DANGER: Reply to query about Vacant Building Permit

June 25, 2008

Reply to query about Vacant Building Permit

The Vacant Building Ordinance is part of the building code ordinances of the City and appeals of an action taken by the enforcement agency are heard by the Public Works Commission pursuant to section 8-8 of the Code of Ordinances. That section requires the request for appeal to be filed with the director of public works. Please refer to that ordinance for details on the appeal or contact PW Director Goodkind for more information. As you know, the ordinances are accessible on-line through the City's website.

Vacant Buildings Attract Criminals and are prime locations [for] arson

A furlough escapee was found living/hiding in a vacant building on S. Champlain St. The building did not have a vacant building permit, and it was not monitored. The escapee, felon Richard Barnier, was a suspect in a robbery and attacks on two local women that same week. 18 years previous, he was a suspect in the attack and throat-slashing of a Burlington woman. [WCAX reports.]

Burlington Municipal Code clearly states: "Structures that are vacant and not properly secured attract vagrants and criminals and are prime locations to conduct illegal criminal activities, including arson and drug use." Art. III, Sec. 8-42. (a) 5.

The woman who was assaulted around Nov. 15, 2008 by Richard Barnier, and parents of children who are lead-paint poisoned, should hold the city accountable for the injuries that result when the city fails to enforce Municipal Code.

On May 12 and May 19, the Public Safety Committee is continuing to take testimony about municipal code enforcement. I don't think there was any testimony from Wards 2 and 3 at the first hearing. Have residents decided to accept lack of code enforcement in their neighborhoods -- even when it means the kind of public endangerment those women suffered when they were attacked by a furlough escapee hiding in an unmonitored vacant building?, and as children suffer who continue to be poisoned by lead paint in Burlington housing?

Fire Foolish

"Fire Foolish" lists the following conditions relevant to the vacant buildings at 2 Appletree Point Lane.

1. No road sign.

3. House has no visible number.

4. Narrow driveway, no room for fire truck to turn around. [Access to house not plowed in winter.]

5. Field [lawn] not mowed, increasing amount of fuel available.

6. No dry hydrant installed, no room for access by fire truck.

7. Pond filling in, reduced amount of water and quality of water for extinguishing fire.
8. Roof is not maintained. Debris on roof.

9. Trees growing up around the house, flammable landscape plants against the house.

11. Portable pump needed... ??

"Fire Wise. Fire Foolish. Protecting your home from wildfire." Endorsed by the State of Vermont Division of Fire Safety.

Burlington, Vermont - November 15, 2008

Burlington Free Press

A Vermont prison inmate who walked away from a work furlough a week ago is back behind bars.

Burlington police credit a tip from the public for catching 43-year-old Richard Barnier early this morning. Police say he was taken back into custody at a vacant building on South Champlain Street about four o'clock in the morning. Barnier has a lengthy criminal record that stretches back more than two decades. Police say he also is a suspect in the robbery of a Williston Road convenience store on Monday and the attack on two local women late this week.

South Burlington, Vermont - November 12, 2008

Burlington Free Press

Police believe a prison escapee is desperate for cash and may be responsible for a robbery earlier this week.

Monday night, a man entered the Champlain Farms store at the corner of Williston Road and Airport Drive in South Burlington. The robber went behind the counter, grabbed the female clerk and forced her to open the cash register. He grabbed money and took off.

Police have identified the robber as Richard Barnier, 42. He was serving time at the South Burlington jail, but was let out on a work search permit last Friday and didn't come back. Barnier has been charged in the past with violent crimes using a knife and he is considered dangerous. If you see Barnier, do not approach him; call police immediately. A reward is being offered for information that leads to his whereabouts and capture. If you have information on Richard Barnier call South Burlington Police or Crimestoppers.

Planning and Zoning Department, Code Enforcement Office:

When confronted with the Von Turkovich development work which proceeded without a permit, Strathmore filed a TRO application and a writ of mandamus against the City demanding that the City enforce its regulations requiring permits before development proceed.

Two cases followed. One has already resulted in a Supreme Court decision indicating that the developer needs to obtain City permits. A second is pending. We will proceed appropriately as determined by information we receive from you regarding the excavation work Niquette was doing on the Wick property near the bikepath on Thursday, August 21, 2008.

