Three years ago when running for the City Council, the No. 1 issue on people’s minds as I went door to door was the condition of housing and the visible decay of their neighborhoods.
On most every block, people had stories about once single-family homes turned into apartments or single-family homes that had long been vacant and the impact these happenings were having on their neighborhoods. I particularly recall an elderly woman on Academy Street, whose home was neatly kept and cared for amidst properties in chaos, say to me in tears, “You should have seen how it used to be.”
Neighborhood shifts where large single-family homes have converted to rentals have unfortunately generated blight, reduced overall property values, and disrupted the peace and prosperity of property owners who have stayed. The opinions from residents in neighborhoods throughout the city as I campaigned were consistent: The city government needs to do something about it. I agreed and made this issue the cornerstone of my platform.
Housing data are in unison with city residents’ perspectives. A significant majority of city of Watertown housing is renter-occupied. The U.S. Census projects that there are 12,562 housing units in the city, of which 7,575, or 60.3 percent, are rented.
Compounding the high number of rental units is the age of housing stock; 56 percent of structures in the city were built in 1939 or earlier, significantly higher than the statewide percentage of 33 percent. These and other associated factors have led to increases in unsafe housing, the potential for greater numbers of abandoned properties, increased crime and a visible decline in neighborhoods throughout the city.
So what exactly can be done about this issue? One suggestion has been to utilize state programming to solve our housing problems, such as one recently announced to address zombie properties. State programs are fine, and of course we should avail ourselves to opportunities for which we are eligible.
But when all is said and done, New York state is not going to solve the city of Watertown’s deeply rooted, broad-based housing structure and neighborhood problems. We will have to do that hard work ourselves.
The best approach is to replicate the protocol that many cities in the United States and New York state have already successfully adopted: proactive rental registration and inspection. Proactive rental registration and inspection is a legal, evidential strategy that has measurably improved housing safety. In addition, these programs have had the encouraging effect of stabilizing neighborhoods, property values and the tax base.
The city of Watertown maintains a code enforcement program that is complaint-based. Our code enforcement personnel respond to residential complaints about substandard housing conditions and, if the complaint is substantiated, begin enforcement proceedings.
A proactive rental registration and inspection program maintains an up-to-date database of where rental units are, who owns them and who is responsible for the property when the property owner lives out of the area. In addition, those who oversee these programs conduct periodic inspections to ensure structures and units are safe and habitable. Residents can still complain, but complaints are substantially reduced with proactive approaches.
I recently proposed such an approach in the form of a Local Law to the City Council. It requires registration of all rental properties. It requires designation of a managing agent for properties where the owners do not reside or do business in Jefferson County so that problems can be addressed expeditiously.
It delineates responsibilities and liability of tenants. It requires triennial inspections, but only for those properties not already inspected by another appropriate entity.
It ladders implementation to a) allow property owners and city staff to prepare; b) complete registration first, over a six-month period; and c) complete commencement of proactive inspections over a 25-month period. It changes the city’s complaint-based system to be proactive. Most importantly, this law increases productive communication between the city and property owners to improve public health, safety and welfare, which will positively impact community character, property values and overall quality of life.
Before the City Council can consider this Local Law, a public hearing must be held and is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 19, in council chambers. We are a renter city, replete with the opportunities and challenges associated with that status. And as such, the city of Watertown must determine its own course of action to address its property and neighborhood challenges.
I believe the best way to begin addressing these challenges is through proactive rental registration and inspection. I invite you to attend the hearing and voice your support.
Stephen A. Jennings, a health planner with the Jefferson County Public Health Service, was elected to the Watertown City Council in 2013.
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