By Mary Spicer
MEADVILLE TRIBUNE
Is the physical condition of the City of Meadville’s residential rental units in a general decline? With rental units accounting for roughly half the city’s housing stock, has the time come for the city to step in on behalf of not only occupants of the units and surrounding property values but also the overall well-being of the city?
After agreeing, at least for the purpose of discussion, that “yes” might be appropriate responses to both questions, members of the City of Meadville’s Planning and Zoning Commission are examining the possibility of recommending to City Council that the city institute a rental inspection program. Before that recommendation can even begin to take final form, however, a number of questions must be answered and options considered.
The big questions include how to enforce the program, would every rental unit in the city be subject to inspection, who would perform the inspections, how often would they take place and who would be responsible for paying for the program.
During their monthly meeting Wednesday afternoon, commission members started the question-answering part of the process, responding to a list drawn up by Gary Johnson, the city’s zoning administrator.
— Question: Should the law cite tenants for issues clearly under their control, such as housekeeping, or should all responsibility be placed on the landlord? Commission response: The responsibility should be put on tenants for housekeeping-related issues.
— Question: Should the standard be the International Property Maintenance Code, which Meadville already uses as its maintenance code and is also used by most of the five municipalities whose rental inspection programs have been examined by the commission? Commission response: Yes, plus other applicable city regulations, such as those covering refuse collection.
— Question: Meadville Central Fire Department already inspects commercial buildings as well as rooming and boarding houses, nursing homes and bed-and-breakfast facilities for fire safety and general property maintenance. If permitted by law, should fraternity houses, dorms and college-owned houses and Housing Authority-owned units also be inspected? Commission response: Fraternity houses should have periodic inspections, although commission members were unsure who should handle the inspections. Housing Authority units, on the other hand, are already subject to inspections that are more rigorous than the process under consideration.
— Question: Should the inspections be done by city personnel or a third-party agency? Commission response: While Johnson said he thought it may be more inexpensive to have inspections performed by a city employee, commission members disagreed.
At that point, the issue was tabled for future discussion.
The commission includes Lyle Mook, Don Gill, Dave Thomas, Ken Montag, Jim Budney, Rob Smith and Andy Walker, who was appointed to the commission Nov. 5 following the resignation of Steve Utz. Smith was not present for Wednesday’s session.
Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com.
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