Government & Public Utilities Committee Report: April 11, 2018.

Property Maintenance and Vehicles Code Compliance

On February 23, 2018, Inspector Valentine in the Prince Georges County Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement (DPIE) and the FWECA Government and Public Utilities Committee shared a list of 4 vehicles and 21 homes with apparent vehicle and property maintenance code violations in Fort Washington Estates. On April 5, 2018, Inspector Valentine wrote: “I have gone to 95% of the properties on the list and will send out Violation Notices to the ones in violation.”

On Wednesday, March 14, Mr. Cunningham, the Deputy Director, DPIE spoke about a new 90-day DPIE streamlined administrative hearing process for properties with County code violations at a South County Community Roundtable Meeting. He was the guest speaker along with Eric Warford, a DPIE Attorney. The new 90-day DPIE process will replace the current 9-month adjudication process through the courts. The new process will begin on July 1, 2018.

The new process begins with the investigation of a complaint. The inspector will issue a violation notice and/or a $100 citation, if appropriate. The homeowner has 30 days to select one of 3 options:

1. Do nothing and the case will go directly to the circuit court;

2. Pay the fine and correct the deficiencies; or

3. Request a hearing and the hearing officer will render a decision within 90 days.

Ultimately, the homeowner can appeal the decision at the Nuisance Abatement Board and/or further to the Circuit Court, but most cases were resolved during the test period without appeal.

At this meeting, Mr. Cunningham said that he would help with resolution of the deficiencies of three vacant structures in our community. These are the properties appear to be the most derelict properties/worst eyesores in our neighborhood.

Mr. Cunningham sent an inspector to these 3 vacant properties on Friday, March 13, 2018. The inspector evaluated them for condition and issued the following report:

· 13210 L’Enfant Drive is under a Stop Work order with permit issues falling under the Inspections Division’s purview.

· 13312 Fort Washington Road had some minor debris in several areas but was in fair condition. (It doesn’t really require a clean lot but the inspector will issue one if instructed to do so.)

DPIE should not expend the funds to pick up the small brush. However, the pictures reveal a posting for a Preservation Company. Please contact them and advise of the responsibility to maintain the property and keep grass cut.

· 13518 Reid Circle appears to be a dwelling which has been boarded up for a long time with some deteriorated areas but the lot is basically clean. There are some bricks and debris which require removal and we will issue a clean lot. The inspector will also contact Stephanie to see if she has anything on it.

These inspections only addressed whether the lots were clean and the grass was mowed at the vacant properties at 13312 Fort Washington Rd and 13518 Reid Circle. On April 1, 2018, I asked: Can DPIE require the owners of these two vacant and dilapidated homes on these two properties to fix the following apparent code violations?

13312 Fort Washington Road

• There is a hole in the roof.

• The gutters are bent and in disrepair.

• There is a large hole in the attic vent.

• There are 6 rotten pillars (one pillar is dislodged and leaning).

• The pillars that support the carport are rotten at the base and the carport roof is leaning.

• There is paint flaking and dropping from the carport ceiling.

• Black mold is on the siding.

• Vines/weeds are climbing the side of the house from the bushes below almost to the roof and into the chimney.

• The ground is eroding under the concrete porch at the front door.

13518 Reid Circle (boarded up for over 20 years)

• The wood siding is wet and rotten.

• The fascia boards are rotten and have holes in them.

• The paint is flaking.

• The foundation is cracked.

I was told that the County does not repair vacant properties but based on my description of these properties and their dilapidated nature, the DPIE Inspections Division evaluated the two properties for possible demolition. Neither property met the criteria for demolition. The criteria is apparently that there is a safety hazard and imminent danger exists. DPIE said that the Enforcement Division will continue to monitor the properties to ensure they are maintained and secure.

Since the lot is clean at 13312 Fort Washington Road, DPIE will not issue a violation notice despite the long list of apparent code deficiencies to the home. Also, the current owner may not be known. The Colonial Savings Bank posted a “Notice about Eviction” on June 18, 2017 that said that it believed the property was abandoned. The posting by Colonial Savings Bank said that they can be contacted at 817-877-9156. Also, a DPIE Inspector took a picture of a posting on the door by a Preservation Company. DPIE will contact the Preservation Company and advise them of their responsibility to maintain the property and keep the grass cut.

