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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda Bill 3.C 03/21/2011KA DATE. Match,21,2011 TO W H nora e Mayor and Members d the Council through City Manager - FROM: Larry Anderson,. Fire Chief Cary D.Fergtis, Fire,'Mafshat SUBJECT: Resolution .b-'eclar . ino: Weeds Growihg Upp Private - Peoperty-ge a Public uisance, And Setting Public Heari=ng for Objections REt OAIAI*,NbATION. Ivis recommended thai'AheiCity Council adopt .tiie:gttac'hed That Weeds -Growing 'U c s dnd. Private Pro 'Refdred,'to and , Described in this ponfAr el Property; ' I Resolution,.Constihild:and Are a PU Nuisance Requiring Abatement, and Setting Public fi6arihgs at Which Obi'detiofigMaybe Heard. ,BACKGROUND, For over; l5years, the-'PetalumaTire Prevention- Bureau has,-,condueted` aft, aggressive weed t 4bdt6ben �P�rO, ofty, de pending: o -' h W eathet,must be :accomplished ga;n. The c1bahhp Public -and'pfiVdt prop i m id- May =or I ayz�or early,JUrfe.of any unti the fir maj or MP C�p!. u4 rains, of Fall. 4n order.for the 'Fire Prevention BureauAo conduct weed abatemerit,actiVitics, the Government Co&.requires the Cit ''COun.61 to pass a-resolutibn declVina nuisance and to,hold; a,public hearing for : ,disseiisio"n.to , ,this-action. 'In summary;, the weed abatement1program sUlows this anniial,tiineline City ant&And'.-Orders a pub yyCouhcil dqcl0es ;' w",ee a nuis lic hearing to hear objections: C an d orders-Abateme City 6uncif'hold a - S reap propriqte. Propertypwnprsjh4t qualify for grass brush abateme.ntFare..sent anotice. they eIeartheir'pKqper,ties of nuisance weeds and overgrowth by May -.W- (ot 6thefwi'se irrip m iitting. osed.dead ine); weather J. Probefty- owners are encouraged: to: do their own, weed abatement. .City, Aftorhe Finance Director city • Parcels still requiring abatement are identified 'by an inspector. • Forced abatement takes place only after non - compliance with the May 31 s ` ( or otherwise imposed) deadline. Forced abatement is done by a contractor;hired by the City through a bid process and is under the direction of the abatement inspector. Bids are solicited for these contract services every two (2) years. • Cost of the abatement, including the administrative cost of $172 per parcel, is invoiced directly to the property owner. Failure to pay, the abatement invoice by the stated deadline authorizes the City to .impose a special assessment on the property for the-cost-of abatement. The outstanding, amount and parcel ownership information is-provided to the County for collection as a special assessment placed on the owner's yearly property tax statement. • City Council holds a public hearing on the weed.program's cost report and authorizes special assessments .for properties, whose owners have not paid their cost of abatement. • City Council authorizes `the release of the final. 10 %0 of fees previously withheld by the City and provides this final payment to the abatement contractor upon the completion of work. ]DISCUSSION The purpose of brush and weed . abatement is to reduce fuel . loads, in areas susceptible to grass or brush fires. The weed abatement program is a proactive fire prevention. measure designed to accomplish several factors: 1. Prevent ignition by reduction or-removal of fuel; 2. .Stop, slow, or confine the spread of a fire in areas with excessive grass or brush; 3. Allow time for fire suppression personnel to respond and extinguish a threatening fire; and 4. Reduce the fire threat from properties that adjoin the city limits. The finished product typically results in grassy areas that are disked under. Disking is the most effective method for weed abatement throughout the. fire season. Areas of expansive acreage are disked with fire breaks in strategic locations. Where disking is imp_ ractical, mowing or weed- eating is permitted.. All grass. and brush fires cannot be totally eradicated, but this type of weed abatement goes a long way to accomplish the:goals noted above. Additionally, the contractor awarded the City's two -year weed abatement contract agrees to honor any. design ated' "Spare= the -Air Days" that occur during the weed,abatement season, as designated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District: ( "BAAQW. ). The contractor fulfills this agreement by not utilizing any gas or diesel powered equipment on those designated days. The City of Petaluma expects the contractor to enroll online with BAAQMD: to .receive III automatic e -mail