by Mary Wilson
Dozens of property owners turned out for a public hearing on
rental homes at last week’s Board of Aldermen meeting in Grandview.
An ordinance proposing amendments to the Grandview Code of
Laws that deal specifically with certain provisions of residential rental
properties will be voted on by the Board of Aldermen at an upcoming meeting,
but not before a handful of landlords put in their two-cents worth regarding
registration and inspection of rental properties in the city.
The City of Grandview, in 2009, established a registration
ordinance for rental properties, providing the city with detailed ownership and
point-of-contact information for these properties regarding issues such as
exterior maintenance, building codes, nuisance abatements and general property
management. Due to a number of factors, most notably the economic conditions
and staffing restrictions, the City of Grandview did not actively enforce the
rental registration ordinance. In 2017, the Board of Aldermen asked for a
review of that ordinance and for staff to come up with ways to enforce the
provisions already on the books. As a result, staff is proposing amendments to
the current rental property registration ordinance.
“Most of the changes are definitions, like adding a
definition for the city, updating the definition for ‘owner’ to match the
definition in the building code, adding a definition for non-owner occupied,
clarifying the registration period for the first year, and updating the fee
schedule,” said Billie Hufford, City of Grandview Building Inspector and
Planner. “It’s a tiered pricing scale of $8-12, depending on how many units an
individual has.”
One resident spoke during public comments on the hearing on
behalf of support for the registration of rental properties. She stated that
near the home she owns, she has seen five other homes become rentals and is
concerned that they may be owned by absentee landlords.
“I am pleased to see that the board is considering a
registration of rental properties,” said Grandview resident Ann Heinzler. “We
are a community of homeowners and tenants, and I would like to be sure that
people who are tenants and those landlords who own the properties are all
treated in a fair and equitable manner. The first step is to register what
properties are rentals.”
Several property owners spoke out against the ordinance,
however most seemed concerned with upcoming inspections of their properties. At
this time, the Board of Aldermen will only be voting on the registration of
rental properties, with discussions on inspections to come at a later date.
According to Mayor Leonard Jones, at that time, another public hearing will
take place for input regarding that process.
After the latest string of gun violence in the City of
Grandview, Holiday Inn Express has suffered financial loss due to issues in the
high rental neighborhood directly behind where the hotel sits.
“There’s been shootouts over there at the rental properties
behind us, at Greenfield,” said Jovana Johnson, a representative from Holiday
Inn Express hotel in Grandview. “We have had several bust-ins from our cars. We
lost major accounts, thousands of dollars lost because it wasn’t safe. One
bullet went into one of our guest rooms, ricocheted inside the room and hit
inside the mattress where the guest’s head was. They didn’t know, our
housekeeper found it the next day. I’ve been at that property for six years,
and there’s always been an issue.”
Johnson said that due to the violence stemming from
Greenfield Village, her employees don’t feel safe coming to work. Her concern
with the ordinance is that the city ensures landlords are doing proper
background screenings of their potential tenants. She added that the ordinance
seemed to have some racial undertones to it.
“I’ve heard comments from CEOs, not necessarily mine, but
that it’s Section 8 people that’s the issue. If it’s put out, there needs to be
a way that there’s no segregation, that it’s fair,” said Johnson. “I see both
sides, I see the businesses that are there, because I’m losing money, and then
I see my friends over there who, some of them, might not even make the cut if
the registration is too hard.”
Of the landlords who spoke against the proposed
ordinance, only one stated that they personally lived in the City of Grandview.
Their concerns ranged from potential financial burden due to additional fees
and potentially raising rents to cover them, tenants who don’t take care of the
homes they rent, and what the potential inspection process will look like if
and when it is implemented.
