2011 Annual Report, Veg Code Enforcement Program

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Overview Calendar year 2011 was a fairly normal year for the Vegetation Code Enforcement Program. Enforcement activity has remained stable with 661 -818 accounts initiated each year over the past 5 years. Abatement activity tends to be more cyclical but remains within 20 -39 abatements each year. In 2011, abatement activity increased 25% from 29 to 39, but can be attributed to economic factors including high unemployment and abandoned/foreclosed properties and subdivisions. Violations for tall grass and weeds over 10 inches continues to be the most frequent violation over the last five years with the exception of sidewalk obstructions in 2010. Again, this can be directly attributed to the high rate of property foreclosures experienced during the current economic downturn. Work order costs continue to rise overall. However, in 2011, the cost for private property abatement dropped from $17,591 to $16,751, a drop of approximately $1,000, even though we abated more private properties this year (39 abatements in 2011 compared to 32 in 2010). This drop is likely due to the nature of the abatement, as many private property abatements involved developed property, which takes less time and resource than large, undeveloped property abatements. We did, however, perform abatements on three undeveloped or partially developed subdivisions in 2011. The number of City property work orders increased by 9 this year while costs increased slightly from $7,173 in 2010 to $7,268 in 2011. Goals for the Vegetation Code Enforcement Program in 2012 include: • Develop link to vegetation complaint form on new city web site for POS and Land Use sites. • Upgrade reporting capabilities in the vegetation database improve response to traffic hazard issues (within 2 days of complaint) and private property issues (within 5 days of complaint). • Hire seasonal staff in early spring to reduce staffing problems during the peak seasons conduct vision clear zone inspections. • Monitor additional duties in Private Property Stormwater Enforcement and Park Encroachment Programs and how it relates /impacts the Vegetation Code Enforcement Program to more efficiently run these programs and identify additional opportunities /resource needs. • Work with maintenance staff to see if there are ways to share information with the sidewalk inspection program in encroachment cases. • Looking for other educational opportunities around developed properties, especially vegetation creating sidewalk obstructions, and unoccupied properties and undeveloped lots that require mowing.