Von Turkovich contended that he was merely engaged in property maintenance. The City, and then the Environmental Court, did not agree. We stand firmly on the side of the City, and urge you to be meticulous in regard to activities at Appletree Point Farm property because there are sensitive
natural areas on that property. Niquette told me he had permission from Ned Holt to fill the pool, but he was excavating on parts of the property that are nowhere near the pool, and Ned told us he did not give permission for that. We await your explanation.

Respectfully,

Appreciation for a job well done

We wish to express our appreciation to the Public Works Commission, to Norm Baldwin of the Department of Public Works, to Eugene Bergman of the City Attorney's Office, to police officers and fire department officers who investigated open doors and fuel oil odor in the vacant building, to the Board of Health and to inspection staff in the Code Enforcement Office who diligently monitored the offending property after the appeal brought violations of the Municipal Code, vacant building and abandoned Swimming Pool, to their attention.

Phillip Crosby, in the book Quality is Free popularized the idea of the "cost of poor quality", that is, figuring out how much it really costs to do things badly. In our case, it cost the taxpayers a lot for the Director of Code Enforcement to do this thing so badly. It also cost our neighborhood emotional duress and created mistrust and hostility between us and our city government. The tearing of the community fabric is the greatest cost of all. If the Mayor wants residents and developers to trust the process, the Code Enforcement Director must step down and be replaced by a respected person of the highest integrity who will apply the law equally and consistently.

Swimming Pool Equipment must be maintained.

Article IV. Swimming Pools

Sec. 8-60. Defined.

Sec. 8-61. Applicability of article.

The requirements of this article shall be applicable to all new or existing swimming pools and no person in possession of land upon which a pool is or shall be situated shall fail to provide and maintain the equipment, fence or wall and facilities required herein.

Sec. 8-62. Enclosure required.

Sec. 8-63. Gates and doors.

Sec. 8-64. Modification of requirements permitted.

Sec. 8-65. Safety appliances required.

MUNICIPAL CODE, VACANT BUILDINGS

Chapter 8 BUILDINGS AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION*

Article III. Abatement and Rehabilitation of Vacant Buildings and Dangerous Structures

Sec. 8-42. Statement of findings and purpose.

(a) Being that there exist in the City of Burlington structures or buildings that have become dangerous or unsafe and numerous other structures that are vacant, abandoned, and in disrepair, the Burlington City Council finds and declares that:

(1) Structures that become dangerous and unsafe must promptly be made safe and secure to protect the public safety.

(2) Structures that are vacant and not properly secured are dangerous and unsafe in that they are extremely vulnerable to being set on fire by unauthorized persons.

(3) Many structures that are vacant, whether secured or not, are a blight on their neighborhoods, cause deterioration and instability in their neighborhoods, and have an adverse impact upon adjacent and nearby properties.

(4) Structures that were previously used as residential units and have since become vacant have a significant and detrimental impact on the local housing market.

(5) Structures that are vacant and not properly secured attract vagrants and criminals and are prime locations to conduct illegal criminal activities, including arson and drug use.

(6) Structures that are vacant and unsecured pose serious threats to the public's health and safety and therefore are declared to be public nuisances.

(7) Immediate abatement and rehabilitation of these structures is necessary to abate such public nuisances, prevent unsightly blight and the deterioration of neighborhoods with the consequent adverse impact on the value of adjacent and nearby properties, secure the public safety and to ensure and enhance the vitality and livability of our neighborhoods.

(8) Communication between owners of dangerous and vacant buildings and the city is essential for effective allocation of public resources and the maintenance of public health, welfare, and safety in regards to such structures.

(b) The purpose of this article is to establish the reasonably necessary measures to abate the public nuisances, blight, negative housing market impact, and other harmful effects connected with dangerous and vacant or abandoned buildings and structures, consistent with the authority vested in the city to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public through the regulation of the construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of buildings and other structures within the city.

Sec. 8-45. Obligations of owners of dangerous structures and buildings.

Sec. 8-46. Obligations of owners of vacant or abandoned buildings or structures.

Sec. 8-47. Vacant building permit; inspection; maintenance standards; fees.

Sec. 8-48. Appeals and variances.

Sec. 8-49. Enforcement and penalties

Sec. 8-50. Implementation.