pages: OaklandRedevelopmentAgencyAndCityCouncil/2009-02-03.pdf, 22
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OaklandRedevelopmentAgencyAndCityCouncil | 2009-02-03 | Concurrent Meeting of the Oakland Meeting Minutes February 3, 2009 Redevelopment Agency / City Council 2) An Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 12880 C.M.S. (Master Fee Schedule) To Add New Fees For Registering Vacant Buildings 07-1717-1 A motion was made by Councilmember Reid, seconded by Councilmember De La Fuente, that this matter be Continued to the Concurrent Meeting of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency / City Council, due back on March 3, 2009. The motion carried by the following vote: Votes: ORAICouncilmember Excused: 1 - Councilmember Brooks ORAICouncilmember Ayes: 7 - Councilmember De La Fuente, Councilmember Kaplan, Councilmember Kernighan, Councilmember Nadel, Councilmember Quan, Councilmember Reid and President of the Council Brunner The following comments were submitted from: Councilmember Quan: Ifeel that the Vacant Building Registration Ordinance (Item S-18) needs further refinement and request that it be sent back to committee to address the following issues: 1) Given the slowness of the current real estate market, the time to register a vacant property in the Ordinance should be lengthened from 45 to 90 days to avoid needless bureaucratic complexity. According to the Oakland Association of Realtors, the average current time for a property to remain on the market is approximately 75 days, so 90 days would address this issue. Otherwise we will involve a large number of properties unnecessarily in a bureaucratic procedure. 2) I do favor provisions of the Fresno & Riverside foreclosure legislation that require that the owner of the foreclosed property present a plan for securing the vacant property and the property be subject to official inspection. 3) It is not clear when the 120 day period without fee starts. Since certain properties have proven particularly difficult to sell in the current real estate market, be made certain that the additional I 20 days without fee to sell difficult properties should begin at the time of registration noted in Item I 4) Rental properties should be treated differently from single parcels. Currently, the owner of a 10 to 20 unit building would have to register a rental unit as a vacant property every time a renter leaves this unit. Additionally, registering vacant rental units in the Vacant Building Ordinance may be duplicative of stipulations associated with the Residential Rent Adjustment Program Ordinance. 5) We need to be clear as to what actually constitutes a vacant property. As the ordinance currently is written, having utilities turned on or receiving mail may be a qualifier for occupancy. Clearly, such a simple definition of occupancy could lead to abuse by absentee owners and a more stringent definition is needed in order to insure that simply having a building' utilities turned on would preclude its owner from paying vacancy fees. 6) Finally, we should explore who bears responsibility for all fees associated City of Oakland Page 22 Printed on 2/20/09 | 22 | OaklandRedevelopmentAgencyAndCityCouncil/2009-02-03.pdf |