Code enforcement in the City of Sequim may be retooled in the near future.

Following a new study “Stewardship Sequim: Recommendations for a clean, safe, and vibrant Sequim,” rental property owners may need to register each rental, residents could follow complaints through a new online resource, and the city’s Code Enforcement program could be renamed to Code Compliance.

A small group of civic leaders from across the country analyzed the city’s Code Enforcement practices as part of a project for the International City/County Management Association and created the study for Sequim.

Assistant City Manager Joe Irvin said city staff submitted Code Enforcement for the Management Association’s leadership program as a capstone project for civic leaders.

“Code Enforcement is an area where we see some room for growth and we want to become more effective at doing it,” he said.

Irvin is one of a dozen civic leaders in the program set to graduate in the fall from the two-year program, however he worked on a separate project. Sequim’s Code Enforcement was analyzed by Janet Jimenez, assistant to the city manager in City of West Hollywood, Calif.; Brian Koral, city administrator for Riverside, Miss.; Chandler Merritt, chief of staff for Tarrant County, Texas; and Andrea Muskopf, assistant to the city manager in Clayton, Miss.

“It’s a report we take seriously and we’re going to work our way through the recommendations they provided,” Irvin said.

“We’ll work with a strategic approach and adequately address (recommendations) when resources and time are appropriate.”

For the study, the four civic leaders researched practices in similarly sized cities and conducted on-site interviews with stakeholders and staff, including Sequim’s Code Enforcement Officer Lisa Hopper who handles animal control, and parking and private property issues among other duties.

At the June 25 Sequim City Council meeting, City Manager Charlie Bush said the team’s analysis would have taken Sequim staff about two-three years to complete.

Possible shift

The team made six recommendations for Code Enforcement:

• Realign roles and responsibilities

• Create a Rental Property Registration Program

• Adopt the International Property Maintenance Code

• Use a dedicated software module/tracking system

• Tap into a Volunteer Assistance Program

• Create an Administrative Remedies Program

Within those recommendations is the idea to rebrand Code Enforcement as Code Compliance.

Brian Koral, speaking on behalf of the civic leader team on June 25, said the goal with the recommendations is to bring back people into compliance and that different wording sounds better to people.

For realigning roles with Code Enforcement, the civic team recommended shifting it back to the Department of Community Development from the Sequim Police Department to coordinate efforts between the Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector and to provide more cross-training.

The municipal team recommends clarifying roles between Code Enforcement and the Police Department, too, where police handle right-of-way parking issues going forward. They also recommended exploring an interlocal agreement with Clallam County to see if they could pay for Animal Control services so that Hopper could focus on property management.

In the team’s report, it states nearly half of Hopper’s calls were animal issues while 25 percent were for property maintenance violations.

Irvin said discussions to shift Code Enforcement back to the Department of Community Development will follow the other five recommendations being considered.

Rentals

Koral said Code Enforcement can be more reactive in its approach, but for it “to be truly effective, it must include a balance of both proactive and reactive measures.”

Part of that, the municipal team states, is creating a housing inventory of rentals to better identify and deter property owners from engaging in deferred maintenance.

As part of the study’s recommended Rental Property Registration Program, property owners/ landlords must register every rental unit annually.

“The goal is to see where properties are, who owns them and know who lives there and be in touch with the property owner,” Koral said.

Koral said there can be a fee or not attached to registration and if there is one it shouldn’t be passed onto the tenant.

“It’s not a revenue stream, but to get properties back to the community’s standards,” Koral said.

Sequim currently requires rental companies to obtain a business license but property owners renting their homes are not required to obtain one.

For any Rental Property Registration Program to occur in city limits, City Councilors must approve a new ordinance including policies for inspections and registration.

More recommendations

The municipal team reports that a Code Enforcement software program can make tracking violations and scheduling inspections easier while providing geo-location services to better track possible troubled areas.

Businesses and residents who file issues can also track their request via certain programs too, the team reports.

“We want citizens to trust the city,” Koral said. “(A software program) keeps citizens in the loop and let’s them you know you are working on it.”

The team’s report states adopting the International Property Maintenance Code, IPMC, allows the city more standards and additional language to use with current Code Enforcement policies.

For a potential Administrative Remedies Program, ARP, Hopper could issue a fine instead of criminal penalty.

First she could issue a warning, and if the homeowner doesn’t comply, then she could issue a fee for the first citation with fees doubling and tripling following each citation. However, if the property owner comes into compliance they could be charged a base citation fee set by city council.

If not abated, then council could move towards a hearing with a neutral hearing officer.

Similar to a rental program, Sequim would need to adopt ordinances authorizing administrative citations to be used for any violation of the municipal code.

As for engaging volunteers, Koral said Sequim already does that well, such as through the recent Sequim Service Fest partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County and other local agencies.

However, forming a Volunteer Assistant Program, the team reports, could function as a connection between the city and civic groups to continue helping property owners that want to comply with Code Enforcement but require assistance.

City staff instigated some of this already through neighborhood meetings and other neighborhood revitalization efforts.

“We’re building on what’s happening organically,” Koral said. “The goal is to keep (nonconforming residents) in the (Code Enforcement) process going.”

Sequim City Councilors seemed to approve of the plan.

Councilor Ted Miller said he was in favor of adopting a rental registration program and using civil enforcement rather than using criminal enforcement for Code Enforcement.

“The object of the game is to get them into compliance and not into jail,” he said. “We want people to feel like we’re working with them,” Koral said. “A vast majority of folks want to do the right thing.”

For more information on the Code Enforcement plan, visit www.sequim wa.gov, or call 360-683-7227.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.

Lisa Hopper, City of Sequim’s Code Enforcement Officer, handles animal control, and parking and private property issues among other duties in the city. A new study looks to help optimize her time so she can focus more on property maintenance violations. Photo courtesy of City of Sequim