Twilight Zoning in Bellingham: Why Not a Rental Housing Commission in Bellingham?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Why Not a Rental Housing Commission in Bellingham?

Perhaps it is time for a Rental Housing Commission in Bellingham which can be created in conjunction with a licensing program for rental housing. Recently, I received information that the city of Durham New Hampshire has created such a commission (click here to read the establishing code). The charge of this commission is “addressing and resolving on a continuing basis public policy issues associated with rental housing.” Also, “ The Commission shall facilitate enforcement of Town ordinances regarding rental housing and foster public communication between all constituent groups represented on the Commission.” These constituent groups are mainly the city, the landlords, the tenants (in general), the students and the university. Such a commission would be more widely representative of the entirety of the city than the Campus Community Coalition which focuses mainly on town/gown issues.

In a city where we have commissions for bicycles, parking, sister cities and the arboretum, one might posit that a commission on rental housing deserves at least the same level of recognition given the problems associated with our huge rental market. Tens of thousands of our residents are renters, yet there is no commission to oversee the issues associated with rentals. Durham has experienced much the same as Bellingham with regard to rentals. Two recent newspaper articles spell out the issues (click here and here to read these pieces) which bear an uncanny resemblance to those we face here in Bellingham.

I urge the City Council to consider adding a Rental Housing Commission as the 7th item to Jack Weiss’s package (read the other six here) for a comprehensive solution to the rental housing mess the citizens have endured for decades.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: When more than half of our housing is rented I believe the people need an advocate...the creation of a rental housing commission would be a positive step. Michael McAuley; November 11, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Zonemaven said...: Exactly. You can check out the minutes of the Durham, NH Rental Housing Commission at this site:
http://ci.durham.nh.us/GOVERNMENT/Commissions/rental/rental_minutes.html

You will get an idea of the range of ideas which are being discussed.; November 11, 2009 at 5:45 PM

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.