HomeMy WebLinkAboutA005 - memo from City Attorney on USCC discussion { ' . FILED
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M E M O R A N D U M _
CITY CLERK
CITY Of AMES, IOWA
TO: Mayor Paul Goodland
FROM: John R. Klaus, City Attorne346
DATE: February 15, 1983
SUBJECT: USCC discussion of allegations of Code non-compliance pre-
liminary to legal proceedings
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the subject proposal.
At this time there is not much in the way of mechanics of implementation
that I wish to suggest. However, it does seem that presenting to a
policy group a monthly compilation of the results of complaint investi-
gations prior to starting civil or criminal legal proceedings could be
useful.
The kinds of ordinances which prompt your proposal, e.g. , noise,
zoning, housing, vehicle storage, are not always perceived by the ac-
cused and the courts in the same way as are those ordinances which
pertain to the grosser forms of offense against person or property, e.g.
assault and theft. The ideal goal of prosecution or a lawsuit is to
convince both the court and the defendant that a wrong has been done or
a social duty neglected. When attempting to enforce noise, zoning, and
housing codes there is frequently the counter accusation that the regu-
lation is trivial, unwise, unfair or the subject of abuse and discrimi-
natory enforcement. For that reason a re-examination and reaffirmation
of the policy goal implicit in the regulation, prior to legal proceed-
ings, could be useful.
The risk of your proposal is that enforcement could cease alto-
gether while every provision of the code is re-examined and revised or
reaffirmed. Therefore, I suggest that in whatever is done the USCC be
given a definite time to "review and comment" and it be made clear that
USCC authorization is not absolutely required as a condition precedent
to every misdemeanor prosecution.
Finally, there is the matter of the city council' s role in author-
izing specific enforcement proceedings. In the field of land use and
building regulation the misdemeanor prosecution is, as often as not, an
ineffective or inappropriate remedy. What is often needed is a court
order or injunction to restrain or abate a non-conforming activity or
condition. It is my intention to elicit an informed and explicit autho-
rization from the city council before instituting any such proceedings,
except in the rare instance where physical harm is imminent if emergency
action is not taken.