The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About27. 19-93 FEBRUARY 12, 2019 19-93 RESOLUTION (CARRIED 5-0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: APPROVE UPDATE TO RENTAL HOUSING INSPECTION PROGRAM DISTRICT MAP AND FEE SCHEDULE INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION RENTAL HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD RECOMMENDATION: Approved WHEREAS, the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh approved creating a Residential Contact Registration and Inspection Program on September 13, 2016; and WHEREAS, the City suspended the program in 2018 so the Rental Housing Advisory Board could study the new State law and program; and WHEREAS, State law requires the City to not charge for rental inspection fees (see attached) until code violations remain uncorrected after two inspections and 30-days to correct the code violations; and WHEREAS, State law allows the City to select neighborhoods or districts in which the rental inspection program would be performed. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the "Residential Rental Inspection Fee Schedule", is hereby amended, per the attached, effective March 1, 2019. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the attached updated 5-Year Residential Rental Inspection Map is hereby approved effective March 1, 2019. RESIDENTIAL RENTAL INSPECTION .... kid •... Inspections No Violations All Violations NOT Corrected Violations within 30 Days Corrected within 30 Days Initial Inspection $0 I" Reinspection $0 $90+$150= $240 (Occupied Unit) $75+$150= $225 (Vacant Unit) 2nd Reinspection and $150 subsequent inspections TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Allen Davis, Community Development Director DATE: February 5, 2019 RE: Approve Update to Rental Housing Inspection Program District Map and Fee Schedule BACKGROUND The City of Oshkosh established a Residential Rental Contact Registration and Inspection Program in 2016 and began implementation in 2017. Due to changes to State law, the City suspended the program in 2018 so that the Rental Housing Advisory Board (RHAB) could study the new State law and the program. In the summer and fall of 2018, the RHAB met several times to review the results of the original program, the alternatives available to the city with the new State law, and listen to citizens regarding their concerns regarding rental housing inspections. The updated Ordinance and accompanying resolution are the result of their work. The updated Ordinance was the first of three elements that the Council would approve for the Residential Rental Registration and Inspection Program. The Ordinance identified the program parameters and much of the program parameters are staying the same as was originally adopted. The district mapping and updated fee schedule now come before Council to implement the new Ordinance as a Resolution. ANALYSIS The most significant changes to the program are in the geographic areas in which the inspections would be performed and the fees that would be charged for the rental housing inspections, and the inclusion of complaint -based inspections are changes based on changes to State law. • District Map - The new State law allows the City to select neighborhoods or districts in which the residential rental inspections would be performed. The City's interpretation of earlier State law was that the program had to be applied throughout the City. The new State Statute allows the Council to select the district(s) in which the rental housing inspections would be performed. The Rental City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1 130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us Housing Advisory Board (RHAB) asked City staff to tailor a geographic analysis of the City to help select the district(s) best suited for inspections. The RHAB selected the following criteria for mapping purposes: Locations of Crimes against Property and People (OPD), Code Enforcement violations (Building Inspection), Foreclosures (Assessor), and Housing Condition, Desirability and Usefulness (Assessor). The attached map identifies the new districts and the aggregated data for all criteria for each block. • Fees — The new State law requires the City to not charge the property owner for the inspection until code violations remain uncorrected after two inspections and 30 -days to correct the code violations. The proposed fees charged to the property owner are in compliance with State law. • Complaint -based Inspections - Another element of the State law change that the City could now enforce is some complaint -driven inspections could be added to the inspection program. Currently, complaint -driven inspections are handled outside the rental housing inspection program. State law now allows a complaint —based inspection to draw the property into annual inspections if the original code violations are not corrected within 30 days. The property would not have to be located in a City -selected district. The property would need to pass two subsequent annual inspections before being dropped from the rental housing inspection program. Most of the other elements of the City's program stay the same: Staff would continue to send letters to tenants requesting a voluntary inspection, and tenants must provide permission to the City inspectors. Any code violations would need to be corrected by the owner. The City would continue to use a 5 -year cycle for all the districts in the City and use the same checklist for the interior and exterior inspections. The only significant change to the inspections would be the end to exterior -only inspections. The City would end the exterior -only inspection and rely on tenant approval or complaints to initiate exterior rental housing inspections. FISCAL IMPACT The fees charged to property owners that supported the program in the past were reduced by the new State law. Owners cannot be charged inspection fees until they have failed both a first and second inspection. Since history indicates that scenario is unlikely to occur, the City has budgeted $25,000 for 2019 out of general purpose revenues to support the costs of the inspection program — registration, clerical, printing, mailings, and inspector time. Staff will not exceed the $25,000 budget in 2019. Since it is a 5 -year program cycle, at least one-fifth of the known rental units in the adopted districts will receive letters from the City. The early results of the 2019 efforts will be available in the fall of 2019 to better gauge the budget needs for 2020 and the future. City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1 130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us RECOMMENDATION The City Council approves the proposed Update to the Rental Housing Inspection Program - District Map and Fee Schedule. Submitted, Allen Davis Community Development Director Approved: c J Mark A. Rohloff City Manager City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5000 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us F��n}al Ht)UiJnq- III:—Jp inn U1-:;irit:iz The City of Oshkosh creates and maintains GIS maps and data for its own use. They may show the approximate relative location of property, boundaries and other feature from a variety of sources. These map(s)Idatasets are provided for information purposes only and may not be sufficient or appropriate for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. They are provided "AS -IS" without warranties of any kind and the City of Oshkosh assumes no liability for use or misuse. N 1 in=0.38 mi 1 in = 2,000 ft Printing Date: 2/5/2019 Prepared by: City of Oshkosh, WI Cityof Oshkosh m: jennwrc map rro)ects\Kental_mspectlon_rrogramw,ct sl t inspection Areas.mxa User, jeffn