ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and Director of Community Development with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending CHAPTER 13 of the CODE of the City of Peoria Relating to the DEFINITION of WEEDS.
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BACKGROUND: Due to the economic downturn created by COVID-19, the City of Peoria is experiencing a budget shortfall. One of the possible options for reducing this shortfall includes a cut to Code Enforcement service levels. This recommendation will help reduce the budget shortfall, minimize delays in department response time those reductions will cause, and align the environmental property maintenance expectations for private property owners with the recommendation of mowing City owned lots less frequently.
This communication will amend Chapter 13 of the City of Peoria code related to the acceptable length of grass/weeds. It will increase the acceptable length from ten (10) inches to fifteen (15) inches.
The code amendment will allow the Community Development Department to respond to violations without a major delay in the time expectation of our residents. Delays would occur with the elimination of four temporary Code Enforcement Aide positions, but the code change will decrease the delay. In addition, the code change will allow the Department to stretch a reduced expenditure amount for our Weed and Litter contract if that option were to proceed.
This proposed code amendment will allow the Department to stretch a reduced expenditure amount for our Weed and Litter contract if that option were to proceed. The Community Development Department currently budgets $457,000 a year to maintain private property. To date, the Department has spent $75,000. Reducing the budget by $100,000 would leave $282,000 to maintain private property for the remainder of 2020. This will result in about 1,000 fewer work orders executed throughout the City of Peoria. The funds will be spent until exhausted and at that point, the Department will r...
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