Mayor's Code Enforcement Committee Meeting - July 13, 2026
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Mayor's Code Enforcement Committee Meeting - July 13, 2026
The Mayor's Code Enforcement Committee met on July 13, 2026, at 9:01 AM. The meeting covered approval of prior minutes, public comments regarding a neighbor dispute involving a fire pit, updates on litigation at 455 and 465 Middlefield Street, and progress on cannabis ordinances targeting unlicensed sales.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes (May 14, 2026): Moved by Teneal, seconded by Dean. Approved unanimously at 9:03 AM.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jim Reeve (237 Barbara Road, father of Christopher Reeve) addressed the committee, stating that the neighbor at 66 Nathan Hill Road is burning in a fire pit without cooking, and that there are unresolved issues regarding a fence, building permits, and general disregard for ordinances. He urged action.
Discussion Items
- Fire Pit Ordinance: The committee discussed a complaint from Christopher Reeve about a neighbor's fire pit near the property line. The City Fire Marshal had previously deemed the fire pit acceptable if actively used for cooking, but the city ordinance prohibits open burning except for recreational fires with clean wood. Fire marshals noted that recreational burns are allowed by state code but city ordinance restricts open burning. The committee agreed to have the fire marshal group review whether ordinance revisions are needed. Additionally, Land Use Manager Tom will visit the property to assess a shed structure and fence issues.
- 455 and 465 Middlefield Street: Litigation ongoing. Plaintiff filed brief; city's brief due end of July. No new complaints or changes observed. No hearing date set; argument expected late summer/early September.
- Cannabis Ordinances: The city is developing two related ordinances. One aims to ban public cannabis smoking (pending revisions after council feedback); the other will allow legal action against landlords renting to unlicensed cannabis sellers. Police reported that a location on Washington Street (Sam's) was hit twice by narcotics unit and is now shutting down, vacating the premises.
Key Outcomes
- Fire Pit Ordinance: Committee directed the fire marshal group to review the ordinance and report back. No formal vote taken.
- Middlefield Street: No new action; litigation continues.
- Cannabis Enforcement: Update noted; council needs to pass enabling ordinance. Enforcement expected within 1–2 months.
- Adjournment: Moved and seconded; adjourned at 9:18 AM.
Meeting Transcript
All right, we are now recording. Good morning, everybody. I'm calling this morning's meeting of the mayor's code enforcement committee to order at 9 01 a.m. Um before we get started. I see someone here who's just name is Jim. Um could that person just please identify themselves just so I can have your name for the minutes? All right, Jim, if you can hear me, um, if you can just let us know, you can drop your name in the chat, um, name and address uh. I just need a first and last name and an address. That's all for our for our minutes. Uh you're you're muted, you're muted. Right, unfortunately, you are still muted. Um I've sent you a request on mute, but if you can just drop your name, whatever in the chat, that might be the easiest way. Um sorry if you can't unmute yourself. Yeah. Um okay. Um so the first item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes of our last meeting on May 14th. Um, do I have a motion for approval of the minutes? All right, Teneal, thank you. Do I have a second? Dean, thank you. Um discussion on the motion. Anything that needs to be amended in the minutes, anything from last time. All right, seeing none, I'm going to put this to a vote. All in favor of approving the minutes for the May 14th, 2026 regular meeting. Please unmute yourselves and so signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? All right. The motion is passed at 9 03 a.m. All right. The next um item is public session. Um this is for any items that are on the agenda for members of the public to speak. Um, Jim, if we can if you can when you figure out how to unmute, I'll give you some. We can come back to that and if you have anything you want to talk about. Um, so moving on, new business. All right, so our office and the police department, the fire department, the mayor's office, and I think land use. Um received a series of emails from an individual named Christopher Reeve, uh, who lives at 237 Barbara Road. Um apparently there is a neighbor dispute um with between Mr. Reeve and his neighbor at 66 Nathan Hill Road. Um, a lot of stuff is going on, but the one one big thing that that he has raised, at least to our office, is the fact that their neighbor is um using a fire pit um really close to the property line. Right. Uh Mr. Reef feels like it's too close and it's could damage his property and things like that. Um he's reached out to the fire chief and um the fire marshal, the city fire marshal, who's who's gone and inspected and been in communication with him. Um, but one of the things he asked was we currently have a an uh what is it in uh an ordinance for open flames and open burnings and things like that. In certain circumstances, you have to get a permit from the fire department. This ordinance does specifically does not um deal with fire pits, just because so many people have fire pits and things like that. Um I do know that with fire pit burning and things like that, um, there are recommendations that the state has. And I do know that this issue came up about 2021.
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