by Graham Sturgeon, co-editor
The Durand City Council approved a Municipal Civil Infraction Ordinance during its March 5 meeting. As of Tuesday, March 20, many of the misdemeanors described in the Durand Code of Ordinances – excluding ordinances regarding “Nuisance” and “Noise” offenses – will be changed to civil infractions. As a result, the penalty process for misdemeanor offenses will be replaced by a fee schedule. The council will determine the fee schedule annually, though City Manager Colleen O’Toole expects civil infraction fees to be lower than those associated with misdemeanor convictions.
City officials hope the ordinance will “streamline our code enforcement efforts, reduce the administrative burden on police staff and decriminalize certain nominal infractions.” The council held its first reading of the Municipal Civil Infraction Ordinance in February, with the second reading and public hearing taking place on March 5, prior to approval. It was initially suggested by several council members that the ordinance regarding “Junk Vehicles” should remain a misdemeanor, but Chief Jason Hartz expressed that the police department felt strongly that the current regulations were not achieving the desired outcome of actually reducing the number of junk vehicles in the community.
The Durand Code of Ordinances can be viewed in its entirety at www.durandmi.com. The ordinances that will be affected by the Municipal Civil Infraction Ordinance on March 20 include:
• Chapter 10 – Animals
• Chapter 14, Article 1 – Rental Ordinance
• Chapter 14, Section 14-601 – International Property Code
• Chapter 18, Article 8 – Solicitation Ordinance
• Chapter 34, Article 2 – Soil & Erosion
• Chapter 34, Article 3 – Junk Vehicles
• Chapter 38, Article 1 – Fire Hydrant Obstruction, Fireworks, Burning; Fire Inspections
• Chapter 58, Article 2, Division 1 – Garbage, Rubbish and Littering
• Chapter 66, Article 2 – Building Numbering
• Chapter 66, Article 3 – Curb Cuts
• Chapter 78, Article 1 – Building Code
• Chapter 78, Article 2 – Discharge of Rainwater onto Streets, Sanitary and Storm Sewer
• Chapter 78, Article 3 – Water Connection, Hydrant Use, Tampering With Equipment
• Chapter 78, Article 4, Division 4 – Sewer Connections
• Chapter 78, Article 4, Division 5 – Prohibited Discharge into Storm Sewer System
