[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Southington
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 9-24-2018]
A.
This article is not intended to penalize victims of certain crimes
or activities nor become a revenue producer for the city.
B.
The Town of Southington by the adoption of this article will create
the ability to track and identify nuisance properties which experience
verified excessive responses to a specific location. This article
will provide motivation for the property owners to actively participate
in solving the problems on their property.
C.
Excessive responses are a drain on personnel and resources often
leaving other areas of the Town without adequate levels of protection
and service, which creates a hazard to the public, requires resources
over and above the level of services normally provided and constitutes
a public nuisance, the costs for which should be paid by the responsible
person and/or property owner.
D.
This article applies to all properties and building configurations,
except those actually under the control of the Town of Southington
and including rental dwelling units whether or not owner-occupied.
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall
apply:
The following response examples but not limited to, are exempt
under this article and cannot be considered or used when looking at
a property for compliance under this article:
A crime in progress in which the safety of person(s) are at
risk.
Any state or federal mandated reporting situations, which is
out of the reporting person's control.
Motor vehicle accidents.
Domestic violence, family disputes or a person being on or near
the premises in violation of a protective order.
A medical emergency.
An incident or arrest for violation of trespass or an arrest
by warrant.
Follow-up investigations for an existing response call shall
not count towards determining excessive responses for the given fiscal
year.
The response had nothing to do with the property in question
other than being on the street in the area of the property.
The violation cost equal to the maximum amount as allowed
by State of Connecticut law under G.S. § 7-148(c)(10).
July 1 through June 30 of each year.
The property is not inhabited by the owner of record.
The owner of record.
Is the person or persons who are in charge of the premises
or who organized the party. If the responsible person is a minor,
then the minor's parents or guardians will jointly and individually
be liable for the costs.
A response by the police department, fire department or other
Town department to a particular address, and that response is used
as evidence to support the determination of a property in violation
status.
As used in this section means and includes any verified response
and shall be limited in its application to the property owner or responsible
person.
A.
The review period for excessive response shall be the fiscal year
of the Town of Southington, and the period shall reset to zero at
the start of each fiscal year.
B.
Any dwelling or building configuration that has over 25 verified
excessive responses in a fiscal year shall be in violation of this
article.
C.
Any subsequent response to any location within the Town of Southington
during the same day will count as another response call to determine
excessive responses for the given fiscal year.
A.
The administrative services section of the Southington Police Department
will review on the first of each month the number of police and fire
responses to properties for the current fiscal year.
B.
When a property reaches 20 verified responses the administrative
services section will meet with the property owner and/or the responsible
person. This meeting will be proactive and will attempt to assist
the property owners in reducing the number of verified responses,
so the enforcement action threshold is not reached.
(1)
The meeting will be strictly voluntary on the part of the property
owner or responsible person and is not a requirement of this article.
C.
When a property exceeds the 25 allowable verified responses for the
fiscal year a review of these responses will be completed by the administrative
services section of the Southington Police Department.
D.
If the review verifies excessive responses have occurred at the property,
notification will be sent to the Town Manager advising there is a
property in violation of this article. If the responses are not verified,
and the property is not in violation, no notification is required,
and the monthly review process will continue.
When a property has been identified by the administrative services
section of the Southington Police Department as a verified excessive
response property the following process will occur:
A.
Written notification to the property owner and/or responsible person
advising them of the violation status.
B.
A meeting shall be set up within one week of notification to discuss
the violation status and allow for the property owner and/or responsible
person to present any information or evidence to mitigate their violation
status to the Police Department.
C.
A report shall be submitted to the Town Manager for review and final status determination no later than 30 days after the meeting in § 326-5B.
D.
Once the final status has been assigned the property owner, or responsible
person, shall be given notice of violation.
(1)
The notice of violation shall state: "As a result of the verified
excessive call responses by the Town of Southington personnel to your
property or for which you are responsible during fiscal year (list
the year), you are receiving the below-listed fine for excessive use
of Town services."
(2)
The notice may also contain such other information as deemed necessary
by the Town to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(3)
Any further verified responses after the issuance of this notice, you will be charged for the cost of these responses, as determined by the Town of Southington/Southington Police Department and excluding any exemptions listed in the definition of "exemptions under the excessive emergency services response ordinance" in § 326-2.
The Southington Police Department, administrative services section,
shall forward all reports to the Town Manager who will then forward
the reports to the Town Council no later than three days after the
notice of violation has been issued.
Any person aggrieved by the final decision of verified excessive responses may file an appeal with the Southington Town Council by sending a letter requesting an appeal review. The letter must be received at the Town Manager's office within 10 business days after the notice of violation has been given to the property owner or responsible person as noted in § 326-5D(1) through (c). The Town Council will be the final decision-making authority for the Town of Southington in regard to verified excessive responses.
The Administrative services section of the Southington Police
Department shall keep records of responses to each property from the
records of the Town of Southington Police Department. The administrative
services section shall determine the verified responses and any additional
research needed.
A.
When a property exceeds the 25 allowable verified responses, any
and all subsequent verified responses for the current fiscal year
shall generate a fine to the property owner, or the responsible person.
The fine will be the maximum amount as allowed by State of Connecticut
law, under G.S. § 7-148(c)(10).
