ORDINANCE NO. 260667, AS AMENDED
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Sponsor: Councilmember Johnathan Duncan
Appropriating up to $500,000.00 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the Housing Trust Fund, Fund No. 2490; directing the City Manager, within 2 days, to inspect the residential properties at 135 N. Lawn Avenue, 132 N. Lawn Avenue and 148 N. Lawn Avenue for any City Code violations and report back to Council and, for any emergency or immediate health threat pursuant to City Code, to issue within two days thereafter any emergency or other order required under City Code and commensurate with such findings and to undertake any enforcement and abatement efforts that are warranted and feasible to address emergency or immediate dangers; directing the City Manager, within 60 days, to establish a task force to develop and implement a plan to regulate landlords who fail to maintain safe and habitable conditions for tenants; directing the City Manager, within 60 days, to explore establishing a fund to support emergency repairs and report to Council; and recognizing this ordinance as having an accelerated effective date.
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WHEREAS, the City has an interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring residential rental properties meet minimum health and safety standards; and
WHEREAS, City has received reports of conditions that may constitute various Code violations and safety issues at three residential properties in the City where tenants apparently still reside, 135 N. Lawn Avenue, 132 N. Lawn Avenue and 148 N. Lawn Avenue, which could present a challenging regulatory issue for City to adequately address without unreasonably displacing or excessively disturbing such tenants in their residences; and
WHEREAS, a coordinated interdepartmental effort with input from impacted tenants is necessary to effectively hold absentee landlords accountable; and
WHEREAS, one purpose of the Housing Trust Fund is to aid in the rehabilitation of dilapidated properties; and
WHEREAS, Kansas City’s Code of Ordinances empowers the Director of Neighborhood Services to issue emergency orders to correct or abate conditions that create immediate, specifically identified risk to public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, the City believes it is necessary to immediately evaluate whether use of this authority is appropriate before properties deteriorate to an extent requiring vacation of the premises and displacement of residents; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. Waiving the requirements of Section 2-1693(d) and appropriating the sum of up to $500,000.00 from the Unappropriated Fund Balance of the Housing Trust Fund to the following account for the purposes of conducting any necessary emergency repairs to abate immediate public health and safety threat violations pursuant to City’s Code of Ordinances:
27-2490-572333-B Neighborhood Strategic Remediation $500,000.00
Section 2. That, within 48 hours of the passage of this Ordinance, the City Manager is hereby directed to coordinate a site visit at properties located at 135 N. Lawn Avenue, 132 N. Lawn Avenue, and 148 N. Lawn Avenue with relevant departments to investigate possible violations of the Kansas City Code of Ordinances pertaining to residential property maintenance, nuisances, fire prevention and protection, building regulations, hazardous or toxic substances, and unlawful activities of landlords of residential premise, and report back to council.
Section 3. That, within 48 hours of any authorized City staff determination at any of the above properties that an emergency or other immediate danger to health, life, safety or welfare exists, the City Manager or authorized staff is hereby directed to issue any emergency or other order(s) required under City Code and commensurate with such findings, and to undertake any and all authorized enforcement and abatement efforts City Manager or authorized staff deem warranted and feasible to protect the public from any such emergency or immediate danger, including but not limited to City’s authority to abate such conditions pursuant to City Code sections 48-68, 56-540 or 56-284 and assess any City abatement costs against the owner and the property.
Section 4. That the City Manager is hereby directed, within 60 days of the passage of this Resolution, to establish a task force to address landlords who actively collect rent from tenants yet fail to maintain their properties in a safe and habitable condition. The task force shall include relevant city departments and staff, including, but not limited to, the Housing and Community Development Department, the Neighborhood Services Department, Kansas City Fire Department, the Multidisciplinary Public Safety Task Force, the Kansas City Prosecutor’s Office, and the Health Department. The task force shall develop and implement a coordinated plan with input from impacted tenants and residents aimed to:
1. Address Kansas City Code violations pertaining to residential property maintenance, nuisances, fire prevention and protection, building regulations, hazardous or toxic substances and unlawful activities of landlords of residential premises; and
2. Repair issues that create uninhabitable conditions for tenants; and
3. Assess maximum penalties and assessments for violators.
Section 5. That, within 60 days of the passage of this Ordinance, the City Manager is hereby directed to explore the feasibility of establishing a fund for the purposes of supporting emergency repairs and report to Council on the same.
Section 6. That the Director of Neighborhoods is designated as requisitioning authority for Account No. 27-2490-572333-B.
Section 7. That this ordinance, relating to the appropriation of money, is recognized as an ordinance with an accelerated effective date as provided by Section 503(a)(3)(C) of the City Charter and shall take effect in accordance with that section.
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I hereby certify that there is a balance, otherwise unencumbered, to the credit of the appropriation to which the forgoing expenditure is to be charged, and a cash balance, otherwise unencumbered, in the treasury to the credit of the fund from which payment is to be made, each sufficient to meet the obligation hereby incurred.
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Brenton Siverly
Director of Finance
Approved as to form:
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Bret Kassen
Associate City Attorney