In Quiet Week With Cancelled City Council and Committees, Code Enforcement Commission Meets with Full Agenda

The City of Pasadena Code Enforcement Commission may the only city commission which meets this quiet week before the Labor Day holiday, and it is set to tackle a full agenda Thursday.

At issue are three alleged Pasadena Municipal Code violation cases that have been brought to the Commission for hearing, after the property owners reportedly failed to correct violations in spite of attempts by City staff to resolve the situations.

The Code Commission is empowered by law to hold hearings and to rule on uncorrected violations of the Housing Code, appeals regarding code violations, and on all proposed demolitions. The hearings frequently are a final step before the City decides to prosecute the violators.

The agenda for Thursday’s hearing calls for the commission to hear cases against the owners of 1944 El Sereno Avenue, 338 Idaho Street, and 244. E. Montana Street, all located within Council District No. 1.

The property owners could be charged with misdemeanor, a General Penalty under the Municipal Code, for violating or failing to comply with any provision of the code.

In addition, the owner of 1944 El Sereno Avenue could be charged with violating the Code prohibition against accumulating visible junk, salvage materials, or debris within a residential property, and storing an abandoned, inoperative, wrecked, dismantled or unregistered vehicle on the property.

A damaged. unregistered vehicle was reportedly found on the property in November, 2015, and City staff said it has not been removed despite several warnings and repeated inspection visits.

The owner of 338 Idaho Street is could also be charged with accumulating trash, junk, debris and unconcealed trash cans on the property, as well as storing two inoperable, unregistered vehicles in an open driveway on the property.

And at 244 E. Montana Street, the owner is faces possible charges in connection with allegedly pursuing a number of construction projects within the property without construction permits from the city.

Code compliance officers reported they inspected the property in January and found that a garage was being used for habitable purposes and that a carport structure had been built over the driveway, a violation of both the Pasadena Zoning Code and the Pasadena Municipal Code.

When the owner showed inspectors that the illegal carport structure had been removed and the garage was no longer being used as living quarters, City staff found at least three new structures – a storage room, a covered patio, a bathroom and a stairwell enclosure – constructed at the rear of the dwelling, without the necessary construction permits from the City, staff said.

Before cases of Pasadena Municipal Code or Zoning Code violations are taken up to the Code Enforcement Commission, property owners are usually given warning notices and several levels of citations that indicate gradually increasing penalty amounts. If the owners do not comply, Code Compliance officers are required to file complaints with the Commission.

At the Code Enforcement Commission, property owners are usually given a grace period, sometimes lasting up to a month, during which they should take corrective actions on orders of the Commission. Non-compliance could then lead to a court case against the violators.

The Code Enforcement Commission meets at the City of Pasadena Permit Center Hearing Room, at 175 N. Garfield Avenue, starting at 4 p.m.