10-28-13 Common Council Agenda & Packet

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Quality Housing • The Indiana Good Samaritan Law: The name is a slight misnomer as the Good Samaritan Law generally refers to the limitations of liability for people who help strangers in the case of medical emergency, but in this case refers to IC 34- 30 -26 -5 which allows a person to do the following to a vacant or abandoned property: secure the property; remove trash or debris from the property; landscape, maintain, or mow the grounds; or, remove and paint over graffiti. • The South Bend Chronic Nuisance Ordinance was passed in June 2013 and will be effective October 15, 2013. It is designed to reduce the number of chronic nuisance properties in the community by imposing fines for excessive police calls, citations, and verified complaints against a property. • Census tracts are a geographic level in which the US Census Bureau releases data from the Decennial Census and the American Communities Survey. Census Tract 6 includes the area southwest of Portage Avenue, north of Lincoln Way West, and east of the former railroad right -of -way. • With the release of the Vacant and Abandoned Properties Task Force Report, Mayor Buttigieg announced the 1,000 Homes in 1,000 Days initiative to impact 1,000 homes within three years through demolition or rehabilitation. • Real Estate Investors' Association -North Central Indiana (REIA) was organized in order to protect the rights of investment property owners, to network and share information. The organization includes not just landlords, but also rehabbers, wholesalers, commercial real estate investors, contractors, vendors, and service providers who cater to the real estate investing industry. • Real Services has the responsibility of planning, developing, implementing and administering a network of services that are of high standards, are known, available and used by older adults and low income households in north central Indiana (Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaPorte, Marshall and St Joseph Counties). The ultimate objective of REAL Services is to assist in establishing a community in which those we serve can maintain their independence to the maximum degree possible and find meaning and satisfaction throughout their lives. • The South Bend Home Improvement Program ( SBHIP) provides assistance for home repairs based on the following order of priority: • Unsafe or hazardous conditions, including roof, electric, plumbing, heating, structural, and lead based paint • Handicapped accessible items • Gutters, doors, and windows The SBHIP is available to an applicant one time only and to a home one time only. Applications are screened on a first come, first served basis. Each deeded owner must sign the SBHIP application and pay the $5.00 fee. Once the completed application is received, the file is forwarded to the Program Processor for review.