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Committee advances broad property maintenance code rewrite with new enforcement tools and limits on boarded windows
Summary
Assistant Land Use Manager Joe Day presented Ordinance 25‑157 to adopt an updated Chapter 7 property maintenance code aligned with the International Property Maintenance Code, adding recording of unpermitted‑structure notices, broader service methods, fines for placard removal and new rules for boat storage, pallets, boarded windows and pool rentals.
Joe Day, assistant land use manager, presented Ordinance 25‑157 to replace the county’s Chapter 7 with the newest International Property Maintenance Code and describe county amendments.
Day said the ordinance modernizes the format (including QR codes to explain code changes), adds administrative provisions for 'good standing' that can allow appeals without fees, requires the appendix to be posted online 30 days before effectiveness, and enables the code official to record notices of unpermitted structures with the recorder of deeds so prospective buyers see outstanding issues.
The ordinance expands methods for serving violation notices (including electronic mail at the request of the recipient), authorizes reinspection fees for repeat inspections, codifies a post‑deprivation hearing after emergency measures, and creates a penalty of up to $1,000 for removing or defacing placards.
Day also described substantive new rules: tighter boat and trailer storage limits (26‑foot boats not permitted in the street yard in the smallest residential zones), pallets treated as debris, shorter limits on boarded windows (90 days except up to 270 days for fire‑damaged structures, with extension authority), and restrictions on short‑term pool rentals via platforms like Swimply. He noted a substitute ordinance will be needed because a recently adopted trash ordinance affects related language.
Council members asked whether enforcement would be retroactive for long‑boarded windows and whether demolition authority bypasses historic review. Day and staff said enforcement would not be applied retroactively; the 90‑day clock begins after inspection post‑adoption, and demolition of historic properties still requires HRB permit processes and review.
The committee did not adopt the ordinance at this meeting but discussed next steps and clarifications requested by council members.
