City Council Agenda Item #9 Proposed amendments to Articles 45 and 50 November 4, 2015

Background Article 7 – 45 of the City Code regulates the maintenance of commercial property. Article 7 – 50 of the City Code regulates the maintenance of residential property. Both sections already have a definition of a nuisance and allow the abatement of nuisances and situations that threaten public safety through an administrative process and fines (Article 3, Code Enforcement).

Proposed Code Changes Article 7 – 45 (Commercial property): Add dead trees to the list of vegetation considered to be a nuisance on commercial properties and refer to the definition in the Tree Regulations. Article 7 – 50 (Residential property): Add dead trees to the list of conditions considered to be a nuisance on residential property.

Definition of a dead tree The definition of a dead tree in the Tree Regulations (Article (i)) – 1)completely devoid of life; 2)has no leaves at a time when it should; 3)exhibits no buds if dormant; 4)is incapable of translocating food and water between leaves and roots; or 5)has a high likelihood of imminent death in the opinion of the City Arborist

Code Enforcement Process About 10 times/year residents contact staff regarding dead trees. The situation is verified and followed up with a courtesy letter to the resident. The changes to the code will enable staff to determine whether the dead tree poses a nuisance or risk to public safety.

Code Enforcement Process Following the process outlined in Article 3, staff can: Follow up with a letter requesting abatement Issue a formal notice of code violation Provide a specified amount of time to abate the situation Identify fines for failing to act by deadlines Record a notice of code violation on the title Proceed to an administrative hearing if necessary

Code Enforcement Process in Mt. View, Cupertino and Menlo Park Based on staff research these three cities typically resolve nuisance and public safety issues with a notice of code violation and a deadline for compliance. The expectation is that Saratoga will have similar results.

Questions?