Housing standards can head off Pottersville.Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Paul Reader For The Register-Guard The Eugene City Council's recent decision to postpone a vote on the adoption of local, enforceable housing standards for rental properties in Eugene was disappointing, given all of the studies and information that the council has been provided with that clearly detailed the need for and the benefits of housing standards. The conclusions of the West University District Task Force, created after the fall 2002 riots, and of which I was a founding member, recommended the implementation of such housing ordinances for Eugene. Property owners and management companies have pressured the council not to adopt such an ordinance A law, statute, or regulation enacted by a Municipal Corporation. An ordinance is a law passed by a municipal government. A municipality, such as a city, town, village, or borough, is a political subdivision of a state within which a municipal corporation has been . The situation brings to mind none other than Mr. Potter. In the classic holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life," Jimmy Stewart runs a family-owned building and loan in the small town of Bedford Falls Bedford Falls is the fictional city in Frank Capra's 1946 cinematic classic It's a Wonderful Life. It is an attractive small town in upstate New York. The name of the town is likely a combination of actual cities and towns, Bedford Hills or Bedford (in Westchester . Stewart wants to give as many people as possible the opportunity to own their own homes, with the added benefit of escaping the clutches of their evil, powerful and greedy greed·y adj. greed·i·er, greed·i·est 1. Excessively desirous of acquiring or possessing, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves. 2. landlord, Mr. Potter. Stewart succumbs to the doubts planted by Mr. Potter about himself and the people he is trying to help, when through Potter's evil deeds, the building and loan hovers on the brink of insolvency. Stewart is given a second chance. Through the intervention of a good angel, he is able to see what the town would have become without his efforts. Quaint quaint adj. quaint·er, quaint·est 1. Charmingly odd, especially in an old-fashioned way: "Sarah Orne Jewett . . . Bedford Falls doesn't exist - its Pottersville, with shack-like rentals, flophouse flop·house n. A cheap rundown hotel or boarding house. Noun 1. flophouse - a cheap lodging house dosshouse lodging house, rooming house - a house where rooms are rented hotels, bars, burlesque burlesque (bûrlĕsk`) [Ital.,=mockery], form of entertainment differing from comedy or farce in that it achieves its effects through caricature, ridicule, and distortion. It differs from satire in that it is devoid of any ethical element. houses, pool halls, liquor stores, streetwalkers Streetwalkers were an English rock band of the mid-1970s led by two former members of Family, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist John "Charlie" Whitney. Other members included Bob Tench, a former collaborator of Jeff Beck, and Nicko McBrain, who later played drums with Iron and a populace that is mean-spirited and in despair. A stroll through the West University area would be an eye-opener for many. Dilapidated housing, trash, poor lighting and alleyways mimicking Third World conditions are pretty much the norm. Ninety six percent of those residing in this most densely populated pop·u·late tr.v. pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing, pop·u·lates 1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people. 2. area in Eugene are renters - predominantly young renters. Many of these substandard substandard, adj below an acceptable level of performance. units are owned by landlords who probably see no resemblance between themselves and the Dickens-like Mr. Potter. Yet the health and safety of the tenants seems to be of little or no concern to the landlords. One example: A prominent Eugene attorney owns more than 20 units in the area, most of which would qualify as slums. One is known as "Garbage House." It is doubtful that the attorney's friends or associates know the specifics of his holdings, although they are public record. It is even more doubtful that he would allow his own children to spend even one night there. The housing standards ordinance that is being proposed is pretty basic. It requires landlords to maintain rental properties to minimal requirements regarding heating, electrical systems, plumbing, weatherproofing and general maintenance. Tenants, instead of having to rely on the cumbersome legal system to redress Compensation for injuries sustained; recovery or restitution for harm or injury; damages or equitable relief. Access to the courts to gain Reparation for a wrong. REDRESS. The act of receiving satisfaction for an injury sustained. grievances would have a self-funding city agency to assist them in remediation of problems in rental units. Eugene is one of the few cities of its size without local housing standards. Corvallis implemented local standards a few years ago. Landlords are required to pay $5 per unit annually to fund the agency overseeing the housing standards. The legal system has been freed from having to resolve disputes, and the number of actual complaints has gone down, because the Corvallis Housing Standards Ordinance has made the local landlords proactive regarding the maintenance of their properties. The claim that state laws are sufficient to protect tenants and maintain rental properties in a decent state of repair is a red herring Red Herring A preliminary registration statement that must be filed with the SEC describing a new issue of stock (IPO) and the prospects of the issuing company. Notes: . Anyone walking through the West University area would see immediately this is not a valid argument. The City Council has a clear and simple choice. Bedford Falls or Pottersville? We can only hope that the council, given another chance, will make the right decision and make Eugene a Jimmy Stewart-type town, where the citizens can take pride in their community and the type of housing available to all of its citizens. Paul Reader of Eugene is a local small-business owner and community activist. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion