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Plan Commission Mitltes October 24, 1990 Page 2 . Plan Commission members had received a memorandum from Carol Lewis, the City's Code Enforcement Administrator, explaining the problems which have arisen in enforcing the removal of window bars at the time of ownership. First, ownership of property can be transferred without there being a housing inspection for occupancy. Secondly, when an inspection is scheduled for occupancy of a dwelling unit, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain if the property is being sold or rented. Finally, after an inspection has been completed, the Housing Department issues a certificate of compliance certifying that the property meets the minimum requirements of the code. If the certificate is issued on the assumption that the property was for rent, and then is sold within a few months without another inspection, the bars will remain on the windows. Mr. Goldman reiterated these points by stating that the city is not a party to the sales transaction and is not able to effectively enforce the requirement that window bars be removed at the time the ownership of a property changes. The Chairperson asked if any Commission members had questions regarding the proposal. Mr. Kendall asked if the proposed change would impose an inconvenience to property owners by taking away a privilege that had already been granted by the City. He was concerned that if the City had recently permitted placement of window bars on a certain property, only to require their removal before issuing another occupancy permit, the City might receive many angry complaints from property owners. He also felt that occupancy changes occurred more frequently than ownership changes. Mr. Goldman stated that complaints could and had come from owners who had received a list of violations after an inspection for rental, and therefore were not informed of the requirement that the bars be removed when they, in fact, were selling the property. Chairperson Kreishman asked if there was any practical way to inform property owners of this proposal should it be forwarded to the City Council. The Council does publish notice of public hearings for proposed code amendments. Mr. Foxworth asked if a building permit was required before putting bars on windows. Mr. Goldman replied that it had not been necessary to have a permit for this work in recent years. Mr. Foxworth and Mr. Kendall both stated that they opposed bars on windows because of the negative effect their presence had on a neighborhood and because of the potential safety hazard. Chair- person Kreishman believed that the proposed amendment would actually expedite the removal of window bars from homes. After further discussion, Mr. Foxworth moved that the Plan Commission recommend approval of the following text amendment thereby amending Section 34-52.4 (h) of the University City Zoning Code: Security bars and burglar bars shall not be installed on any window or doorway of any one- or two-family structure or any dwelling unit which constitutes a portion thereof,