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NAC 3
NEIGHBORHOOD
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING
Feb. 1,
2006 - Minutes
Minutes
presented by Kathy Griffee
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NAC 3
held its monthly meeting at Monocacy Elementary School from
7-8:30
p.m., Feb.1, 2006. There were 25 people in attendance, 10 of
whom
were first-timers.
NAC 3
board member Connie Pryor welcomed the residents who attended
and
announced that Josh Bolee from NAC 1 (the Walnut Ridge, Whittier,
Old
Farm, Warfield, Ft. Detrick neighborhoods) is organizing a
city-wide
NAC meeting to see if other NACs have similar problems or
concerns,
with the goal of working together with city government for
resolutions. Board members from all NACs will be invited
to attend.
Sara
McGill, the city's NAC representative, gave a quick overview of
the
NACs and their purpose: to provide a neighborhood forum for
neighbors
to get to know one another better and to work with the City
to keep
their neighborhoods safe and pleasant places to live. Sara
mentioned
the City of Frederick Web site as a place to go for
information
about city issues (www. cityoffrederick.com). On the site
is a
link to the Neighborhood Advisory Councils page, which, itself,
links
to the pages for individual NACs on which are posted board
members,
current street projects, recent meeting minutes, etc.
Connie
introduced guest speaker Chuck Boyd, Director of Planning and
Community
Development (formally Code Enforcement). Mr. Boyd explained
that
the City of Frederick adopted a new comprehensive plan in 2004,
which
deals with zoning and code enforcement ordinances. The
reorganization
brought all the codes into one plan- the Land
Management
Code. Under the new plan, all
developers are now required
to
present "site plans" to be
presented to the NACs for review and
input
on any building/ proposal prior to going to the Planning
Commission. This review process gives
neighbors/residents the
opportunity
to work with the City at the approval and development
stage.
Mr.
Boyd then answered questions from the attending residents:
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QUESTION:
If a resident wants to make an inquiry or lodge a complaint
about a
commercial vehicle (i.e., its size, location or the status of
its
tags) on a city street, whom should the resident call? Code
enforcement
or the police?
ANSWER:
Code Enforcement has no jurisdiction over vehicles on the
"streets." Residents should call the non-emergency
police number to
report
or make a complaint (301-600-2100).
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QUESTION:
What regulations apply to old cars without tags sitting in
a
driveway.
ANSWER:
Vehicles on private property that have no tags must be
covered. After being contacted by the City, the
homeowner has 10
days to
cover the vehicle or he/she will receive violations/fines.
Mr.
Boyd mentioned that, unfortunately in the past, the courts have
not
been sympathetic to Code Enforcement's attempts to collect these
fines.
His recommendation is for neighbors/residents to contact city
officials
by letter or phone to encourage dialogue between city
officials
and the courts/judges.
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QUESTION:
Where must RVs be stored?
ANSWER: Mr. Boyd stated that code enforcement rules
require RVs to
be kept
in a garage. He also stated this
ordinance was written in
1953
and was worded as "travel trailers and campers." Since the law
is old,
and there are now a variety of newer models of "travel
trailers,"
the City enforces the following rules regarding RVs and
campers:
They must be kept in the backyard; the grass beneath them
can't
be any higher than 12", and no one can live in either. He did
mention
that this law should probably be reviewed, as the number and
size of
trailers and RVs have grown and are changing the appearance
of many
city neighborhoods.
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QUESTION:
Are home businesses allowed, specifically auto repair businesses?
ANSWER:
Code enforcement regulations allow a homeowner to "work from
home,"
with restrictions. These home businesses cannot be
high-traffic
businesses, with people coming and going all day. The
businesses
are allowed one employee only and one UPS-type delivery
per
day, etc. The business owner may not have multiple people coming
and
going all day. If business owners violate the code, they will be
ordered
to find a commercial location for their business.
Residents
cannot run a "repair" business in their front yards.
