Title
Code Enforcement Ad Hoc Committee recommending the Board provide policy direction on how the Planning and Building Department staff should complete code enforcement cases that have been open for long periods of time. (Est. Time: 1 Hr.)
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
El Dorado County Code Enforcement is responsible for the protection of the health and safety of El Dorado County residents by enforcing minimum standards for property maintenance as well as procedures for abatement of public nuisances.
The Code Enforcement Unit has historically been understaffed; however, with the adoption of several new ordinances including a Sign Ordinance, Oak Tree Ordinance, Vacation Home Rental Ordinance and increasing cannabis regulations, the Board has expressed a desire to have a more effective Code Enforcement Unit. To that end, the Board recently approved contracts with two hearing officers and two on-call code enforcement officers, as well as additional staff. As of April 29, 2019, the Code Enforcement Unit is fully staffed with 4 Code Enforcement Officers, 1 Supervising Code Enforcement Officer and 2 Development Technicians in order to manage the additional workload.
Due to the historical understaffing for the unit, there is a significant backlog in workload; with staff giving priority to cases related directly to public health and safety. The unit currently has a backlog of 850 code cases, the oldest of which dates back to 2002. The majority of the existing code cases are related to unpermitted structures, but range from minor complaints, such as real estate signs, to compounds with multiple unpermitted uses and structures that do not have power, water or sewer.
With the addition of resources, staff has begun working through the backlog. For cases that have been stagnant for some time, the process begins with sending an Update Letter to the property owner, which restarts the compliance effort and the associated timeframes to achieve compliance; for any permit f...
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