Housing and Neighborhood Issues

On August 30 the Owosso City Council held a special meeting on housing and neighborhood issues. Below is an edited and updated e-mail I sent out. If you would like to receive regular updates by e-mail, let me know and I will put you on my list.

Three Housing Issues

1. Aging stock: about 70% of the approximately 6,700 housing units in Owosso are over 50 years old (note this correction from the first e-mail). Many of these homes are historic, affordable, and help make up a desirable neighborhood fabric. However, if these older homes are not properly maintained they may decay rapidly.

2. Vacant and blighted property: dilapidation, a weak housing market, and foreclosures have left too many houses in Owosso vacant. While there is no easy way to get a count, if 10% of the housing units are vacant that would mean close to 700 homes are empty. City staff estimates that 20 vacant homes have decayed to the point where they cannot be salvaged.

3. Health and Safety: older or poorly maintained homes can endanger both residents and neighbors. Inadequate wiring can present fire hazards, lead paint can endanger children, and blighted property can harbor criminal activity.

Code Enforcement options have been investigated by City staff and they are planning on increasing attention to compliance with the Property Maintenance Code adopted by the City in 1990. Existing building staff will be assisted by police and fire personnel to inspect the housing in the worst shape. The goal is to work with property owners and residents to ensure that homes meet some basic life safety and health requirements. This will help maintain our housing stock, prevent the further abandonment of homes, and reduce neighborhood blight and crime. We heard testimony about the necessity of ensuring quality living environments and encouraging new investment in our neighborhoods.

Rental Housing will be a focus, but there is no desire to be punitive to landlords. Rental housing is about a third of the housing stock, but about 50% of the current code enforcement issues. Several rental property owners testified and expressed general frustration with the City's attention to these issues, but they made few specific criticisms or suggestions. Owosso instituted a rental registration program last year, and there are now 1,924 units registered, which does not yet include all rental property. Fines can be assessed for non-registration, but have not yet been levied. Several landlords expressed their dislike for the $25 annual registration fee, although it was pointed out that registration fees in other cities are in the hundreds of dollars. The City's goal will be to work with landlords, and tenants, to ensure basic life safety and habitability standards.

Housing Rehabilitation Programs are now underway with a grant from the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA). These loans can assist both homeowners and rental property owners make improvements to their housing. In addition, City staff continue to work with housing programs from Shiawassee County, several nonprofit organizations, and private sector lenders, builders, and realtors. While we are off to a good start with these programs, it is clear that we need to look for ways to expand our efforts. In particular, I would like to be sure we are taking advantage of residential energy retrofit programs. The idea of creating new community and neighborhood organizations was also suggested, and the Mayor is currently seeking help on this endeavor.

New Housing is not a focus, as there is no general need at present to add to the overall housing stock. However, we did discuss the benefits and opportunity to provide downtown housing on upper floors and senior and other special needs housing. It was suggested we encourage new housing by rehabilitating some older non-residential properties.

City-Owned Vacant Property may become more of an issue as the City seeks to clean up blighted housing, although a lack of funding will limit these efforts. A draft policy on the disposition of city-acquired property was presented and may be acted on in the near future.

You can form a Neighborhood Watch group - we discussed the link between poor housing and crime and the positive role neighborhoods can play in promoting public safety and improving the housing stock. The Public Safety Department and Councilmember Gary Martenis have made attempts to form Neighborhood Watch groups, but have not had much interest. The Owosso Police has an interest and funding available to support the formation of such groups; please let me, any other City Councilmember or City staff know if your are interested. I believe this could be a useful tool to help improve Owosso.

A Housing Advisory Committee was suggested and the City may form a group of community residents, landlords, lenders, housing experts and others with an interest in Owosso. I volunteered to look into this option, so please let me know if you like the idea, are willing to help out, or have suggestions.

In sum, I think the City Council came away with a much better understanding of the challenges and the opportunities to improve housing and neighborhoods in Owosso. It won't be easy or quick, but I do believe we cannot ignore this issue; failure to protect and preserve quality housing will be detrimental to the community's future. I believe that our City staff has a great deal of knowledge, expertise, and commitment that will be of benefit. If we come together as a community, and not blame one another, I think we can make some positive changes that will benefit all of us who live in Owosso.