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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK
<br /> some of the things that we need to work on. I think one (1) of the things is, like gentrification, if
<br /> you let an area decay and you let the crime set in, that land becomes very cheap for developers to
<br /> come in and take over. Some of the reasons that happens are, I went to a meeting, and there are
<br /> approximately 2,400 properties in tax sale right now that the County owns. What's happening is,
<br /> a lot of investors from outside South Bend are taking those and they're holding on to them hoping
<br /> that the owner will pay and they'll get a ten percent (10%) interest profit on it. When they don't,
<br /> they just let it go,they are not improving the property, they don't care about the neighbors. I think
<br /> something we need to look at is how we're doing our tax sales and how that's affecting people. I
<br /> did some studying, when a neighborhood becomes around twenty percent (20%) rentals, the
<br /> neighborhood is ok. When you get over twenty percent(20%)rentals,you start to have crime. You
<br /> have a lot of people who aren't invested in the neighborhood, because they aren't owners.
<br /> According to the last figure I heard from Tim Scott, fifty-four percent (54%) of South Bend is
<br /> rentals. So if you're renting a property, you're not a stakeholder like the owner. That's something
<br /> else we need to look at in terms of zoning. One (1) of the things that has contributed to this is the
<br /> Urban Village Planning Model, that doesn't include the neighborhoods as much as it should. You
<br /> were talking about people giving a deposit to a contractor, and the contractor taking off with it. It
<br /> might be a great thing to offer escrow accounts so the people getting the repair done could put the
<br /> money in the escrow, and when the work is done,they get paid. That's a thought to help the people
<br /> who are getting taken advantage of.
<br /> Nate Levin-Aspenson, 330 W. Colfax Avenue, stated, I am the chair of the Indivisible Indiana
<br /> District Two (2) Equality Committee, and we've taken an interest in looking at the issue of Code
<br /> Enforcement and the role it plays in the process of gentrification and displacing people from their
<br /> homes. I am so pleased to see the City and the Department of Code Enforcement starting to move
<br /> toward a different philosophy that is more service-oriented. While these things are the subject of
<br /> tonight's forum, we've worked on some suggestions that I would like to put for consideration of
<br /> what to do and what specific changes to make to Code Enforcement policy. There is a lot of
<br /> discretion, and it is a very useful tool, but without accountability, it can go very wrong. We
<br /> propose, for the 2019 budget period, which would be a good use of the newly proposed staff
<br /> member, to track the Code Enforcement penalties and citations that are levied during the 2019
<br /> period and specifically track the demographic information of the people you are levying those fines
<br /> against, desegregated by race and if possible, by income. Then, by the end of 2019, take a hard
<br /> look at whether or not these current practices disproportionately target our Black and our people
<br /> of color residents of South Bend. Then, make a real commitment to ask, if we do find that they
<br /> are, what changes can we make to have that discretion that's used, and what methods of
<br /> accountability are put in place to make sure that they are used and distributed justly. I think that
<br /> during that time, it would really behoove us to put a pause or a moratorium on the practice of
<br /> special assessments since there is so much possibility for people to lose their homes. I think if we
<br /> find out that we've used these policies and they have been applied disproportionately or unjustly,
<br /> and people have lost their homes because of it, that's not something we would want on our
<br /> conscience.
<br /> Marty Wolfson, 809 Park Avenue, stated, I want to thank Councilmember Williams-Preston for a
<br /> wonderful program. This has been very informative and I'm so delighted by the change in Code
<br /> Enforcement. I really applaud the new director for her empathetic and compassionate approach.
<br /> One(1)thing I think Regina said is crucial to all of this has to do with the racial and wealth divide
<br /> in South Bend. I think it's very important to talk about Code Enforcement and other issues relating
<br /> to this specific program of housing,but unless we realize that we need to address at the same time,
<br /> EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY 1 INNOVATION 1 INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT
<br /> 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov
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