Although they may not use the same words that I do, almost every resident that I've talked to since taking my on my Commissioner role has said that they want to live "in attractive and affordable housing in clean and safe neighborhoods".
And I don't think we're the only ones who want that. I'm sure this same discussion has been held in one form or other since the first time we humans set up camp back in prehistoric days.
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| While this particular structure isn't located in Wyandotte County how would you like to live next door to it? |
The challenges, then, of creating attractive and affordable housing in clean and safe neighborhoods are not new. However, we need some new solutions and I've been privileged over the last several months to brainstorm with members of the Task Force who are working hard to create those new solutions to the old problems that bring down the quality of life in neighborhoods.
I had barely started my new odyssey as Commissioner when constituents began to approach me with concerns about housing in their neighborhoods. Here are a few of the concerns that they voiced:
- Contract for Deed property sales
- Although the contract for deed process is a legitimate way to sell a property, some people don't fully understand the process and may intentionally or unintentionally get taken advantage of along the way (whether buyer or seller).
- Rental properties
- Sometimes it's perception, sometimes it's reality, but rental properties are often the target for complaints from neighborhood residents.
- Irresponsible and/or absentee landlords
- Unfortunately, some landlords either aren't around or don't really work to take care of their tenants and/or their rental properties.
- Irresponsible tenants
- Even more unfortunate, some renters damage the rental houses/units that they live in which can cost landlords plenty of time, money and aggravation.
- Code violations
- Every city has a set of "codes" that set a minimum standard for how citizens are to maintain their property and any structures built on that property. Some people are either unaware of the code requirements or choose to disregard them. In either case, it can result in unsightly messes in neighborhoods. This has probably been the biggest source of complaint calls to me.
- Vacant lots
- Especially in the older parts of our city, abandoned lots can be eyesores as well as health and safety hazards.
- Abandoned and decaying structures
- Sometimes, the problem is worse when there is a decaying structure on an abandoned lot. Those structures not only pose health and safety hazards, but can also provide cover for people to engage in illegal activities. Complicating the matter is the fact that many properties and structures that are abandoned and creating blight are "out of reach" and not available for rehabilitation for too long a period of time (and then not salvageable when acquired by a person or organization that wants to fix them up).
All of these factors work together in negative ways to create blight and depress neighborhoods.
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| By the looks of it, that fence hasn't kept many people out of this abandoned building and lot. |
As a rookie Commissioner, I started reaching out to our Unified Government staff and asking for information and perspective on the issues being raised in the neighborhoods. Sometimes, the staff would fix the problem and all was good. Other times, however, the conversation went something like this: "Yes, we are aware of that problem. It's not a new problem, but it's a tough one and we've been working hard to correct it."
When I asked if there was anything new or different that could be done about these tough issues, our staff always responded positively with some variation of, "Heck yes, we have some ideas…"
Pretty soon we started getting staff from different departments together and having brainstorming conversations on how to address the spectrum of housing issues in our neighborhoods. Before we knew it, we had a whole room full of people bringing their unique ideas, perspectives and experiences to the table and brainstorming possible solutions to our housing issues.
The new Neighborhood Housing Task Force now includes representatives from:
The new Neighborhood Housing Task Force now includes representatives from:
- Unified Government (UG) Commission
- Kansas House of Representatives
- Neighborhood Groups
- Community Development Corporations
- Neighborhood Business Revitalization organizations
- KCK Housing Authority
- UG Land Bank
- UG Neighborhood Resource Center
- UG Livable Neighborhoods Department
- UG Legal Department
- UG Community Development
- Wyandotte County Register of Deeds
- KCK Police Department
- Other interested parties...
While there are always concerns that large groups can be hard to manage or sluggish in their actions, this group has been very focused on taking concrete steps to make our neighborhoods the best they can be. It's actually been very useful to have all of the different experiences and perspectives involved in our discussions.
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| Aw, come on...all it needs is a little touch up paint. |
Potential goals regarding vacant land and abandoned structures that are truly creating blight...
- Create a short and clear path to gain control of truly abandoned structures that are causing blight and/or abandoned, vacant land.
- Develop mechanisms to transfer land and/or structures that have been acquired to individuals or development companies for rehabilitation / reuse / repurposing.
- Create incentives for individuals or development companies to rehabilitate abandoned properties, blighted properties and/or vacant land.
- Develop strategies for promoting the sale (and occupation) of properties that have been rehabilitated.
- Improve education of property owners as to minimum code requirements and expectations for maintaining property and structures.
- Improve enforcement of minimum code standards and do a better job of holding people accountable for their responsibility.
- Increase the availability of resources and support to help homeowners take care of code violations if they lack the necessary resources.
Potential goals regarding rental properties...
- Educate tenants on ways to protect their interests in rental situations.
- Educate landlords on ways to protect their interests in rental situations.
- Improve oversight of rental properties (including better communication with absentee landlords).
Members of the Task Force presented a status report to the Board of Commissioners and dozens of staff and interested residents in a Special Session on January 31. The response from all who attended was overwhelmingly positive and the Commission charged the Task Force with creating concrete action steps and bringing them back to the Commission for approval.
Despite the positive response, I believe we are going to have a slow, tough journey ahead of us and I predict there will be a few people who will say things like, "What's the use? You're not going to make any progress. It's going to be just like it always was."
My response to those folks is that not only can we succeed, but we will succeed because there is a lot of strength in our numbers, a lot of diversity in our skills and a lot of passion in our hearts to improve every neighborhood in our city.
I'm thrilled with what we've accomplished so far and I'm excited to continue working with the Neighborhood Housing Task Force to make a positive difference in our community. I'll post updates on the group's progress as they become available. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me in the meantime.
Despite the positive response, I believe we are going to have a slow, tough journey ahead of us and I predict there will be a few people who will say things like, "What's the use? You're not going to make any progress. It's going to be just like it always was."
My response to those folks is that not only can we succeed, but we will succeed because there is a lot of strength in our numbers, a lot of diversity in our skills and a lot of passion in our hearts to improve every neighborhood in our city.
I'm thrilled with what we've accomplished so far and I'm excited to continue working with the Neighborhood Housing Task Force to make a positive difference in our community. I'll post updates on the group's progress as they become available. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me in the meantime.
