Council reviews draft resolution tightening enforcement on uninhabitable rental properties, debates utility-disconnection clause

Council reviewed Resolution 2025-1, described by staff as an instruction to standardize enforcement on rental properties the city deems uninhabitable, including notice, placarding, and utility-disconnection procedures.

The City Administrator described the resolution and read its operative provisions into the record: code enforcement will identify vacant or uninhabitable properties, notify occupants of illegal occupancy with signed notice and photo evidence, and disconnect utilities 60 days after notice; properties will be placarded as uninhabitable and utilities may be suspended. "If utilities are disconnected or there is any name change or any service interruption of any set properties before the 60 day deadline, utilities will not be reconnected for any reason," the read text states.

Several councilmembers objected to that clause as drafted. One councilmember asked whether the language meant utilities could never be reconnected even if an owner repaired the property or if ownership changed. The City Administrator said the wording had been discussed by the drafting group and acknowledged it read as a permanent disconnection in some interpretations. A councilmember also questioned the resolution's "whereas" language, saying the stated purposes (improving attractiveness and quality of life) did not mention the fundamental governmental purpose of ensuring safe and sanitary housing.

The meeting record shows a Board of Appeals decision was entered for the record earlier in the meeting: the board denied an appeal by Eddie Flores concerning a rental-license relocation application, which staff noted for the record. No final vote on Resolution 2025-1 was recorded during this discussion; councilmembers asked for clarifications and indicated the utility clause and purpose language needed revision before the council would adopt the resolution.