Citizens condemn rental inspection scheme

Eureka City Council to hold special hearing next week on proposal

David Courtland, Humboldt Sentinel
8/5/09

Eureka

Landlords unhappy with a proposed rental inspection law dominated Tuesday's City Council meeting, asking councilmembers to overhaul or drop the bill.

Most of the several dozen people who packed council chambers opposed the measure, which would charge owners of five or more units annually for the cost of inspections prompted by complaints by tenants or neighbors.

The overall theme of comments was that responsible property owners would be getting being penalized for the negligence of a handful of irresponsible ones.

"I really think more thought needs to go into this proposal, it doesn't seem right," said property owner Charlie Day. "I hate to see a new bureaucracy started in Eureka, I think we have enough city staff to maintain inspections and take care of it in a timely fashion."

Harley Smith noted landlords are already paying for state mandated inspections by local fire departments for properties of three or more units.

"So we're paying one inspection fee on top of another inspection fee," said Smith. "I think that's double dipping."

Landlords' comments followed a presentation by city attorney Sheryl Shaffner, who explained the reasoning behind the proposed ordinance.

Shaffner said the proposed law--modeled after similar ones in Los Angeles and other California cities--is designed to stop neglected properties from causing whole neighborhoods to go downhill.

"There is this downward spiral affect," said Shaffner. "If you have one neglected property, there's more neglect, property values go down and there's increased criminal activity."

Property owner Ann White said she knows from experience how frustrating it can be to have blighted properties with negligent owners in a neighborhood.

"I'm a landlord, and I also live in a multi-family zone, unlike these other landlords, so I can tell you what it's like to be called by tenants saying, 'What are we going to do?'" said White, who was on the committee that drafted the proposal with city staff.

"It's overwhelming, quality of life has gone down because of these problem rentals," said White. "I think this is the beginning of turning Eureka away from becoming a slum, I'm glad something is finally being done about this problem."

Shaffner said the prospective $35 fee per unit would probably go down as it became clearer how many neglected properties there were.

The local civil rights community also spoke out with their concerns over the equal treatment of renters and homeowners, and whether city staff would engage in fishing expeditions to create complaints.

"The ordinance, really as a matter of definition, creates two classes of citizens in the City of Eureka as regards the expectation of privacy in their residences," Redwood ACLU chair Greg Allen said.

While not taking an outright position against the ordinance, the local American Civil Liberties Union questioned why such an expansion of police powers wouldn't go hand in hand with the establishment of the long-awaited police review commission to provide independent oversight and policy review for law enforcement in Eureka.

Councilmembers refrained from responding to the comments, indicating they would rather wait for next week's workshop on the bill.

The workshop, where the public will be able to dialog with councilmembers and staff on the proposed law, will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Wharfinger Building on the Eureka waterfront.

In addition

With Councilmember Mike Jones absent, the remaining representatives voted 4-0 to approve:
A four-way stop at Dolbeer and Chester streets;
An exception to the city's hiring freeze to let city employees apply for an open Parks & Recreation Dept. position;
Acceptance of a state grant to let the police chief hire two new police officers for the Problem Oriented Policing initiative.

Councilmembers also recognized a moment of silence dedicated to former Eureka Police Chief Arnie Milsap, who died recently of a heart attack. His friends and co-workers on the dais also took time to share recollections of his service to the city.

"He treated everybody fair, but you didn't want to mess with Arnie," said Councilmember Frank Jager, who worked with Milsap when both were patrol officers. "If you needed to go to jail, he was the one to take you there, being the former Marine that he was."

Mayor Virginia Bass said Milsap was a "wonderful role model" and recalled he was the reason she didn't join in cruising with other teenagers.

"Arnie was the one who would stop at the restaurant, that's why I never that," said Bass, referring to her family's business. "He was real supportive and a great person to talk to."