Boston Municipal Code § 9-13.1 Establishing a Problem Properties Task Force.
9-13.1 Establishing a Problem Properties Task Force.
There is hereby established in the Mayor’s Office an advisory panel to be known as the Problem Properties Task Force, the members of which shall meet and share information concerning various properties in the city as more fully outlined herein. The panel shall advise the Mayor, or his or her designee, of the actions taken by various City Departments and public Agencies to address problems associated with such property and each member of the panel may use the information about such property in order to better enforce the laws, ordinances, codes or regulations that fall within such member’s jurisdiction.
(A) The Task Force shall be chaired by a member of the Mayor’s staff who shall have the full confidence of the Mayor, and shall be housed in a Department of the Mayor’s Office as the Mayor shall, from time to time, designate.
(B) Members of the Task Force shall be:
(1) The Police Commissioner;
(2) The Fire Commissioner;
(3) The Commissioner of Inspectional Services;
(4) Director of the Office of Neighborhood Services;
(5) Director of Neighborhood Develop- ment;
(6) The Chief Administrator of the Boston Housing Authority;
(7) The Chief of the Fair Housing Division;
(8) The Commissioner of Public Health;
(9) The Collector-Treasurer;
(10) The Director of the Air Pollution Control; and
(11) Commission The Corporation Counsel
(C) The Task Force shall have regular monthly meetings in City Hall and may meet at other locations in the city. Emergency meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair.
(D) Upon the effective date of this Section, each member of the Task Force shall make a diligent search of the records of his or her Department and gather all records of multiple calls from the public concerning specific addresses in the last 12-month period. Such records shall be forwarded to the Chair, or his or her designee, who shall establish master files for each address forwarded containing all records concerning that address. Such files may be kept in electronic form. Notwithstanding the forgoing, the Police Commissioner shall not forward any record that is part of a criminal investigation.
(E) A PROBLEM PROPERTY shall be defined as:
(1) Any property to which the Boston Police Department has been dispatched or caused to respond not fewer than four times within the preceding 12-month period for any incident involving any criminal offense including, but not limited to, disturbing the peace, trespassing, underage drinking or assault or violation of any city ordinance involving unreasonable or excessive noise;
(2) Any property concerning which the Air Pollution Control Commission has received not fewer than four complaints for noise within the preceding 12-month period;
(3) Any property that the Inspectional Services Department or the Public Health Commission has received not fewer than four complaints within the preceding 12-month period for noxious, noisome or unsanitary conditions; or
(4) The Boston Fire Department has received not fewer than four sustained complaints within the preceding 12-month period for dangerous and hazardous conditions. Provided, however, that the designation of a property as a problem property shall be made by the Chair taking into consideration the nature of the complaints, the number of dwelling units at the property and the nature of the property.
(F) Upon review of each file, the members of the Task Force may determine that a particular property warrants heightened scrutiny by the Agency or Agencies that they head.
(1) In the case of properties in or around which recurring criminal activity has occurred in the preceding 12 months, the Boston Police Commissioner shall consider the appropriate Police action to protect the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the property and the public and all other enforcement actions permitted by law.
(2) In the case of properties which have had multiple building and/or sanitary code violations in the preceding 12 months, the Inspectional Services Commissioner and the Executive Director of the Public Health Commission shall, as appropriate, consider whether to expedite code enforcement proceedings and all other enforcement actions permitted by law.
(3) In the case of properties which have had recurring violations of noise regulations in the preceding 12 months, the Executive Director of the Air Pollution Control Commission shall coordinate with the Law Department to institute proceedings for injunctive relief.
(4) In the case of properties which have had multiple fire code violations in the preceding 12 months, the Fire Department Commissioner shall, as appropriate, consider any action necessary to protect the public from all dangerous and hazardous conditions and other enforcement actions permitted by law.
(5) Properties that meet the definition of a problem property set forth in division (E) above are subject to designation as “problem properties”.
(G) The Chair of the Task Force shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by ordinance, including notifying a property owner of the designation of his or her property as a problem property, and notifying a property owner of the intention to impose charges to recover the cost of public safety expenses related to that property.
(H) The Corporation Counsel shall commence foreclosure proceedings for any such property described above in division (F) above which has delinquent real estate taxes.
(I) The Chair of the Task Force shall issue a quarterly report to the Mayor and Boston City Council on the actions undertaken by the Agencies represented by its members on problem properties.
(CBC 1985 9-13.1; Ord. 2013 c. 8)