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Waukegan committee OKs rehabbed inspection rules City rehabs inspections: Panel supports lower fees, fewer apartment checks
STAFF WRITER
WAUKEGAN — What was described as a "kindlier, friendlier" apartment inspection program moved to the brink of approval Monday night before the City Council after months of negotiations with city landlords. The new measure received a unanimous recommendation from the council's Judiciary Committee and will come before the full council for a final vote in early July. Among other components, it proposes lower inspection fees and less frequent inspections in the wake of complaints from both landlords and tenants when the original inspection program began in January. Seventh Ward Ald. Patrick Needham, who worked with 4th Ward Ald. A.J. "Tony" Figueroa on an ad hoc committee to address the issue, said "everything should be put together and all the kinks ironed out" when the council votes on the revised ordinance July 7. "We're holding it over (until July) to give the apartment owners a little more time to meet with their members," Needham said. "But I think we're on the right track here." Needham and Figueroa were joined on the committee by city attorney Ann Linn and representatives from the Lake County Apartment Owners Association, the Lake County Fair Housing Commission and the Waukegan Fire Department. According to Needham, the goal was to arrive at a compromise after the original attempt produced a flurry of complaints, with some tenants saying the inspections were an invasion of privacy and landlords saying a per-unit inspection fee was a financial burden. "Maybe we ran a little too fast at first," Needham said. "But we caught ourselves and backtracked a little bit. We made what some people might call a kindlier, friendlier ordinance." "It's kindlier and friendlier," Figueroa said, "but it's also more effective." Previously, the residential rental inspection ordinance stated that "all rental property except those units occupied by the owner shall be subject to an annual inspection." The new version strikes the word "annual" and adds that yearly licensing inspections will only include "the building exterior, common areas, basement and not less than 33 1/3 percent of the individual dwelling units." The revisions also state that "all units within the structure shall be inspected every three years," and that a landlord may request an inspection of 100 percent of the properties to earn a two-year exemption. The revised fee structure states that "the inspection fee for all properties, to be paid annually at the time of filing the license application, shall be $10 per unit to be inspected." The original ordinance required $25 per unit. The amended ordinance also addresses the complaints about how the inspections were conducted. Under the new measure, property owners will be given 30 days written notice of the date and time of inspections, and they are required to give tenants 72 hours notice. Tenants will have the option of not being present, allowing them to give landlords permission to admit the inspectors. For tenants who refuse inspection, the original ordinance called for the city to apply for an administrative search warrant to proceed. While that approach is still an option, the new measure states that "prior to applying for an administrative warrant, the city staff will present the matter for review to the (city's) Task Force on Rental Housing." Needham said the new task force would "give the tenants and the owners and everyone involved a forum for dialogue ... a place for people to discuss things collectively (before) complaints get out of hand." In addition, the proposed new rules go into heavy detail about what exactly inspectors will be looking for. Six pages of exterior and interior violations include such things as insect/rat infestation, apparent density violation, foundation condition, electrical outlet condition, overgrown weeds and grass, driveway condition, and basements used for sleeping purposes.
06/17/03
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