DPIE has issued a violation notice to the owner of 13518 Reid Circle which requires them to clean the property and, if they do not clean the property, this case will be forwarded to Court. According to county real estate records, the owner of this property lives only a few miles away at1620 Old Piscataway Road, Fort Washington MD 20744. I still do not understand why County doesn’t issue a violation notice with the code deficiencies on the vacant house and require the owner to repair those deficiencies or be fined for not making the repairs in the same manner as violation notices to owners who occupy their homes.

Regarding the property at 13210 L’Enfant Drive, Fort Washington, MD 20744:

On April 6, 2018, Jay Krueger and I met with representatives of the county regarding this property. County representatives present were: Behdad Kashanian, the Associate Director for Inspections for DPIE, George Holmes, the DPIE Assistant Associate Director for Inspections, Rosalee Dodson, Associate County Attorney for Prince George’s County Office of Law, and Obie Patterson’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Ellis Watson.

The owner did not complete construction of the garage by December 22, 2017 as required by the consent order. The County gave the owner until March 26, 2018 to restore the property to its original condition. The owner did not do any restoration.

We discussed two options, with the county prepared to move forward with option #1, if deemed acceptable/appropriate by those present and if in accordance with the wishes of the Fort Washington Estates Civic Association (FWECA):

1. We discussed the option of the County restoring the property to its original condition. The estimated cost of the contract to do so is expected to be between $60,000 and $80,000 because of the difficulty of the work to be done according to County code; i.e. correct compaction of the backfill to assure that the front basement wall doesn’t cave in from the pressure; creating a new drainage system to replace the waterfall; etc. A lien would be placed on the title for the cost of the work. It would be very difficult, if not impossible for the owner to sell the property with such a large lien on the property. The property would remain an eyesore that would still need to be maintained.

2. We then discussed the option of giving the owner another opportunity to complete the garage according to the design that was approved by the Planning Board. The garage is planned to be made of prefabricated metal with soil and plants on the roof and a water fall on the side of the garage from rain catch basins around the house and circulating through the system. The owner appears to have sufficient funds to complete the garage at this time. The owner would be required to complete the work on the garage through a contract with a realistic schedule. We discussed requiring the owner to obtain a bond or surety, which may be very difficult for him to obtain because of his shortage of assets. If legal, another possibility would be for the County to hold a certain amount of the owner’s monetary assets, and release the assets to him to pay the contractor at each milestone in the contract.

The officials in DPIE wanted FWECA’s input before they proceed. Jay and I think that the second option is the better of the two options. If option 1 is chosen, the property will be much more of an eyesore than if the owner is given another opportunity to construct the garage; a large lien will be placed on the property making the property nearly impossible to sell; and the taxpayers will be paying for the restoration of the property to its original condition. Even if option 2 does not succeed, we will have lost only 6 months to a year, and then the county can proceed with option 1.

Status of the WSSC Queens Water Main Replacement Project

Dan Hamilton, the Construction Manager of the WSSC Pipeline Construction Division,

wrote that the contract has been awarded to J Fletcher Creamer, a construction contracting firm that does a significant amount of business with the WSSC. However, the WSSC is in the process of scheduling a preconstruction meeting for April 18th, during which they will secure more information regarding the contractor’s schedule. At this time, the WSSC anticipates that construction will begin during the middle of May, 2018. It will take approximately 2 years to complete construction of the Queens Water Main project.

Plans to improve safety on Indian Head Highway (Route 210)

The Indian Head Highway Speed Camera Bill HR 175 passed the Maryland Environment and Transportation Committee on March 19, 2018 as “favorable with amendments”. The Bill was then sent to the Maryland Senate. The Bill authorizes one speed camera for the southbound lanes of Indian Head Highway at the intersection of Indian Head Highway and Old Fort Road at this time.