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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 3.C 03/19/2012 • A Itenv#3 •C 4sfLUnz w rsVt.r L.. +s /85e, DATE: March 19, 2012 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council.through City Manager FROM: Larry B. Anderson, Fire Chief Cary D. Fergus, Fire Marshal f� SUBJECT: Resolution Declaring Weeds Growing Upon Parcels of Public and Private Property are a Public Nuisance and Setting Public Hearings for Objections RECOMMENDATION, • It is recommended that the City'Council adopt the attached 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. BACKGROUND For over 26 years, the Petaluma Fire Prevention Bureau has conducted an aggressive weed abatement program. The clearing of public and private property, depending on weather, must be accomplished by mid-Mayor early June of any given year and maintained until the first major rains of Fall. In order for the Fire Prevention Bureau to conduct weed abatement activities, the Government Code requires the City Council to pass a resolution declaring weeds/brush a nuisance and to hold a public hearing for dissension to this action. In summary,the weed abatement program follows this.annual timeline: • City Council declares weed/brush a nuisance and orders a public hearing to hear objections: • City Council holdsa;public hearing and orders abatement where,appropriate. • .Property owners that qualify for grass/brush abatement are sent a notice that requests they clear their properties of nuisance weeds and overgrowth by May 3l51 (or otherwise imposed deadline), weather permitting. • Property owners are encouraged to do their own weed abatement. Agenda Review: City Attorney Finance Director City Manager • Parcels still requiring abatement are identified by an inspector. • Forced abatement takes place only after non-compliance with the May 31s` (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 $177 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% 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 proactivefire prevention measure designed to: 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; 4. Reduce the fire threat from properties that adjoin the city limits. 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. 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 impractical, mowing or weed- eating is permitted. Additionally, the contractor awarded the City's two-year weed abatement contract agrees to honor any designated "Spare-the-Air Days" that occur during the weed abatement season, as designated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District ("BAAQMD"). The contractor fulfills this agreement by not utilizing anygas or diesel powered equipment on those designated days. The City of Petaluma requires the contractor to enroll online with BAAQMD to receive 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 IMPACTS The weed abatement program is a 100% 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 where only hand work was provided. A per-parcel administrative fee is added to each private parcel that is abated, as well as to all City sites that are not part of the General Fund (i.e., LAD/Enterprise Fund sites). Said fee is imposed to cover the cost of the weed abatement inspector, program_management and clerical support. The administrative fee for,the'2012 weed abatement program is $177 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 City adopted schedule of fees for services. All direct and 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. • 3 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 (1) prevent ignition by the reduction or removal of fuel; (2) slows, stops, or confines the spread of a.fire in areas with excessive grass/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-six 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 ofthe City of Petaluma hereby declares that all of the weeds now growingupon public and private parcels within the City of Petaluma-referred to and'described in the list prepared by the Fire Marshal, pages on file in the office of the,Fire`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 and 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- 4 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 tnatter•can'be heard, on May 21, 2012 and, if required, again on July 16, 2012, at which time all objections will be heard and given due consideration; and, 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