Oakwatch: The Oakland Code Enforcement Project Meeting Minutes March 20th, 2013 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.
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In attendance: Barbie Arroyo, David Zwier, Bryant Andrews-Nino, Gregg Roman, Carol Mitchell, Tara Sherry Torres, David Manthei, Sophia Koss, Blithe Runsdorf, Ethel DiIuliis, Bernelle Wood, Edward Pace, Bob McPherson, Liz Gray, Mark Oleniacz, Maria Bethel, Rachel Bethel, Geof Becker, Kannu Sahni, John Wilds, Hanson Kappelman, Blair Kossis, Nate Lerner, Rebekkah Ranallo, Officer Matt White, Nathan Hart, Peg Sedlack, Monica Kohli, Ben Carlise, Ariel Albright, Monica Kohli Introductions; Brief new members (Hanson Kappelman, 5 minutes) Greg Roman introduced JFGP. Pittsburgh Sociable City Plan Brief explanation of the plan its findings and the steps involved to bring it to action (Barbie Arroyo, 20 minutes) Barbie informed group that RHI consultants are in town this week. South Side is pilot neighborhood for plan implementation. Councilman Kraus is currently working on creating a “social host” ordinance that would hold hosts of party responsible for various things. The goal is to change party culture in Pittsburgh. Thursday there will be a meeting with university leaders about implementing a city-wide student code of conduct and how to better collaborative efforts between universities and the City. There will also be a marketing effort around responsible partying, and efforts to better promote programs already in place. Barbie, from Councilman Kraus’s office, asked residents about summer experiences in Oakland, are party issues as bad? Residents responded that summers tend to be quieter, though houses are often rented year round. Brandon Forbes is Councilman Kraus’s Policy Director and liaison at all RHI meetings. They are open to OPDC staff and community. Residents asked many more questions about long-term items related to the plan. Since Barbie is not the point person on the project, we agreed to table the discussion til a further meeting when Councilman Kraus or Brandon can answer questions.
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Pittsburgh Police Oakland crime update / Incident breakdown / Parking update Q&A (Officer White, 10 minutes) Due to some technical challenges, Officer White was unable to bring the Incident Report to the meeting. Officer White asked for neighbors to bring new issues to his attention at this time. Hanson asked about increased parking enforcement. Officer White said officers have been instructed to