TO: Mayor Colvin and Members of City Council
THRU: Lachelle H. Pulliam, City Attorney
FROM: Victoria Curtis, Assistant City Attorney
DATE: June 8, 2026
RE:Title
Code Enforcement Compliance & Environmental CourtTitle
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal I: Safe and Secure Community
Goal III: Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
Priority 1: Continue Implementing a Comprehensive Approach to Community Safety
Priority 2: Continue the City’s Commitment to Revitalization Efforts and Housing Needs
Executive Summary:
Following a Councilmember request from Councilman Haire on April 6, 2026, the City Council provided consensus for the CAO to research additional opportunities to enforce violations that exist for extended periods of time, other than prosecuting through Environmental Court.
Background:
There a number of violations, particularly solid waste violations that remain unresolved by the property owner or occupant. These violations diminish the quality of life for neighbors, decrease the value of adjacent properties, and have an overall negative affect on the City. Currently cases like these are handled by requesting a criminal summons. If the magistrate issues the summons, the cases are prosecuted in a special court for ordinance violations, Environmental Court. While the case proceeds through the court system, the violations usually remain unresolved.
Issues/Analysis:
The issue is a small percentage of code violations are never addressed by the owner/occupant. In those cases, the violation remains unresolved and the City must step in to correct the violation or take further action. The interest here is to speed up the enforcement process and introduce alternatives to Environmental Court which takes a number of months to get a violation resolved, if ever.
State statutes allow cities to abate violations, sometimes without notice. The City can take a more aggressive approach at City-initiated abatements. If the City abates a violation, sometimes the City may recover its costs for abatement. If a property is vacant, city-initiated abatement can occur quickly by using an on-call list for lot cleanings. However, if a property is vacant, it is not always safe for staff or contractors to enter the property. Additionally, city-initiated abatement will result in all of the materials on the property being discarded, which could expose the City to property loss claims.
Another alternative is to pursue court-ordered abatement. This involves a civil lawsuit. If the City is successful, the court may enter a judgment allowing the City to abate the violation. This course is the safest for occupied properties.
Where property owners/occupants desire to abate a violation but cannot, the City may be able to work with the owner/occupant to enter an agreement to have the City abate the violation and the owner/occupant agree to pay the cost for the abatement. This arrangement would avoid the need to get the courts involved and allow for a faster resolution.
Budget Impact:
Civil claims will require a filing fee for each claim as well as outside counsel fees to initiate and manage the ongoing litigation, depending on the volume of claims.
Options:
1. Move to direct staff to take a more aggressive approach to enforcement by pursuing more City-initiated abatements.
2. Provide further direction to staff.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
For information only, no action required unless Council directs staff to include an upcoming City Council Work Session.
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Attachments:
None