprisingly effective.
Parking
Residents expressed
concerns about the number of commercial and large sized vehicles on
residents’ properties. Mike said
that there are Setback Laws of 20-25 feet from the curb, which define the front
yard; hence, residents can’t park campers, commercial vehicles, etc. in their
front yard. Complaints about vehicles on City streets must be addressed by the
City Police.
HOA Common Ground such as
parking spaces in townhouses are considered “private” and Code Enforcement
doesn’t enforce the Rules and
Regulations of the various HOA’s.
Rentals
Residents asked Mike
what to do about neighbors who claim to
live there but they really don’t and the
property is a rental. He noted that the SPIRES GIS system,
accessible from the Frederick County website, allows residents look up the
address through the Tax Assessment Records, which indicates that the owner
lives there. However, if Code
Enforcement determines that it is rented, the owner can end up with large
fines.
Rentals are not
currently inspected by the City. A
Rental Licensing Agreement was not successful when proposed four years ago by
Mayor Dougherty’s Chief Operating Officer, Vinnie Hughes. Currently, there is talk about establishing a
Rental Licensing Program in order to maintain quality of life. This
program will need to be creative and regulatory. In such a program the inspections of the
properties are typically done yearly.
The cost to the landlord is divided by what it takes to operate the
program. Fees are commensurate to
support the program, usually about $35 to $65 per property. The purpose is not to make a profit.
Any tenant can file a
complaint with Code Enforcement against their landlord. Unfortunately, there
are landlords who don’t maintain their properties and there are safety and
health issues that can be addressed
through Code Enforcement.
Mike Blank also noted that
Section Eight Housing handles its own
complaints; however, he encouraged residents to report any concern about a
property to Frederick City code Enforcement, and it would refer it to the Housing Authority, if it is
determined to be a Section 8 property.
Mike prefers to work with the Housing Authority to encourage them to
take care of their own problems. If need
be, Code Enforcement will step in.
Overcrowding
The current laws have been
some what successful in dealing with the overcrowding issue. The courts have determined that no one can
establish jurisdictions based on relationships.
Mike thinks that any legislation
should stay away from trying to define “family”
and base the laws on “ number of people” and
the square footage. The
Property Maintenance Code has regulations based on the number of bedrooms,
baths and kitchen space available per persons living in the house. The biggest trouble with complaints regarding
overcrowding is that it requires a lot of manpower. During the day, the Code Enforcement
inspectors have their responsibilities during regular business hours and then
to properly document a complaint of overcrowding, the office needs to do
surveillance at the residence between 3 to 5 am and then again around 7 to 9 pm to determine how many people and
cars are coming and going, etc. Mike
reiterated that a complaint will get a quicker response if a resident can provide license numbers,
ethnic group, number of people, places of employment, etc. when calling.
Mike recently proposed some aggressive regulations and laws to the mayor to
combat overcrowding issues. Other
jurisdictions who have passed these laws were 50% successful. Mike suggested
for further reading, residents could check out what laws Hazelton, PA, has passed
and their successes.
Connie presented Mike with
a plaque to show the residents’ appreciation for his presentation and answering questions for everyone after his
long day. Winner of the evening raffle, a lovely garden plaque, was Amber
Meadows resident Ken Painter
Meeting adjourned at 8:53 pm.