52.3°
By Gregory J McFann, Building Official
City of Alameda Planning & Building Department
In early 1999, the City Council ratified code enforcement priority guidelines establishing high, medium, low and secondary enforcement priorities, and in 2003, they authorized the issuance of citations for code enforcement violations. In 2007, the City Council added one more tool to assist Code Enforcement staff by authorizing the pursuit of a court-appointed receiver to facilitate repairs of particularly egregious violations where a property owner was either unable or unwilling to maintain a safe building.
In Alameda, code enforcement is a reactive program, not a proactive program, which means that staff responds to complaints rather than going out to look for violations. Complaints can come from any number of places, including neighbors and tenants. A fair number of complaints are forwarded from police and fire personnel when they run across health and safety violations in their normal course of business. When complaints are received, they are prioritized as either high, medium, low or secondary.
High priority cases include illegal units, housing code violations, and dangerous buildings. Medium priority cases include work without permits, abandoned vehicles (on private property), vacant buildings and graffiti. Low and secondary priority cases include garbage, illegal signs, noise and illegal fences.
Every effort is made to visit the site of the alleged violation and confirm its validity as soon as possible. Once a complaint is confirmed as valid, the property owner is contacted to schedule an inspection and attempt to gain compliance. Many cases are resolved at this stage. The property owner makes the required corrections, the case is closed, and all is right with the world. Other cases take more persuasion before compliance with the Alameda Municipal Code is reached. Enforcement efforts become increasingly more demanding and can include the issuance of citations, a rare but sometimes necessary step.
In the most difficult cases, where the safety of building occupants or neighboring properties are affected and the city is unable to gain compliance, the City Council may authorize civil proceedings against the property owner. As I am writing this article, I have learned the city has successfully prevailed on the Alameda County Superior Court to appoint a receiver for the purposes of repairing an historic residential building that was on the verge of collapse. The appointment of a receiver is a drastic step that was only contemplated and agreed to after all efforts to have the property owner repair his building were exhausted.
The receivership process is an enforcement tool granted to the city by the state of California. The court-appointed receiver will now move forward to perform the necessary work to make this building safe for future occupants, as well as for neighboring structures. Once all repairs are made, the property owner can regain possession by paying the costs associated with the repair work. This is Alameda's first attempt at using what has proven to be a very successful tool in other jurisdictions.
Whether compliance is gained through an initial contact or through more involved means, the sole purpose of the Code Enforcement Division is to assure that buildings and properties in Alameda are maintained in a safe manner and that the community standards adopted by the City Council are adhered to. The efforts made by the Code Enforcement staff help to keep Alameda a great place to work and live.
Obtaining a permit is the law, and it is also a good idea. Planning & Building staff are ready to assist you as you navigate through the review process.
