11/26/07 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 26, 2007 and so forth. The people who are against this betray themselves in her view because they don't want people to know they own it. Their reasons for not being forward are all ones that show people that they don't want to be held accountable. She stated that when you own property the least a city or a community can do is know who owns it or who is responsible for it. The inner city neighborhoods have been plagued by careless owners who want to maximize their profits not all owners of properties are careless, but there are those that are. The simple thing of being registered and knowing who owns a property is a simple thing. She urged the Council to vote on this bill favorably. Ms. Maureen Boulton, 625 W. Colfax Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that this bill is something that will help both the City and the residents of neighborhoods. There is no legitimate reason for wanting to hide one's ownership. She stated that she lives in an area that is marred by vacant and derelict buildings and is completely in favor of any kind of legislation that helps the City move forward to allowing these things to be brought up to standard. Ms. Kay Blower, 1723 Kemble Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she has lived in the Rum Village Neighborhood for over fifty years, in a block that was warm, friendly, everyone respected each other. Now, she has three empty houses, two are boarded up. She advised that the house next door to her that was inhabited by good people, paying $700.00 a month rent and the landlord said that they couldn't afford paying the taxes and the mortgage payment with that monthly rent. The house went back to the bank and sold for foreclosure. The house was sold for peanuts, and soon after that the people that were renting were evicted. There was never a sign put up for sale or for rent. She stated that she believes that the home was not purchased for those intents, it sat empty, and then shortly after that the windows were broken out. Ms. Blower advised that she called Code Enforcement immediately and they worked very quickly and boarded up the windows. She stated that it took quite a long time to find out who owned the house. The owner is a corporation in California, making this an absentee landlord situation. Ms. Blower stated that this bill is very much needed in helping the various departments with another tool to help stop the vacant and abandoned home situation in the City. There was no one else present wishing to speak in favor of this bill. The following individual spoke in opposition to this bill. Ms. Karen Roush, South Bend/Mishawaka Board of Realtors, 1357 Northside Boulevard, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she has been a full time realtor since 1976, Past President of the South Bend/Mishawaka Board of Realtors, a current director, and President of the Multiple Listing Service, with an active membership of 850 people. She stated that she is not opposed to this ordinance totally just a few details in the ordinance. She advised that it is not the vacant houses that are the problem it is why the houses are vacant. Working together to correct real estate taxes in the area of modestly priced homes, then the investors, the owners, the tenants could be brought back. At this time the foreclosure rate is at an all time high, especially in the modestly priced homes. Landlords cannot raise their rents enough to compensate for high real estate taxes, tenants can't afford to pay the rents nor can homeowners who actually want to live in their own home afford those taxes. She stated that she has statistics that she can show the Council the values of these homes have sold for versus assessed value, that's a real problem. She noted that in addition to correcting the real estate taxes, enforcement of the recycling ordinance needs to be looked at so that thieves will think twice about stealing copper from these homes. By lowering the crimes rates in these neighborhoods the City can begin to bring homeownership back. The owner's of the abandoned and vacant home will not pay these fees only responsible owners will pay. It would be much more beneficial for South Bend to offer programs like they did in the mid 90's in the Monroe Park Area, that area all came back. She advised that if Code Enforcement would work a little bit more with everyone and understand that fines and tickets from 2001 have no bearing on the foreclosure company or the bank that just took back the home and has the responsibility of selling it. She stated that she has list of 501 homes in South Bend that are currently listed as vacant plus another estimated 300 that are vacant and not listed as such in the MLS System. This figure does not include any vacant home not for sale in the Multiple 9