02-06-19 Health and Public Safety

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Councilmembers Broden and Williams-Preston who are sponsors of the bill. Also, I would like to thank all the members of the community here to engage in dialogue about this. Many individuals who are here are individuals my team and I have met with previously but there are some new faces. We are eager to continue the discussion that has been focused around this proposal. So, this really has emerged from a variety of things including conversations with President Scott who has been a leader on rental housing issues, the Administration's focus and concern regarding lead poisoning which is more likely to affect low-income renters,a desire to improve Code Enforcement processes and then some targeted community engagement efforts that helped us pinpoint some issues around access to safe and affordable housing. The presentation we are making today (which is available in the City Clerk's Office)is a product of a group that included representation from a broad variety of City departments including Code, IT, the Economic Empowerment team, the Mayor's Office and the Fire Department as well as input from community partners that include renters, landlords, property owners, legal experts, community neighborhood organizations and service providers. She continued, To give you the outset, I would like to quickly overview rental housing in South Bend. I won't read every part of this(referencing the presentation)but there are about 16,000 rental housing units in South Bend. It is approximately forty percent (40%) of the housing in the City. That comes from Census records. We know that a large majority of that is considered aging housing stock. Committee Chair Broden interjected, Will your presentation be available? Ms. Fritzberg replied, Yes, the City Clerk's Office has it. She went on, So, 16,000 rental units,forty percent(40%)of the City,and it really varies depending on neighborhoods. We know that about seventy percent(70%)of our units were built before 1969. There was a qualitative engagement process that took place last year through a partnership with Results for America. That is a consultancy lead by the former Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter. We worked closely with some City team members who conducted a qualitative engagement exercise with service providers, banks, property management organizations, neighborhood organizations and CDCs on a range of issues. One (1) of the things that strongly emerged was a shared concern about access to decent and safe housing in South Bend. We know that is something that has been at the forefront of Council Members' minds but also borne out in deeper engagement with service providers and community members. She continued, We also know there is a really powerful link between housing and resident health. So,our records suggest that a significant portion of rental units in South Bend contain hazards that compromise safety and habitability. Those can be things that can be associated with chronic health issues such as mold or lead, or even acute dangers like fire safety. In particular, in South Bend there are issues with lead paint. It isn't necessarily the presence of lead paint itself as the problem, but the condition of the paint. When lead paint starts to chip, flake and deteriorate, that's when it can become respirable and can get into the bloodstream. I want to note, the proposal we bring today reflects deep engagement with health officials including Dr. Mark Fox, the Dean of the IU Med School and the Head of the St. Joseph County Health Department, the Lead Affinity Group which includes public health faculty and workers and then also the support of the Fire Department. EXCELLENCE j ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2