notifications for designated "Spare =the -Air Days ". All scheduled weed abatement cutting will take place around those designated days, if any. FINANCIAL, IIVIPACTS The weed abatement program is a 1.00 %o cost recovery program. Direct costs of abatement are charged based on actual costs to clear the parcels. All work performed such as disking, mowing, blading, or hand work will be charged at one hour minimums. Additional work over. one hour will be prorated on quarter -hour increments at the same hourly base rate. The Contractor will be permitted to charge a pulling (or towing) fee for each parcel where mowing, blading, disking or a combination thereof is performed. This fee is not applicable whore only hand work was provided. The hourly costs for work performed are as follows: Disking: $57.50 /hour Blade Work: $40.00 /hour Tractor Mowing: $57.50/hour Hand Work: $30.00/hour Travel Time /Pulling Fee: $20.00/hour As an example, the 2010 weed . program shows a low end billing of $190 and a high end billing of $2,632.50. Differences in size and type of terrain and method of abatement used are all variables.for costs incurred. A per-parcel administrative. fee is added to each parcel to'cover 'fhe cost of the weed abatement inspector, program managem_ent,and clerical support. The' administrative fee for the weed abatement program is $172 per parcel, and is based on "the City's Actual and reasonable costs of administering the program. The fee is approved by City Council Resolution and is identified in thei City? s adopted schedule of fees for services. All direct administrative costs are recovered through payment by the individual property owner(s) and /or collection of special assessments against the specific parcels by the County Assessor in connection with property tax payments. ATTACHMENTS 1. Resolution. 1001 RESOLUTION DECLARING THAT WEEDS GROWING UPON PARCELS OF .PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROPERTY, REFERRED TO AND DESCRIBED IN THIS RESOLUTION, CONSTITUTE AND ARE A PUBLIC NUISANCE REQUIRING ABATEMENT, AND SETTING PUBLIC HEARINGS AT WHICH OBJECTIONS MAY BE HEARD WHEREAS, brush and weed abatement reduces fuel loads in areas of Petaluma known for being susceptible to grass and brush fires and is regarded as:a proactive fire prevention measure designed to-(I) prevent ignition by the reduction or removal of fuel; (2) slows, stops, or confines the spread of a fire in areas with excessivegrass % brush; (3) allows time for fire suppression personnel to respond. and extinguish a threatening fire; and (4) reduces the fire threat from properties that adjoin the city limits; and WHEREAS, the Petaluma Fire Prevention. Bureau has developed an aggressive brush and weed abatement program which has served to protect the public health, safety and welfare of the citizenry of the City of Petaluma by reducing fire danger and the effects of excessive brush and weed fires for the past twenty -five years; and WHEREAS, Government Code sections 39560 et seq. provide a procedure:for weed abatement by municipal entities, pursuant to which the City of Petaluma may adopt a resolution declaring certain weeds a nuisance and thereby allow the Fire Department to proceed with abatement. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Petaluma hereby declares that- all of the weeds now growing upon public and private parcels within the City of Petaluma to and described in the list prepared by the Fire Marshal, pages on file in they office of the Eire�Marshal, are weeds which bear seeds of winged or downy nature, or attain such a large growth as to become a fire menace when dry, and/or are, otherwise noxious an_ d dangerous, and all such weeds growing upon such public and private property are a- public nuisance, pursuant to Government Code- Section,39561, which the City proposes to abate; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council hereby sets the time for a public hearing at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard, on May 16, 2011 and, if required, again on July 18, 2011, at which time all objections will be heard and given due consideration; arid, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that pursuant to Government. Code Section 39567.1, the Fire Marshal shall cause written notice of the proposed abatement to be mailed to all persons owning property described in the list on file in the Fire Marshal's Office. Said notice shall be substantially in the form provided by Government'Code Section 39566. 5