Housing Law
Of those of you reading these words, how many of you believe that our total governing body… the mayor, the council, along with the most over paid city employee – the administrator – are incompetent conspirators, self-serving individuals who constitute the absolute worst elected officials in the last 100 hundred years that served the same purpose?
Bookmeyer’s first agenda was to close down the HR department… it took awhile but he got it done. Along the way he tried to bring an unproven burning facility into this community but failed, thanks to the efforts of a small cadre of dedicated citizens who refused to give up. Then perhaps either spurned on by Hickey, or massaging Hickey into believing it was his idea, he took on the Sanitation Department, a city department that runs smoothly and efficiently and supports 11 families through its payroll. Made no difference to Eric and those around the council table who feel immune to any form of compassion. These people were ready to drop the axe on these families. Then there was the Fire Department… their head was on the block. Again these malcontents wanted to meddle into a department that functions quite well. These aforementioned people remind me of a pack of cadaver dogs running loose looking for despair where it does not exist.
Now these rabid dogs have turned their focus towards local housing. Watch out! One of the measures that have stood out was a liability issue that referred to holding the landlord liable for anything that might happen within a 1500 foot radius of the leased property. Really? Does this mean if there is a domestic disturbance at the house that is leased and the wife runs out the door and her husband pursues her… tackles and strangles her to death 1400 feet from the dwelling… could the landlord then be charged as an accomplice? Let me tell you something….there well could be a definite need in this area, especially when it comes to drugs. I believe there is… or was a law the if it could be proven that you as the landlord knew that drugs were implicated in the dwelling in question… and you knew it and did not evict, the Drug Task Force could confiscate the property. Then sell it and use the proceeds to fight drugs…. now that’s a good law. My thoughts are that this is a witch hunt for the most part, originated by someone with too much time on their hands.
Then there is the 1500 foot law; it resembles the business plan at NIACC which had no beginning and no ending…. yet the city went for it. And there is a double taxation issue here as well. The services of the local Police Department is covered in your property tax… but now Arnold wants you to pay twice. The question is, can they enforce it? The bottom line here is that this train wreck mirrors the intellect of the person who introduced it and the council from hell who will make it happen.
There is a need to examine our local housing laws, that is something that needs a close review every one or two years…..but also included in that mix should be owner occupied homes as well. It isn’t just rental property that becomes run down…all dwellings suffer from neglect, and owner occupied housing is not immune from that and that neglect can just as easily contribute to depressing home values as rental properties.
There are scores of owner homes in this town that need a close look….and remember; what goes for one, goes for all. There will be no free passes with this law if it passes, so get ready to spend a lot of time and money in court.
Peter Children
Re: “unproven burn facility”, it was killed by the landfill board who saw nothing in it for them and the communities they represent, not a small group of “dedicated” citizens. These citizens came by seeking support and it did not take too long to determine they were very short on facts.
Re: “dropping axe on sanitation department”, this failed as only one bid was received and it did not provide any savings so the right decision was to keep the department intact.
As to the 1500 foot law – there is no way I think this part will survive. As to getting landlords to up the quality of the tenants they will permit to occupy there are all sorts of pitfalls for them if not done right. I understand the impulse by police and others to not permit well defined criminals to occupy – but this will be a mine field.
Getting someone to clean/fix up their home that they are allowing to fall into disrepair will be difficult, far more difficult than requiring a landlord to meet some sort of standard in order to get a rental license. This will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Hey Peter-Good Article. It is something to think about. On the surface I am kind of for the rent housing law. Not necessarily the 1500 foot part of it which I think is pretty excessive. How can you hold a landlord responsible for something that happens 3 blocks away? However, something needs to be done about the repeat offenders who so far are immune to the law. This is a start but there is nothing wrong with adjusting it if needed.
This isn’t a law that is applicable only to rental houses. It’s applicable to any property.
@Anonymous-I think you may be correct. I know it pertains to the bars and that is part of the problem. If a bar owner throws out a drunk and he goes down the street 2 1/2 blocks and assaults someone I really don’t know how you could blame the bar owner. That is what could happen as I understand it. It would be OK with me if they were able to apply this to private homes as well. There is a house by a convenience store where last Saturday there was a big bunch of people being rowdy and acting up calling people names and it wasn’t the first time it had happened. There was a big fight there about a year ago and a guy was stabbed. That type of thing could maybe be stopped.