minutes-4-18-12

Oakwatch: The Oakland Code Enforcement Project Meeting Agenda April 18th, 2012

Mission: Oakwatch: The Oakland Code Enforcement Project seeks to improve the quality of life for residents, employees and visitors by enforcing codes on negligent property owners, housing violations, parking violations, disruptive behavior, excessive noise and underage drinking in the Oakland neighborhood.

I.

Introductions a. In attendance: Tara Sherry-Torres; Marjory Lake; Carol Mitchell; Mary Ballerini; Kalliope Lardas; Kathy Boykowycz; Alex Coyne; Alexa Aragona; Briana Law; David Manthei; Mark Oleniacz; Richard Calabrese; George McCain; Maria Bethel; Liz Style; Anthony Boule; Wes Pollaro; Flo DeGregorio; Lawrence Robinson; John Wilds; James Williams; Wanda Wilson; Peg Sedlack; Nick Solick; Whitney Bosnyak; Brian Hill; Rebekkah Ranallo; Geof Becker b. New name; Brief new members (5 minutes, Blair Kossis) Blair explained new name “Oakwatch: The Oakland Code Enforcement Project” due to confusion with Oakland Task Force. c. Reviewed mission statement. d. Tara announced Oakland 2025 community meetings.

II.

Guest Speaker: Department of Public Works 3rd Division & Pittsburgh Parking Authority: Explanation of the street cleaning program and enforcement ordinances; Review the logistics needed to coordinate enforcement of street cleaning violations a. Oakland currently gets street cleaning services once a month (during the first week of the month), and there are a total of four routes in Oakland. DPW says in Oakland, hundreds of cars don’t move so they can’t efficiently clean everything. Geof asked if we could get back to a system where parking enforcement follows the cleaning crew. Geof asked how residents can help. DPW responded saying residents just need to move their vehicles. Geof said we should think about how we can communicate better with our neighbors about conveying this information. DPW is slated to receive new equipment this year but haven’t seen any signs of it yet. b. DPW announced they only have one working sweeper for Division 3 of Pittsburgh. In the past, there were three operating sweepers at one time for each division. Division 3 includes Oakland, Hill, Lower Hill District, Greenfield, Hazelwood, Lincoln Place, New Homestead, Regent Square, Point Breeze. Geof suggested residents bring this issue of a lack of sweepers to their council person. c. DPW will look into street cleaning issues on Cato Street, per a resident’s request. d. Coltart Ave resident asked about inconsistencies. DPW says it’s in their biggest Oakland route. e. Bates Street resident asked about inconsistencies there. f. Parkview Ave resident said street is never repaved but just repatched and pebbles and debris fly around as a result. DPW says they can try to address that.

g. Geof asked if street cleaner can do both sides of a one-way street. They responded, saying they don’t envision that happening in Oakcliffe. h. Parking Authority stated they cannot ticket the cars if there is no sweeper. When sweepers break down, parking enforcement is called off. Street cleaning will call and request how many parking enforcement officers they want that day (one or two). On the first day of street cleaning this year, in April, almost 900 tickets were issued in Oakland. Blair asked if two officers’ availability is enough. Flo responded Oakland people just don’t move their cars—it’s cheaper to pay the ticket than pay to park somewhere else. A total of five tickets are issued before the vehicle is booted. i. Nick Solic asked about abandoned vehicles. Officer White says to call 911 about these because they are often stolen vehicles and/or have expired tags/stickers. j. Residential parking meter maids are out on streets every day until 6:15. City Council supposedly does not allow any parking enforcement past 6pm anywhere. k. Kathy B asked about what defines a car as abandoned, as a car on her street in front of 3441 Parkview has been there over a month but has valid stickers. Stickers have to be expired to be considered abandoned but often stolen cars have valid stickers, so you should still call police. l. Liz Style announced that Public Works is rolling out paving program and wants residents to sign up via Facebook and Twitter page. Liz will check with city budget folks regarding street sweeping issues.

III.

