3.1. PC DRAFT MINUTES 10-22-2019

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Planning Commission Page 4 September 24, 2019 ----------------------------- Peter Warner, 620 Gates Ave., submitted a handwritten letter from another property owner, Larry Krieg, who couldn’t attend the public hearing. Mr. Warner also submitted his own photos of the condition of the applicant’s property and expressed his concerns with the health hazard to the neighborhood from the rabbits and their waste, and the vermin he thinks will eventually show up. He stated he cannot trust the applicant to comply with the condition of keeping the rabbit cages clean as they don’t currently keep them clean. th Carol Heath, 520 7 St., stated she has called the city numerous times and talked to Code Enforcement Officer Dave Hetrick, who visited the applicant’s property and took pictures. She stated the yard wasn’t cleaned up but only seemed to get worse. Dale Ziner, 617 Gates Ave. NW, the person who lives at the property and cares for the rabbits. His father is the applicant. He stated he now does twice weekly cleanings of the rabbit cages. He stated he contacts a farmer from Foreston who stops twice a week to pick up the wheelbarrow of rabbit waste. He stated he is trying to sell the truck in the driveway but is having title issues. Mr. Whiteoak stated the applicant’s Chevy truck is on jacks and has been on the property for 15 years. There being no one to speak, Chair Johnson closed the public hearing. Commissioner Larson-Vito asked about records of existing or on-going code violations reported with the property. Mr. Leeseberg stated he did speak to Mr. Hetrick for an update on the code enforcement efforts at the property, and the yard upkeep is a separate issue that is being dealt with. He apologized to the neighbors that the cleanup efforts haven’t been as quick as they would have liked and explained a few years ago, the city didn’t have a mechanism for prohibitin rabbits, which is why the code changed to include rabbits as a domestic animal. He stated they have received many phone calls about this property in particular and therefore they are requesting the applicant to obtain a CUP. He stated dealing with blighted properties is not a simple overnight process but also shouldn’t take years either. He stated a game plan for cleanup of the property will be included to the council information, which is separate from the CUP. Commissioner Larson-Vito stated she felt the condition of the property and the keeping of rabbits are related and asked if existing codes aren’t being followed, she asked why the Planning Commission would have any reason to believe the conditions set forth in the CUP would be mitigated in this instance. Mr. Leeseberg agreed the two items are related but believed the CUP cannot legally be denied because the applicant’s grass isn’t mowed or because there’s a truck in the front yard.