Code enforcement dissected by an expert
August 29, 2024 at 2:26 a.m.
Code enforcement—a topic important to every community, not just Port Chester. In fact, officials from Ossining, Tarrytown, Buchanan and Rye Brook showed up, in addition to several representatives from Port Chester, when Wade Beltramo, general counsel for the not-for-profit New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM), came to Port Chester as the first presenter in the Village Manager’s Speaker Series on Aug. 15. The topic of his talk: “Code Enforcement: The Foundation of Any Effort to Stem Blight and Decay.”
County Legislator Nancy Barr and her staff member Debbie Friedman also accepted the invitation and sat in the front row at the Port Chester Senior Community Center.
Overcrowding, property maintenance
and working without permits
“What are the issues you are dealing with?” asked Beltramo, who worked for the City of New York prosecuting code cases and representing the City on wrongful demolition cases before joining NYCOM 22 years ago.
“Overcrowding” came from many voices in the audience, including Port Chester Deputy Mayor Phil Dorazio.
“How do you know there is overcrowding?” Beltramo asked. “One of the major problems is there are some pesky constitutional rights: due process and protection against search and seizure. There is no substitute for the effort you have to put in” which involves time and money.
“There is no silver bullet or magic wand,” he stressed.
How do you demonstrate overcrowded properties?
*The number of cars parked outside
*Multiple meters outside
*If you have someone who is willing to testify
“Search warrants may only be executed by a law enforcement officer,” said Beltramo. “They may be confrontational.”
Property maintenance and absentee landlords were other issues Dorazio shared.
“I dealt with someone whose shell company was Sue Me Inc.,” said Beltramo. “It’s the cost of doing business. They are making too much money to be bothered to comply. That is a huge problem.”
Another audience member brought up the issue of property owners who are hoarders as a special challenge.
“Do any of you do prosecutions in your local court?” asked Beltramo.
A few raised their hands.
“I don’t recommend that,” he said.
Another attendee mentioned working without permits.
“That becomes an investigative issue,” said Beltramo. “People will do a lot of work without a permit. If you can make your code permitting process easier, that can help. It’s not illegal until you go to court and get a judgment.”
He stressed that every code enforcement program needs to be comprehensive as well as flexible.
Village Manager’s Speaker Series
Village Manager Stuart Rabin came up with the idea for a Village Manager’s Speaker Series to address complaints he hears daily via social media, emails and phone calls and offer solutions by bringing knowledgeable and experienced individuals to the village. The initial Aug. 15 offering on code enforcement will be followed by speakers covering a wide range of topics including operational procedures, policy, infrastructure, grants and more. He hopes to make it a monthly event. “I am particularly interested in securing at least one speaker in the near future to discuss the application of AI for government resources,” he said.
“Make sure you document what’s going on,” Beltramo said, and take photographs. “It’s just better to have a picture. It’s easier to prosecute with. You have limited resources. You want to be efficient with those resources.”
Going back to the topic of property maintenance, Beltramo talked about summary abatement provisions as an option that allows a municipality to go on private property to remove garbage or mow the lawn, for instance. “Otherwise, it remains there for 30 to 60 days before you can get a court order. You can go on the property and abate the condition.”
Continuing the discussion, he said, “If you want to recoup the money it costs, you need to have a local law on the books. You need to provide local due process to allow the property owner to make their case. You will be able to place the expenses as a lien upon the property.”
“Is there any other way to recoup the expenses other than putting a lien on the property?” asked Rye Brook Village Administrator Chris Bradbury.
“You can go to court,” Beltramo responded. “The benefits of going to court are multiple.”
County Legislator Barr wanted to know if you can get your legal fees back.
“You can charge fees that must be reasonably related to the costs that you incur,” said Beltramo. “You could put that as part of the nuisance abatement expense and put that as a lien upon the property.”
Bringing up other scenarios, the speaker asked his audience to think about a dilapidated building that partially collapsed after a heavy rainfall and the owner can’t be found. “Who makes the decision? Do you have a demolition company on retainer?” he asked. “You need to be thinking about this now.”
For nuisance properties, Beltramo said you can use your own local code or the international building code that was adopted by the State of New York in 2002.
Property maintenance task force
He advised creating a property maintenance task force that gets together regularly to discuss things that are working and not working. It should be made up of a code enforcement office representative, municipal attorney, prosecutor, engineer, a representative of the local legislative body, a Police Department rep, a Fire Department rep and maybe your state representatives.