Attendees
mentioned this being the situation on their block. They
were
concerned with the unsightliness of cars in various stages of
repair,
the proper disposal of car fluids, etc. Mr. Boyd said that
residents
should inform the Code Enforcement of the offending
properties;
Code Enforcement will then investigate. However, Mr. Boyd
warned
that these investigations take time and don't usually have an
immediate
solution.
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QUESTION:
Is there a standard for home repairs and maintenance? What
about
properties that are habitually junky or messy?
ANSWER:
One of Code Enforcement's purposes is to protect the health,
safety,
and welfare of the community. Mr. Boyd referred to the
ordinance
under "Solid Waste Management," section 10-9.2, "Filth,
rubbish,
etc., on premises." This ordinance allows the City to remove
items
that are declared to be a nuisance and a danger to the public
health
(e.g., any contaminated water, animal waste or excrement,
dirt,
filth, rubbish, or refuse). The ordinance "prohibits offensive
or
deleterious matter to be, and remain, on any premises in the city,
or to
cause or allow such matter to be washed, to flow, or to be
carried
in any manner from one property to another. The owner must
remove
said filth, rubbish, etc., within five (5) days of the date of
a
notice to do so from the director of permits and code management.
In the
event the owner shall fail of refuse to comply with such
notice,
it shall be lawful for the city to remove same and charge the
cost to
the owner. Violation of this section is
declared to be a
municipal
infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $400."
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QUESTION: Is there a limit to the number of people who
can live in a
residence?
ANSWER: Mr. Boyd began by discussing efforts in
Herndon, VA, to pass
an
ordinance to control the size of an extended family living at one
residence. It was struck down. The issue is a
complicated one, he
said.
The City of Frederick has very limited regulations regarding
how
many people can live in a residence. The number of people
residing
in one residence is referred to as "Housekeeping Units."
These
Units don't have to be related; they could be roommates, as
long as
they are maintaining the property as a unit.
Mr.
Boyd suggested a workable means to control 18 people from living
in a
single-family home (as previously
occurred on Stonehaven Lane):
a
rental licensing program for rental properties. A rental licensing
program
was presented to the City's mayor and Board of Alderman a few
years
ago. At the time, there was very little community support for
the
proposal. However, as Sara McGill noted, there wasn't much
publicity
when the issue came before the Alderman at a city council
meeting.
The only ones present were landlords who opposed the
licensing
program. The measure thereby failed. Mr. Boyd recommended
that
homeowners make their desires known to the Mayor and Board once
again.
He recommended that NACs request another proposal for a
rental-licensing
program and solicit more community support.
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QUESTION:
When is a building permit required?
ANSWER: Permits are required for any new
construction on a property
(e.g.,
shed, patio, deck, fence, etc.)
Replacing existing items
such as
siding, roof materials, etc., do not require a permit.
Permits
are good for six months. If work hasn't
been completed
within
that time, the City goes out and inspects the property and
decides
whether or not to reissue or extend the permit.
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QUESTION:
How do we get in touch with Code Enforcement?
ANSWER: Call 301-600-1173. You can also go to
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/departments/departments.htm
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BIG
THANKS!
Once
again, NAC 3 gives a thumbs up to Vocelli Pizza, which supplied
this
month's raffle prizes. Stop by Vocelli's in the Weis shopping
plaza
and say thanks!
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UPCOMING
MEETINGS
Mark
your calendars! NAC 3 meetings are held the second Monday of
every
month at Monocacy Elementary, unless otherwise indicated. Our
next
NAC 3 meeting will be:
Monday,
March 13 at 7 p.m.
Monocacy
Elementary School
All residents
are welcomed!
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CONTACTS
Have
questions? Want to learn more about NAC 3? Contact:
*
Connie Pryor, cwpryor@adelphia.net
* Sara
McGill, smcmcgill@cityoffrederick.com
Or
visit these sites:
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/index.htm
http://www.cityoffrederick.com/PublicInfo/OtherInfo/NAC.htm