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REGULAR MEETING February 25, 2019
<br /> asbestos testing, OSHA courses, construction, and lead awareness. We've also identified a few
<br /> houses in South Bend where the inspectors have gone through, together, to look for these
<br /> violations, lead by our Chief Inspector Jim Wood. Jim received his certification through the
<br /> International Property Maintenance and Housing Course. All of our inspectors that do the housing
<br /> program will also be certified by the end of the year. The inspectors have tenant cultural
<br /> competency training. They've met with the Human Rights Commission and they have weekly
<br /> meetings where they are often tested by our Chief Inspector to make sure everything they shared
<br /> was retained by the inspector. This(referencing a slide in the presentation)includes an example of
<br /> some things you will see on the checklist. Hopefully it is twenty (20) minutes in, twenty (20)
<br /> minutes out and focus on minimal safety standards which includes fire safety, water, heat, proper
<br /> plumbing, mold and mildew, chipping or peeling paint and leaks. Again, we are not focusing on
<br /> the cosmetic issues but the health and safety focus. In and out as quickly as possible for inspector
<br /> and for the person who is showing us through the property.
<br /> Jamie Morgan, Project Manager for the Mayor of the City of South Bend with offices located on
<br /> the 14th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, served as a presenter for this bill. Ms.
<br /> Morgan stated, I am going to share a little bit about our program implementation and kind of take
<br /> you through the math.We have about 16,000 rental units in the City of South Bend.That represents
<br /> that forty percent (40%). Of those, we are expected to inspect 7,500 of them. That is because for
<br /> multi-unit complexes, we will be doing a random sampling of the units so that we won't be in
<br /> every single one(1)but get a good idea by going into two(2)or three(3)of them.We are reducing
<br /> that for the number of exclusions. So, not every property will be eligible for this. We wouldn't be
<br /> looking at short-term rentals, government inspected housing, units constructed in the last ten (10)
<br /> years or units that have received a satisfactory inspection through another source. Whether that be
<br /> through a private inspection or through a real estate transaction inspection. Those would meet the
<br /> same requirements as this would.
<br /> Ms. Morgan continued, Throughout this program, we've done a lot of community engagement to
<br /> get feedback from people who are within the industry, who live in rental housing and who work
<br /> with renters. One (1) of the main changes from the previous meeting was to our implementation
<br /> process. Our first (Pt) year will focus on active and open Code cases and referrals from the St.
<br /> Joseph County Health Department. Then,we will continue accommodating landlord requests. We
<br /> are looking at ways to incentivize landlords contacting us and being proactive about this. We will
<br /> also, in year two (2), start the geographic phase-in, focusing on Census tracts that have a high
<br /> proportion of children that have tested high for lead levels. That will start us in Census Tracts Six
<br /> (6),Nineteen(19), Twenty-One(21), Thirty(30), Four(4) and Five (5). We expect to get through
<br /> the City at a rate of fifteen percent (15%) per year, ending at about 2025.
<br /> Ms. Morgan went on, So, to look at the feedback and changes we were able to incorporate, since
<br /> the Committee meeting, we've done a lot to simplify the language of the bill so that it is clear and
<br /> can be understood. We also made changes so that we are able to reduce fees that might not be
<br /> necessary and waiver some eligibilities for inspections. Also, we looked at moving down the
<br /> number of units a property has to have in order to get a multi-unit random inspection.Then,looking
<br /> at how we continue to monitor this bill and making sure we are putting in steps for self-certification
<br /> in addition to making sure rental standards are set throughout this and that they are very easily
<br /> understood so that people have the opportunity to succeed within this bill.
<br /> Ms. Fritzberg stated, I will also highlight two (2) additional parts of feedback that resulted from
<br /> this most recent Committee meeting. As Council has seen, we have filed as an addendum to the
<br /> ordinance, a specific list of criteria in response to a request from the South Bend Mishawaka Area
<br /> Organization of Realtors. We've also clarified a five (5) year certificate. A landlord doesn't have
<br /> to hop on the first(1St)year.They can wait for the geographic expansion of the program and remain
<br /> eligible for that. We clarified some language relating to the group homes as well as a variety of
<br /> other issues that Councilmember Broden outlined. We've heard from a number of experts on this
<br /> issue including Judy Fox and the Notre Dame Law Clinic and Heidi Beidinger with the Board of
<br /> Health. I want to close our presentation with a few words from Ruth Ann Norton who is the
<br /> President and CEO of the Green and Healthy Homers Initiative. That is a nationwide network
<br /> founded in Baltimore that works with communities on strategies that promote health housing. We
<br /> were lucky to receive a grant from the State of Indiana to become a GHHI Compact City. That is
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