In reading the first of two ordinances critical to the proposed Rental Inspection program, I see nothing in the proposed “Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement” ordinance (start on p. 10) that limits it to rental properties. No property owner would be safe from being called a chronic nuisance and summoned to a legal proceeding at City … Continue reading City Watcher Thought #2 on Friday the 13th: Rental Inspection Program
It’s registration without tons of new staff or inspection ordinances of dubious constitutionality. Right now, the only thing between the city and a new landlord registry is the right software, said Paul Arena, president of the Rockford Apartment Association. The property managers want the database to link to the city’s police and code enforcement reporting … Continue reading Rockford Working Its Way to Landlord Registration Program
DeKalb city staff want to hire five people and buy four vehicles in their quest to a) ignore recommendations of the Safe/Quality Housing Task Force and b) implement the rental housing licensing and inspection program they’ve wanted all along. According to the agenda backup, start-up costs would come to $135,000 and the annual outlay would … Continue reading Special Meeting Tonight on Proposed Rental Inspection Staffing
The Daily Chronicle lays out today the arguments for and against licensing and inspection of rental properties. There are four proposed laws before the council, but it’s the issue of licensing that has garnered the most attention and debate from aldermen, city officials, and landlords. City Manager Mark Biernacki has previously described it as being … Continue reading Licensing & Inspection Program Could Help Turn a TIF Blueprint into Reality
DeKalb’s city council will hold a special workshop meeting August 22, 6 p.m. in council chambers, to discuss proposals related to the work of the Safe/Quality Housing Task Force. The agenda and backup materials (a 109-page PDF) are here. If you’ve been following the work of the task force, especially lately, you know that its … Continue reading Rental Association Positions on Proposed Housing Ordinances
Once upon a time (2008, actually) the City of DeKalb contemplated a massive licensing and inspection plan for rental properties (PDF pp. 15-32) called the Rental Inspection Program, or RIP. The proposed fee schedule for the RIP (PDF pp. 19-20) began at $78 for a building of 1-5 rental units for annual licensing and inspection. … Continue reading RIP Without the Inspections
From a comment made yesterday: I had a nightmare that the rental inspection fee made a come back in the summer of 2009, after most of the NIU students left. I don’t know what the city might be cooking up, but a new rental inspection law, HB3857, is making its way through the Illinois General … Continue reading Rental Housing Nuisance Act
Surprise! The City of DeKalb has been paying the “proposed” Rental Inspection Program Manager for the better part of a year now: According to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, filed by DeKalb County Online, the City hired an independent contractor, retired DeKalb Police Lt. James Kayes, to perform the duties … Continue reading DeKalb County Online: Rental Inspection Manager Hired Last Year
DeKalb city manager Anne Marie Gaura has pulled some police and fire department personnel under the umbrella of DeKalb’s Community Development Department, following private consultation with selected persons but no public discussion. Staff employed in the PD’s Crime Free Housing Bureau, and the FD’s Fire Prevention Lieutenant (FPL), will now report to a Chief Building … Continue reading Gaura made significant changes to DeKalb’s administrative organization without public discussion
The DeKalb Area Rental Association (DARA) formed last summer has recently launched its website, called daranow.com. It’s probably safe to say it’s not a coincidence in timing that DARA was conceived just a few months after the mayor first appointed his Safe/Quality Housing Task Force, and easy to see DARA’s formation at least partly as … Continue reading Hello DARA
