02-25-19 Health and Public Safety

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CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committee Chair Broden then gave the floor to the presenters. Substitute Bill No. 03-19- New Article 14 to Chapter 6 of the South Bend Municipal Code Rental Safety Verification Program Suzanna Fritzberg, Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director to the Mayor of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, stated, I will quickly introduce the other folks that will be playing a formal role in this presentation. Tracy Skibins is the Director of Code Enforcement, Jaimie Morgan is a Project Manager in the Office of the Mayor, Marlaina Johns is the Deputy Director of Code Enforcement, Tom Panowicz is a City Attorney and Jim Wood is the Chief Inspector for Code Enforcement. I know we've had the opportunity to discuss this program in meetings already, so I will narrow in on three (3) things I would like to focus on in this presentation. Although, certainly, I invite you to ask questions on any facet you would like clarification on. First (1st), I want to give a reminder of why we are looking at this policy. We know our existing complaint-based system does not help vulnerable tenants, and we also know we have a public health crisis with regard to lead poisoning in South Bend. I then want to make sure you have before you a more thoroughly explained implementation plan which reflects changes made in response to community feedback. Finally, I want to clearly explain the additional amendments we are proposing in response to community feedback. She continued, So, to begin, we know rentals account for about forty percent(40%)of housing in the City. We also know that access to safe and affordable rental housing is consistently cited as an issue that residents face and is something that is a top priority for a number of our service providers. Our proposal today is grounded in the goal of improving the safety of rental housing in South Bend, particularly for families with children, by verifying the compliance with existing safety standards through proactive inspection. I want to highlight for you that we know there has been a lot of research in recent decades demonstrating the links between housing safety and resident health. We know this involved both lead and mold issues that are related to chronic public health conditions, but there are also acute dangers like fire safety. We have in attendance Fire Chief Steven Cox and Fire Marshall Rodriguez. We consulted with them on the design of this program. As well, we have endorsements from the Board of Health and the Lead Affinity Group which include public health faculty and workers. With specific regard to lead, and as Council is aware, we have a growing tool kit that involves expanding access to testing.We partnered with the schools to do that. An early alert system can prompt providers to test children in their care. As of two (2) months ago, we won almost $3 million in State and Federal funding for lead control and remediation. But, what we don't have is an effective way to make sure that those that are statistically at the highest risk of lead poisoning,low-income children, aren't living in housing that permanently damages their health,mental capacity and future earnings. She went on, For those that have engaged in public service in South Bend for a number of years, we know attention has waxed and wained from time to time in the news. But even if we receive the maximum Federal HUD grant, every cycle, for the next hundred years, we still would not be able to get rid of lead paint in South Bend and we wouldn't be able to get rid of lead poisoning. So,while we work to expand testing and home repair services,we also need to consider regulatory intervention to ensure that existing safety standards, safety standards that are already in the law, are upheld. We know, based on examples from other places such as Rochester, New York and Baltimore, Maryland, rental inspections can be a key tool in reducing child lead poisoning. You will hear at the evening meeting from the Director of the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building',227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 466011p 574.235.9221,f 574.235.9173 110574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2