Eureka landlords are calling the proposed rental housing ordinance a redundant and costly program that does not provide any protection for landlords.
Nearly filling the room, landlords voiced their concerns to the city council Tuesday night, while the council agreed to have the community's concerns addressed at a public forum next week.
The latest version of the ordinance is a complaint-driven program that aims to improve the city's rental housing conditions overall by enabling staff to better implement existing building, fire, zoning, nuisance, health and safety codes. The ordinance will draw on existing codes and plans on staffing fewer than two positions to coordinate and assist in the followup of code compliance. Councilman Larry Glass said he wanted to move the issue forward to a scheduled forum next Tuesday to allow the public to have their questions answered directly. The forum will be held at the Wharfinger Building and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The council agreed and also decided to send a copy of the draft ordinance to the Housing Advisory Board for review.
Landlords said the ordinance didn't provide any process to protect landlords from tenants who might abuse the compliant-driven ordinance. Additionally, they protested that they would be paying for extra inspections from the city.
Harley Smith, who said he has been in the rental property business for over 25 years, said the ordinance is redundant, seeing as how it draws on
existing codes. Smith said landlords already have to pay the fire department a fee for inspecting properties with three or more units. He said the added $35 per year the program costs, along with the high late fees, are an unnecessary burden.
Beverly Hart, a property manager through Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty, agreed.
”It's basically a funding mechanism, and in order to justify it you've added all these other things,” she said, adding that she will be bringing up her concerns and alternative to the program at the public forum next week.
Ann White, one of the few landlords to speak in favor of the program, said she thinks the ordinance can be very successful in getting rid of crime.
'It's overwhelming. I'm tired of having troubles with my properties,” she said, adding that her property values have gone down as well as the quality of life in her neighborhood. “I think this will be the beginning of turning Eureka away from being the slums.”
The ordinance was the most controversial topic of the night, with its discussion seeping into other agenda items.
Councilman Jeff Leonard asked Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen if the recent grant funding coming EPD's way could go towards an officer who can help coordinate the rental housing ordinance program.
Nielsen said he was reluctant to have EPD so closely tied to the program through funding.
”I might be somewhat reluctant to have the code enforcement person identify too closely with the police department because I think that might send the wrong message to the tenants and the landlords,” he said. “That's not to say that we didn't see that the police would play an integral role in this team effort. New officers could free up non-sworn staff who could help fill that role.”
The grant will designate $630,000 to the city through the Community Oriented Policing Hiring Recovery Program to hire additional officers, with the stipulation that the city has to retain all sworn officer positions awarded under the grant at least a year after the grant funding period is over. The council unanimously approved using the funding for the expansion of the Problem-Oriented Policing program.
Councilwoman Linda Atkins said she is glad to be able to expand the POP programs since budget constraints have not allowed the program to grow.
The POP program's philosophy is centered around having a group of officers who are not assigned to a particular district, but, instead, would collaborate with the community to target specific problems. Nielsen said he is confident that new staffing will be able to rejuvenate the program's goals.
”We really see us as kind of turning the corner with the program,” he said.
Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.
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