Track, Add, Reposition, and Remove Oakland’s 10 Most Wanted properties (15 minutes) a. West Oakland construction truck routes issues affecting the quality of life there, especially on Robinson Street. Wanda asked about police enforcing the construction route with the contractors. Maria Bethel said the V.A. had to turn in these routes along with their construction plan at the initiation of the project. Brian Hill reported that BBI has no jurisdiction with any federally owned properties, like the V.A. b. Tara added that construction at the bottom of Robinson Street is blocking street and forcing people to make an illegal turn off of Robinson. Tara said Amanda Purcel, of City Planning, says they have no record of complaints on the issue so residents are working to get 311 complaints in to start a paper trail. Tara clarified whether or not residents should also be calling 911 about the issue of vehicles blocking the street. Liz Style clarified that when residents call this type of issue in to 311, it’s good to be specific about what time of day this is happening to give them a better idea of how to target enforcement. c. 3738 Dawson Street: no news, OPDC awaiting ZBA decision and housing court continued hearing to be scheduled. d. 3105 Kennett Square was purchased recently by a property owner who has a good reputation in Oakcliffe. Brian Hill confirmed that the building infractions stay with the building and do not follow the previous owner. e. 53 Lawn Street. BBI seems to have incorrect information in system, since it is actually an vacant lot and they reported that the inhabitants are elderly. f. 319 Lawn Street: the community is trying to work with owner. Inspector McPherson offered to do a walk through to help owner understand how he can fix issues. CHS and OPDC have crafted a good wrap-around plan, so Oakwatch will remove this property from its Top 10 list, though we will continue to monitor its progress. g. 3109 Forbes: still pending reviews from planning and zoning. Brian Hill reported it is going before the zoning and planning commissions before it has a hearing. Geof asked

why it doesn’t go straight to a hearing since it has clearly violated laws. Brian responded that city attorneys and developer attorneys agreed to try and work it out this way first. h. 3101 Niagara- Brian Hill has known of this issue for over 20 years and says Slomnicki, the owner, is not mentally stable. Brian says they’ve gotten him to sell everything else he owned but this is his last piece and he’s not going to let go of it. Wanda asked about conservatorship law and its potential in this case. i. 3203 Joe Hammer Sq: BBI system was down when Brian checked for its status. j. 20 Mackey Street (also known as 417 Lawn Street): inspector McPherson had it boarded up and secured as of Monday. Police cannot legally remove squatters if they return because only owners can request this. Oakwatch will follow up with ACHD and look into BBI citing it, having it condemned, potential use of Act 90, etc. k. 100 Oakland Avenue: Alex Coyne (OBID) says there is one primary offender and a few secondary offenders of the constant trash problems. Szechuan Express puts trash out too early and it is not properly contained. BBI can only issue warning to clean up within 14 days. Environmental services can issue a citation on the spot. Alex is trying to target an exact time for this. He’s in talks with offices of Peduto and Kraus regarding potential legislation around this issue. It’s been reported to 311 multiple times. Nick asked about health department abilities since a food establishment? Lawrence (ACHD) says if you tell food inspectors of exact time of day to go, they can cite them. l. Lawrence of ACHD brought up Act 90 and its potentials. But there’s no pressure on Mayor’s office to enforce it. Blair added that City Solicitor went to training to learn more about the legislation and how to use it. Larry emphasized that Act 90 has a lot of potential in bringing Oakwatch success in code enforcement.

IV.

Keep It Clean Oakland Program, Program Report: Review clean-up/volunteer outcomes in Oakland; a. Rebekkah briefed group on the past month’s volunteer activities in the neighborhood.

V.

Upcoming Housing Court schedule: a. 121 Burrows & 3721 Dawson, April 19th, 10am, Judge Ricciardi : 1700 East Carson Street, 3rd Floor b. 4506 Centre, 4508 Centre, 4510 Centre, 28 Gazzam, & 3404 Allequippa, April 26th, 10am, Judge Ricciardi, 1700 East Carson Street, 3rd Floor c. 327 North Neville, April 26th, 10am, Judge McGough, 5850 ½ Forward Avenue (Squirrel Hill)

VI.

Announcements, (Rebekkah Ranallo, 5 minutes)

VII.

Next meeting- May 16, 6:00 pm, Location TBD.

VIII.

Meeting Adjournment

Remember to keep flooding 311 with calls about the nuisance properties in your neighborhood, and let Oakwatch know when you do! You can submit reports to our email account at oakwatch@opdc.org or call us at 412.621.7863 ext. 27. Thanks for keeping us in the loop!