HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/26/2026 Item 5a, Fields
Jennifer Fields <jenn.b.fields@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, May 25,
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;
Improve transparency by tracking and reporting more and better enforcement data; and
Support a ban on smoking in multifamily housing that includes a graduated, multistep
enforcement approach that is handled through Code Enforcement and prohibits evictions
solely due to smoking violations.
For any health and safety health policy to be effective, there must be both education, information, and
meaningful accountability. A fter a decade, our leaders have mostly led study sessions to think about
how to better protect tenants. We need deserve action to better protect the majority of city
residents. During the study session, please tell the public how you expect to compel
compliance?
Thank you for your prompt attention to our needs.
Sincerely,
Jenn Fields
{as an individual, not as a Human Relations Commissioner}
868 1/2 Upham St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
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