Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: Dueling Danjos

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Dueling Danjos - Deliverance in Bellingham?

This blog is now about 2 months old and already the educational effect is manifest in the manner in which some of the candidates for office are speaking. Thanks to my readers, I have been able to gather some recent (in the last several weeks) comments by the candidates on the issue of illegal rooming houses. Here our mayoral candidates have the floor:

From mayoral candidate Dan Pike:

"… As you probably know, [the Zonemaven] has been raising this issue with all candidates, and getting mixed responses. From my own perspective, I am not sure the existing law is unenforceable. If elected I intend to enforce this, and find out.

In addition, this is an issue where the City and WWU need to work together to identify and then implement solutions. Some solutions could include the provision of more student housing by WWU, stricter permitted parking regulations and enforcement in problem areas (to reduce the number of cars allowed per residential address, thereby reducing the attractiveness of having 4+ students share a house), working with neighborhoods throughout the City to identify where zoning changes to accommodate student populations might make sense, possibly licensing landlords to make them more accountable for problem rentals.

These are just a few of the potential solutions I will work on; I welcome your help and ideas in identifying and analyzing more. …"

From mayoral candidate Dan McShane:

"I am delighted that people are pushing this issue again. I am very well of the problem as my own neighborhood is heavily impacted and I know that the problem is growing.

I do not believe that the law is unconstitutional as similar regulations have been enforced and survived challenges in other states. The way we manage this problem though does make enforcement difficult.

Four years ago then Mayor Asmundson door belled my neighborhood and followed up with an effort to create a system where enforcement could more readily be done. Unfortunately the Council backed down from implementing the changes needed. I think it is in the City's interest to bring this back up. A number of very effective approaches have been developed in other college cities and I believe this approach would be the way to get at effective and timely enforcement. I also think it can be done in a very fair manner to landlords and to tenants and ultimately to the people that have invested in their homes and neighborhoods.

Thank you for taking the time to ask and raise this concern. It is creating a groundswell that will about meaningful action on this long neglected matter."

My comment to Dan Pike:

"Mixed responses"? Only from the candidates. My readers out there in rooming-house-land are not so divided.

I agree with the rest of your statement as long as you keep enforcement of the current code at the top of your list. All other actions are tangential to the elimination of illegal rooming houses but will not get THE job done.

My comment to Dan McShane:

A bit of a wooly response. You described the problem but did not propose a solution, i.e., enforcement of the single family zoning code. I have no idea what you are putting forward. "Bringing this back up" is too mushy. I reread your earlier response to me (click here) and found your answer equally unsatisfying. What is your stand?

No comments:

The Rationale for Rental Licensing

There is the definitive experience of cities that have already adopted rental licensing and inspections in the face of exactly the same opposition as we saw in Bellingham over the last decade. Ultimately, each of these cities was proven correct in its resolve to move ahead to protect the safety and health of the renters. We already know that the city of Pasco, WA found that 15% of the units inspected under their program had serious life/safety issues. 10% had mold problems. A full 85% had problems of varying degrees. The city of Gresham, OR performed over 1600 inspections in 2009 and issued, as a result, over 4,000 citations. Lexington, KY performed inspections of units near the University of Kentucky and found that 50% had life/safety issues. Sacramento, CA began an inspection program during which one third of the units inspected had serious safety and health issues. The question why does anyone believe that the condition of rental housing here in Bellingham does not mirror that which is found in cities that have the statistics to show that time and time again the condition of rentals in our cities is problematic? All we have had to date from those who oppose licensing are broad statements by the landlords and their paladins that are completely and utterly unsubstantiated. The Zonemaven has searched in vain for the horror stories that these opponents of licensing and inspections have predicted. On the other hand, The Zonemaven did find over 100 cities that have licensing AND inspections without the catastrophic effect for the rental markets that the landlords would have you believe. (See this blog's sidebar at bottom left for list)

One Reason Illegal Rooming Houses Do Not Work

The limit for unrelated persons at a single family home rental is three residents. Leases are signed by three people who then invite additional renters to join them to lower per capita rental rates. The perverse effect is that rental rates tend to rise under these circumstances making it difficult for single families to rent single family homes. Some local rental agencies facilitate this practice.

"To say that a family is so equivalent to a ragtag collection of college roommates as to require identical treatment in zoning decisions defies the reality of the place of the family in American society, despite any changes that institution has undergone in recent years. Only the most cynical among us would say that the American family has devolved to the point of no greater importance or consideration in governmental decision making than a group of college roommates." (Stegeman v. City of Ann Arbor)

That being said, accommodation ought to be made for protected classes, especially non-traditional unions and group houses for the disabled. These classes are laid out in federal and Washington State law.