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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet - July 13, 2005 - CC 7/ 13/ 6 • .� AZUSA TO: AZUSA CITY COUNCIL FROM: DIANE CHAGNON, MAYOR VIA: FRAN M. DELACH, CITY MANAGER DATE: JULY 13, 2005 SUBJECT: YARD SALE PERMIT PROPOSAL RECOMMENDATION Amend the number of yard sales per year to include two free city sponsored yard sales plus the opportunity to hold two additional yard sales at the adopted fee schedule rate. BACKGROUND The City of Azusa currently allows residents to apply for yard sale permits for two sales per year (the duration of the yard sale is defined as three days, typically Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The yard sales can occur at any time during the year providing the resident obtain the necessary permit. When the permit is obtained and the fee paid, the city logs the address where the yard sale is going to take place and that is how we know how many yards sales people have at a particular location. If a permit is not obtained prior to the weekend of the yard sale, code enforcement officers can issue permits in the field at a rate that includes a fine. During the "Cleaner and Greener" month of April, when the City encourages "dumping that junk" we offer residents the opportunity to have a free yard sale. Residents do not have to pay the permit fee BUT they do have to come in and fill out the permit so the information can be added to the tracking system and this "free" yard sale then counts toward the maximum of two per year. DISCUSSION Since the City encourages yard sales in April at no charge, there should be no need to incur staff time and inconvenience residents by requiring them to obtain a permit just so we can track the yard sale against the maximum of two per year. Since the City sets the date for the free yard sale it would also stand to reason that if we decided not to count this event against the maximum number of two sales per year we could eliminate the need to have the customer obtain the permit, eliminate staff time issuing the permit and entering into the system and eliminate the need for code enforcement to focus on yard sale enforcement for that given weekend. / CtMcd • ozv o By allowing the April yard sale to be of no charge and not count against the maximum per year, the city reduces its cost for administration of the program. PROPOSAL I would like to propose the following for council consideration: 1. Establish two weekends (last weekend in April as we have traditionally done and third weekend in October) where the City encourages yard sales. 2. Mail out a reminder (in the utility bill) a few weeks prior to the prescheduled weekend reminding the residents that this opportunity exists. Our Public Information Officer could coordinate this with the utility and perhaps include it in the Azusa Advantage. 3. Since the event is free and not counted toward the maximum yards sales allowed, we eliminate the need to process permits and the need for code enforcement on those particular weekends. This allows our residents to have two yard sales per year that are free. 4. Should someone want to have a yard sale other than on the City sponsored dates, they can obtain a permit, pay the existing fees and the event would then be counted toward the maximum number of sales permitted. 5. I would recommend every week, at the end of the business day on Thursday, the division that issues the permits would be required to give a list of addresses where permitted yard sales will be occurring to the code enforcement officers and police department. By providing this list ahead of time, it will eliminate the need for enforcement officers to disturb our citizens who have obtained a permit and avoid the potential embarrassment some may feel when a police or code enforcement officer shows up at your door. If officers encounter an address having a yard sale that is not on the permit list then they would have cause to stop and offer to issue a permit at that time. FISCAL IMPACT By offering two free yard sales per year and not counting them against the maximum allowable, we do not incur overhead costs. Advertising these two events can be done using the existing budget for public outreach. Any additional sales beyond the two free events per year would be paid for by the applicant based on the adopted fee schedule and would count toward the maximum number of two-yard sales per year. The net result is a total of 4 yard sales in one year, which breaks down to $10/each (2 free, 2 at $20) and it doubles the number of yard sales one can have in a year. f c.; • 7/15/o5 ;1,40: r �` ' AZUSA TO: AZUSA CITY COUNCIL FROM: DIANE CHAGNON, MAYOR VIA: FRAN M. DELACH, CITY MANAGER DATE: JULY 13, 2005 SUBJECT: YARD SALE PERMIT PROPOSAL RECOMMENDATION Amend the number of yard sales per year to include two free city sponsored yard sales plus the opportunity to hold two additional yard sales at the adopted fee schedule rate. BACKGROUND The City of Azusa currently allows residents to apply for yard sale permits for two sales per year (the duration of the yard sale is defined as three days, typically Friday, Saturday and Sunday). The yard sales can occur at any time during the year providing the resident obtain the necessary permit. When the permit is obtained and the fee paid, the city logs the address where the yard sale is going to take place and that is how we know how many yards sales people have at a particular location. If a permit is not obtained prior to the weekend of the yard sale, code enforcement officers can issue permits in the field at a rate that includes a fine. During the "Cleaner and Greener" month of April, when the City encourages "dumping that junk" we offer residents the opportunity to have a free yard sale. Residents do not have to pay the permit fee BUT they do have to come in and fill out the permit so the information can be added to the tracking system and this "free" yard sale then counts toward the maximum of two per year. DISCUSSION Since the City encourages yard sales in April at no charge, there should be no need to incur staff time and inconvenience residents by requiring them to obtain a permit just so we can track the yard sale against the maximum of two per year. Since the City sets the date for the free yard sale it would also stand to reason that if we decided not to count this event against the maximum number of two sales per year we could eliminate the need to have the customer obtain the permit, eliminate staff time issuing the permit and entering into the system and eliminate the need for code enforcement to focus on yard sale enforcement for that given weekend. 6 • By allowing the April yard sale to be of no charge and not count against the maximum per year, the city reduces its cost for administration of the program. PROPOSAL I would like to propose the following for council consideration: 1. Establish two weekends (last weekend in April as we have traditionally done and third weekend in October) where the City encourages yard sales. 2. Mail out a reminder (in the utility bill) a few weeks prior to the prescheduled weekend reminding the residents that this opportunity exists. Our Public Information Officer could coordinate this with the utility and perhaps include it in the Azusa Advantage. 3. Since the event is free and not counted toward the maximum yards sales allowed, we eliminate the need to process permits and the need for code enforcement on those particular weekends. This allows our residents to have two yard sales per year that are free. 4. Should someone want to have a yard sale other than on the City sponsored dates, they can obtain a permit, pay the existing fees and the event would then be counted toward the maximum number of sales permitted. 5. 1 would recommend every week, at the end of the business day on Thursday, the division that issues the permits would be required to give a list of addresses where permitted yard sales will be occurring to the code enforcement officers and police department. By providing this list ahead of time, it will eliminate the need for enforcement officers to disturb our citizens who have obtained a permit and avoid the potential embarrassment some may feel when a police or code enforcement officer shows up at your door. If officers encounter an address having a yard sale that is not on the permit list then they would have cause to stop and offer to issue a permit at that time. FISCAL IMPACT By offering two free yard sales per year and not counting them against the maximum allowable, we do not incur overhead costs. Advertising these two events can be done using the existing budget for public outreach. Any additional sales beyond the two free events per year would be paid for by the applicant based on the adopted fee schedule and would count toward the maximum number of two-yard sales per year. The net result is a total of 4 yard sales in one year, which breaks down to $10/each (2 free, 2 at $20) and it doubles the number of yard sales one can have in a year.