HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/26/2026 Item 5a, Kenady
viv ivi <viveka530@yahoo.com>
Sent:Thursday,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Housing Codes Need to be Enforced
Dear Mayor Stewart, City Council Members, and Staff:
Thank you for holding the special study session on code enforcement. The Tenants Union appreciates your
commitment, expressed in our Major City Goals, to healthy, safe and affordable housing.
It is clear from the staff report that more CE staff are urgently needed to handle the increase in calls received,
fulfill current responsibilities under existing programs and priorities, meet increased demand from expanded
and reprioritized programs, and anticipate other needs that might arise from the rental registry and other
initiatives in the coming years. I therefore request that Council direct staff to:
Hire additional CE personnel and permanently assign a full-time CE Officer to the Safe Housing Program;
Begin more affirmative enforcement of the existing minimum habitability standards;
Help shield tenants from landlord retaliation and unfair eviction when they report violations;
Take concrete steps to educate residents and owners/managers and connect them with resources; and
Improve transparency by tracking and reporting more and better enforcement data.
We also support a smokefree multifamily housing ordinance that prohibits smoking within individual units. Any
such policy should include a graduated, multistep enforcement process handled through Code Enforcement,
and must also prohibit evictions due solely to smoking violations. This approach prioritizes education,
compliance, and public health without putting housing stability at risk.
For any health and safety health policy to be effective, there must be both education, information, and
meaningful accountability. Please tell us what steps you will take now to improve conditions for renters and
ensure even minimal compliance with local and state codes?
We are a city of renters. Thank you for your prompt attention to our needs.
Sincerely, lindsay kenady
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