“Use that task force to educate about what is going on, review your regulations and processes,” said Beltramo.
“If you have hit the 12-month mark in a criminal proceeding and you are not making any progress, review what you are doing,” he advised. “Is this property behind in taxes? Any other ideas?”
It’s important, Beltramo advised, to know what is causing the code violation. “If you don’t understand that, you aren’t likely to apply the appropriate response.”
For an overcrowding instance with a landlord who is making a lot of money, “the onus is on the prosecutor to show they have been doing this for three years,” said the speaker. “For a plea deal, you have to give something. You have to make your case. Having it be a deterrent is one of the challenges, too.” He suggested making an example of this individual by getting some media attention.
State law says you have to give a property owner notice to fix an outstanding property maintenance issue. In 2015 it was arbitrarily decided, no matter what the transgression, the owner has 30 days to remedy it. “A stupid provision,” said Beltramo with disgust. “How much time should someone have to mow their lawn or paint their house? It obviously is not a one size fits all.”
He has drafted legislation that would fix this provision.
Rental registries and inspections
“How many have a rental registry?” Beltramo asked.
Port Chester’s Assistant to the Village Manager Katawba DeLaRosa piped up.
“The Village of Port Chester is in the process of contacting 1,100 non-owner-occupied properties,” said Village Manager Stuart Rabin. “We do request an inspection of that property. If they are able to self-certify, we will take it. For the people who don’t want to comply, we can go for a warrant. We’ll see if we are successful.”
“We want to update our records on who is living in those properties, who owns those properties,” added Rabin.
“Understanding all the properties you have in your community, I think is so important,” Beltramo responded. “It is a powerful tool for enforcement and development. You are trying to create a community where people want to live.”
“Having to deal with these things is such a challenge,” he admitted. “The more information you have, the better. Using it and putting it in a database is key.”
“Inspections are one of the biggest obstacles to code enforcement,” said Beltramo.
Do require minimum standards and inspect multiple-family dwellings once every three years, he advised.
“You are inspecting common areas,” he clarified. “Places of public assembly are easier issues.”
Port Chester has such an inspection program, Rabin said. Not of units but of common areas.
Tools of the trade
Beltramo went over different tools at municipalities’ disposal to gain code compliance: criminal penalty, civil penalty, judicial equitable relief, administrative enforcement (limited to cities) and summary abatement.
The point of criminal law, he said, is to deter. It might be to protect the public’s health and safety.
Since 1984 the fine is $1,000 per day that the violation has occurred. If it has gone on for 180 days, the court must incur a $25 per day penalty and $50 after one year, he explained.
“What do you have to do to prove it’s happened every day?” asked Ossining Building Inspector Joseph Agostinello.
“You have to prove that it existed for each of these days,” Beltramo responded. “It needs to be of such a nature that you can argue this was a violation for all of this time period.”
How? You go on different dates and take a picture.
“You have an obligation of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a vehicle was there every day for 18 months,” he said. “Your charging documents need to set forth that it is a continuing violation.”
“If it’s an overcrowding issue, that is much more difficult,” Beltramo asserted. “The onus is on you to make the case.”
Beltramo broached an issue that likely piqued the interest of County Legislator Barr when he said municipalities are entitled to take title to abandoned properties.
“It is a niche, it is time-consuming,” he said.
However, “there may be one or two properties in Port Chester that would fit that bill. Countywide there may be 20 or 30 properties. Maybe it makes sense to work together and hire an attorney.”
Shared advice
“You should be reviewing your law regularly,” Beltramo advised, and said good recordkeeping is crucial to effective and efficient enforcement.
He recommended a code enforcement officer logbook with a record of observations and interactions.
“What about body cams for code enforcement?” asked Ossining Assistant Village Manager Maddi Zachacz.
“I love it!” exclaimed Beltramo.
Village Manager Rabin shared a new initiative that is making a difference in Port Chester.
He said the Board of Trustees listened to his advice to create a deputy village attorney position to prosecute code enforcement cases and locate that person in the Code Enforcement Department. “We are giving our officers some hope that for the work they are doing, there is a resolution. It’s about compliance. It’s not a revenue generator. It’s a health and safety issue.”
“When they go out and find something wrong,” Rabin elaborated, “they are not going to have to wait three years. Now there are regular updates and visiting the properties. It has been wonderful for us. It is working.”
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