Property owners: be informed!

To the editor:
Every property owner in DeKalb should be concerned about proposed ordinances being eyed by the City Council. Don’t wait until these ordinances become law before speaking out and contacting your alderman. More public input is needed and refinement of these ordinances required before City Council votes on them.

Very soon, Council will be considering the proposed Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance. City officials are promoting it as a way to reduce serious crimes in the city they say are caused by rental property, but it includes even minor violations. It would affect ALL property owners, not just rental units. Another proposed law, the Rental Property Licensing and Inspections Ordinance would give the City the right to unreasonable search and seizure.

As a result of a meeting May 8, at which property owners expressed their opposition to the ordinances in their current form, the Tenants, Landowners, Community Rights Group (TLC) has organized. We hope to work with city officials to find better solutions to their concerns, and want to keep all DeKalb residents informed about their rights as property owners. In its current form, the Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance threatens those rights.

TLC believes the Municipal Code already gives the City all the authority it needs to address any nuisance issues. It’s a matter of enforcing the laws already in place. City inspectors already make random inspections of property throughout the year. They give out warnings and levy fines for non-compliance. The system is already in place; make it work.

TLC has printed a brochure outlining its concerns with the proposals. Click here.

Susan Besinger, DeKalb

Protect your rights!

To the editor:
DeKalb residents, your property rights are about to be violated! Take action now to become informed about city proposals that will impact all DeKalb property owners.

The City Council is considering two new ordinances that target property owners. The first, a Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance, covers all residential property in DeKalb. At a meeting with concerned residents May 8, this ordinance was presented by city staff as being in its “final form.” All property owners should contact their alderman now to express your displeasure about this ordinance in its current form because it puts an unfair burden on property owners.

In its own words, the ordinance would give the City the ability to “regulate, restrain, dominate, counteract or govern conduct that occurs on a property it deems to be a nuisance based on three or more nuisance activities in a 12-month period.” The nuisances named in the ordinance are broad and vague, giving the City too much power over your property rights.

City officials say the ordinance is aimed at reducing serious crimes in the city, but it includes even minor violations. They say they want to make property owners responsible for chronic nuisances, but would hold you responsible for things out of your control. Fines could be levied against you for $250-$1,000 and property could be seized.

Contact your alderman now and tell them you want the City to more aggressively enforce the laws already in the Municipal Code because they already cover these issues. Ask them not to rush this ordinance through without giving residents sufficient opportunity for input. Ask them to form a Task Force of residents and property owners to offer input.

The Tenants, Landowners, Community Rights Group has formed to keep residents informed and to work with the City to find solutions acceptable to everyone, without violating people’s rights.

Brian Morsch, DeKalb

Subjective enforcement?

To the editor:
If you own property in DeKalb, you must be concerned about the City of DeKalb’s proposed Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance, which opens the door for subjective enforcement. Do you know that single family homes already are subject to inspection? Do you know an 8-inch dandelion could be cause for you to receive a citation? Peeling paint and small piles of rubbish are also offenses you may be cited for. Despite what you may have heard or read about, the proposed new “Chronic Nuisance” ordinance applies to all property in DeKalb, not just rental property. 

City officials appear to be trying to pass this ordinance as quickly as possible, although we have been given no timetable for a vote. Please educate yourself about this ordinance and its possible impact on you as a property owner. Everyone has different tolerance levels for parties and social gatherings, but this proposed ordinance would give the City the right to regulate even those types of “nuisances.”

The majority of property owners in DeKalb are responsible. Better enforcement of current regulations makes more sense than a blanket policy introduced at a time when the city budget needs help with a shortfall. The Chronic Nuisance Property Abatement Ordinance allows for fines of between $250-$1,000 and your property could be seized.  This ordinance also opens the door for the city’s home inspectors to have powers that exceed those of the police and could violate your Fourth Amendment rights.

Contact your alderman and ask them to form a task force of residents and property owners to thoroughly examine all of the issues. City officials say this Nuisance Ordinance is aimed at reducing crimes in the city, but it includes even minor violations. Property owners would be made responsible for things out of their control. Contact your alderman and tell them you want the city to more aggressively enforce the laws already in the Municipal Code—they more than adequately cover issues of “nuisance.”  Ask them not to rush this ordinance through and to schedule sufficient hearings to give all residents the opportunity for input.

The DeKalb Tenants, Landowners, Community Rights Group has formed to keep residents informed. It wants to work with the City to find solutions acceptable to everyone, without violating people’s rights. 

Chris Rubeck, DeKalb

Is this ordinance necessary?

To the editor:

Michael J. Mackey wrote a letter recently about proposed nuisance ordinances in DeKalb. Among the things he stated is that “based on police reports and information currently available, the city estimates that this ordinance will be enforced only one to two times annually.”

I don’t understand the logic in passing an ordinance that only will be used a few times a year; especially when the laws in the city’s Municipal Code already give the city plenty of power when dealing with chronic nuisance property issues. Police and code enforcement officers already can fine the violators; in fact, they already are fining property owners. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Civil rights should not be set aside lightly.

Among the questions I’d like the city to answer are: How many code violation tickets are being issued now?  What is the dollar amount in fines being assessed? What is the dollar amount in fines actually collected?  How much money is being added to city coffers because of property code violations?  Are those figures readily available, and if not, why not?

If you haven’t had the chance to read the ordinances already in the City Municipal Code, please do. We already have laws in place to deal with chronic nuisances. They are in Chapters 10, 12 and 13 of the city’s Municipal Code, which you can find here on the DeKalb Tenant, Landowners, Community Rights Group website (see this page or the home page for a direct link).

Brad Rubeck, DeKalb