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October 2023 Spotlight: Code Enforcement

Hello Gilroy! 

When it comes to updating city ordinances and/or creating new ones that address the issues we hope to improve, enforcement is an obvious factor in our success. If you’re not one who works or is trained in law enforcement, like me, it can sometimes be challenging to understand which violations require police enforcement, which violations seek consequences from the District Attorney’s office, and which violations are responded to by the City’s Code Enforcement team. From parking violations to animal control to trespass/loitering to blight to operating without a permit or outside of permit restrictions, these are just a few of the subjects to differentiate between the oversight of our Code Enforcement team vs. the Gilroy Police Department. 

I hope this newsletter and the next Conversation & Coffee with the Mayor bring a clearer understanding of how the City enforces our municipal code and what obstacles we face. Join me and City Administrator Jimmy Forbis on Saturday, November 4 at 9:30am in Council Chambers to further discuss these important challenges.

Mayor Marie Blankley, CPA 

Code Enforcement Team

The City’s Code Enforcement team falls under the umbrella of our Community Development Department. The Code Enforcement program helps preserve and enhance neighborhood quality and general welfare through enforcement of City regulations. Code Enforcement has the following responsibilities: Performing activities related to investigation and enforcement of City zoning codes, ordinances, abatement regulations, public nuisance, property maintenance, neighborhood preservation, and other issues relating to the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Code Enforcement responds to a wide range of concerns from the community. Examples of code violations for which Code Enforcement is responsible to address include the no smoking ordinance; sidewalk vending ordinance; building or substandard housing issues; unpermitted construction; blight, weeds, garbage-related complaints; spills, sewer overflows, public way encroachment concerns.

Code Enforcement Officers issue notices of violation, administrative notices for non-compliance, and administrative citations. They also maintain records of complaints, inspections, investigations, and enforcement activities. Corrective action must follow each violation within a specified period of time. Otherwise, additional enforcement actions are taken to correct violations, which can include administrative citations, recordation of violation on the property, abatement, or other actions. The Code Enforcement team strives to promote voluntary compliance, with a focus on education and technical assistance where Code Enforcement Officers work with property owners, concerned parties, and businesses to help guide them through compliance. The goal of the Code Enforcement program is to improve and maintain the quality of life for Gilroy’s residents and businesses.

The Code Enforcement team currently consists of two full-time Code Enforcement Officers that respond to reports of code violations. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City had 3.25 full-time equivalent on the team, consisting of two full-time and two part-time Code Enforcement Officers. Our Code Enforcement team responds immediately to calls regarding life safety hazards such as sewage overflow, substandard housing, or construction without permits, to name a few. Alleged code violations may be reported by calling 408-846-0454, or by utilizing our online "Report a Concern" request tracker, or visiting in person with a Code Enforcement Officer at City Hall located at 7351 Rosanna St. 

The City Council recently authorized the funding for a position of Supervising Code Enforcement Officer. We expect that this position will prioritize code enforcement activities/cases and ordinances to implement, and focus on complex, cross-departmental cases with Police, Fire, and/or Public Works Departments. More detailed examples of responsibilities include handling the most complex and sensitive investigations and cases; organize, supervise, and prioritize code enforcement activities; coordinate staff training; provide technical expertise on difficult incidents; assist with the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure timely and accurate completion of assignments; supervise the preparation of materials and evidence for administrative appeal hearings; and coordinate with other departments or divisions on compliance activities. The Supervising Code Enforcement Officer will be tasked with addressing and assisting with the accumulation and backlog of cases, as well as elevating areas that are currently necessitated to be lower priority, such as signages, offsite advertisements, abandoned newspaper racks, shopping carts, etc.

A new Supervising Code Enforcement Officer along with two existing Code Enforcement Officers will allow the City to provide a basic level of resource for reactive, complaint-driven enforcement efforts. Most jurisdictions operate on a reactive model of code enforcement and the function is typically funded by the General Fund as it serves the entire community. This resource level will bring the City close to the pre-pandemic level, which had two full-time and two part-time Code Enforcement Officers. Some of the current challenges of our Code Enforcement team are the increasing demand for services and the increasing complexity of cases. Measuring customer interaction as service activities, which would include contact log entries, meetings, and inspections, the Code Enforcement team has seen a steady increase since 2020. We project that we will provide close to 2,900 service activities for 2023 with our current two full-time Code Enforcement Officers, up from 2,514 service activities in 2019 pre-pandemic and when we had an additional two part-time employees, and up from 1,707, 2,215 and 2,742 service activities in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Gilroy Police Department

As members of the public, we may sometimes find it difficult to differentiate between calls for service that are the responsibility of a Code Enforcement Officer vs. a call necessitating the response of a police officer.  Most Municipal Code violations (infractions/misdemeanors) are typically addressed through administrative or civil procedures where a citation and fine are issued by a code enforcement officer. However, in cases involving public safety, such as traffic regulations or alcohol-related infractions and misdemeanors, a more criminal approach may be necessitated. For example, the Gilroy Police Department (GPD) oversees matters related to vehicle abatement and parking violations. In many cases, the vehicle in question may be reported as stolen, and this information is discovered only after a check through the Stolen Vehicle System, which is accessible exclusively to GPD personnel. Additionally, criminal actions may be taken in cases involving open alcohol containers, alcohol consumption in prohibited city property areas, cooking or warming fires, aggressive panhandling, public urination, and various other public nuisance and quality of life violations. These types of code violation complaints/reports may result in a citation or arrest by GPD. Typically, in both scenarios, the situation is managed by issuing a “Notice to Appear (NTA),” commonly known as a “ticket” or citation.  

From a legal standpoint, an NTA involves an arrest, but physical custody is rarely necessary unless there are other factors at play, such as outstanding warrants. This NTA serves as a commitment to appear before a magistrate and address the specified charges. These cases are subsequently forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for further assessment and potential prosecution.  

Cases related to issues like the quality of life and public nuisances are often resolved through fines, community services, agreement to participate in rehabilitative classes or other benefitting community resource. The outcome may vary depending on the defendant’s previous criminal record. A representative from the City Attorney’s office may be present to represent the city in matters related to Municipal Code misdemeanors. The prosecution of all other crimes is handled by the District Attorney’s office. State law has minimized certain crimes with the unintended consequence of enabling repeat offenders, making it difficult if not impossible for law enforcement to remove offenders and avoid the repeated process of arresting the same individual(s) over and over. In addition, the prosecutorial process gives offenders numerous opportunities to appeal and otherwise “work the system,” contributing further to the obstacles faced by law enforcement officers.

Please note that this newsletter is not meant to include a discussion on crimes clearly falling under the jurisdiction of the GPD, be that theft, robbery, assault, and more serious crimes. It has hopefully provided you with information that defines and explains how we handle municipal code violations across the city through Code Enforcement Officers, and when such violations may cross over as criminal and necessitate Police Officers. For more in-depth discussions, please meet us in Council Chambers for coffee and donuts on Saturday, November 4th.