Councilmember Noecker moved approval.
Adopted
6 -
0
Yea:
Councilmember Tolbert, Councilmember Noecker, Councilmember Prince,
Councilmember Jalali, Councilmember Yang and Councilmember Balenger
Nay:
1 - Councilmember Brendmoen
Abstain:
LEGISLATIVE HEARING DISCUSSION ITEM
Appeal of Richard Heller to a Summary Abatement Order at 1223 MARION
31
STREET.
Appeal granted to allow wheelbarrows, step ladders, a picnic table, and other items
manufactured for exterior use that are in good repair. Granted to November 1 for
compliance with balance of the orders, including proper storage or removal of
extension ladders, card tables, and all other items.
Also in attendance: Richard Heller, appellant
Marcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer: This is a summary nuisance abatement
order to remove items that constitute a nuisance. It indicates that the owner is to
remove improperly stored or accumulated refuse, which may include garbage, rubbish,
loose and scattered litter, discarded furniture, appliances, vehicle parts scrap, wood
and metal recycling materials, household items, building materials, tires, brush, etc.
from entire property including the yard, boulevard, alley, and driveway. In all capital
letters it says to please remove and properly dispose of the tables, ladders, vacuum
fans, tires, wheelbarrow, and other miscellaneous debris from the front yard and entire
property. The orders were issued on September 5 with a deadline to comply of
September 12. The owner of the property, Mr. Heller, came to file an appeal the day
after the deadline on September 13th. It is our practice to accept appeals, even though
they're late, if a work order hasn't been sent for the crew to go and execute a cleanup.
We will let the department know to hold off, and schedule it for hearing, which we did in
this case. I really would be failing if I didn't give a shout-out one of our colleagues.
When Mr. Heller came on September 13th to file an appeal, she stayed for 90 minutes
to help Mr. Heller with his appeal, because he needed an accommodation. Heller did
ask for and receive accommodations to be able to fully participate in the appeals
process. By and large, what that amounts to is to have the ability to have Adobe or
another computer program be able to read aloud the written documents that are a part
of the city record. Documents that were not readable were rendered readable. It took
two hearings to get all of the documents into that format. The second accommodation
is the ability to read what's transpiring when hearing or conversation is happening in
real time. Heller, who's here, is using a laptop which is using Microsoft Teams to be
able to have live captioning of the conversation here, exactly as it's happening. The
City Council Chambers don't have this ability for the TVs you see here, but if someone
were at home watching this meeting on the live stream, there is a closed captioning
button for them. When Heller comes up, he'll have that laptop with him. It will be writing
out what's being said as it's being said. To the orders themselves, I will show you
some photos that the inspector took when the orders were written. The front yard is
kind of overgrown and there are various items like step ladders, a wheelbarrow, a
clothing rack, a table with a rug on it, shelving, tires, and a vacuum. On September
25, before the Legislative Hearing, the inspector went back to take photos. Some
items were removed, but many are still there. A final set of photos was taken on
October 10. Many items are still there, and a lot of kids-sized bicycles have turned up.
Breaking this down, some items can be stored outside if they are in good condition: