Welcome back to the notebook. I’m Kayleigh Lickliter!

Malachi Barrett is on the mic at WDET 101.9 FM this week, so I’m on the pen! He’s co-hosting “The Metro” with Tia Graham all week starting at 11 a.m.

Let’s talk about what happened at the July 23 formal session!

The neighborhood solar project is postponed for another week. Council members had questions related to zoning and other legal concerns that will be addressed in a closed session July 29. The council is expected to vote the next day on several items to move the initiative forward. It’s the last meeting before the council goes on recess for the month of August.

About 50 people participated in public comment and the majority spoke about the solar project, including residents who live in the three areas proposed in phase one. Most commenters who support the project said they appreciated the sustainability effort, community benefits, and cost savings the city would realize. Opponents voiced frustration about a lack of transparency and questions that still need answers. 

Council members received a privileged and confidential letter from outside counsel, Todd Perkins, Tuesday morning regarding the solar initiative. 

What page are we on?

Today’s notebook covers the July 23 formal session. 

Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.

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Overhauling the city’s rental ordinance 

After a report by the Center for Community Progress was released earlier this year, at-large City Council Member Mary Waters’ is proposing changes to the city’s property maintenance ordinance most of which reflect several key recommendations. 

The ordinance introduced last week is similar to an ordinance that was on the table last year but the Duggan administration decided not to move forward with it and instead worked with the Center for Community Progress to identify ways to improve the city’s rental compliance issue.

The city’s rental ordinance, which was enacted in 2017, has been “ineffective in practice,” according to a May report from the national nonprofit. 

“Hailed by many as a significant win for Detroit tenants when it passed, the Rental Ordinance—despite the City’s conscientious efforts to implement it—has been ineffective in practice,” the report reads. 

Waters’ proposed ordinance reflects some, if not all, of the recommendations outlined in the report. 

Andi Taverna, Director of Policy and Implementation in the mayor’s office, explained the proposed changes during a Public Health and Safety Committee meeting on Monday. 

“Right now our enforcement system is very leaky and this would add quite a bit more teeth to it,” Taverna told council members. 

Instead of two separate inspections that take about 8 hours each and cost $1,000 in fees, the city would create one single property condition inspection that focuses on the 15 “most common and serious health and safety issues,”  such as heat, plumbing and electricity, and a single annual fee of around $150. 

On the enforcement side, the proposed ordinance would allow the city to convert unpaid compliance tickets into a lien on the property. Taverna said 80% of compliance tickets aren’t collected. Adding stiffer penalties is expected to help enforcement efforts, she said. 

The city also wants to revamp the escrow program.

“Our current program is so challenging to access that 90% of tenants are ineligible when they apply,” Taverna told council members.

Residents currently have the right to withhold rent by depositing rent in an escrow account when they live in a non-compliant unit. 

Revamping the program will allow tenants to deposit rent payments in an escrow account and work with landlords while they make necessary repairs to achieve compliance, according to Taverna. 

The Center for Community Progress (CCP) recommended the city overhaul its inspection process and enforcement program before implementing strategies for the escrow program and dealing with unpaid tickets. 

The CCP recommended the city expand eligibility requirements to improve participation and put the housing and revitalization department, or a third party, in charge of managing the program. Further, it recommends changes to state law to allow tenants the ability to collect attorney’s fees if they’re successful in pursuing a civil action against non-compliant landlords. 

“The overall goal is to create a fair and balanced system,” Taverna said. 

Detroit has a 10% compliance rate for rental properties which is significantly lower than the compliance rates in other communities across the state. Waters said her office found some cities have a 90% landlord compliance rate. 

Displeased with the compliance rate, Council Member Scott Benson said he’d like to see landlord compliance reach 50%. Benson said his office has had conversations with the administration about why the city hasn’t seen more rental properties coming into compliance with the city’s property maintenance code.

When there are 20,000 evictions a year, Benson explained to his colleagues, that means there are around 100 evictions filed per business day. 

“Right now, we don’t even have an environment where 90% of the people can participate in the legal services we provide to renters if they’re in the eviction process,” Benson said. He later added that tenants can’t participate “because they don’t have the documentation required.” 

Benson said the ordinance will move the city in the right direction. Benson said offering resources and support to tenants is half the battle, if not more. Offering the same support, such as training, to landlords so they can meet tenants where they are “would change the game” and mitigate many of the problems they see today. 

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Crime in Boston Edison 

Council President Mary Sheffield said her office has received “several” emails and heard concerns from residents about an increase in violent crime in the Boston Edison area and other areas in District 5. Her office is organizing a community conversation with the Detroit Police Department’s neighborhood police officers to discuss crime-related concerns. 

There have been over 27,000 911 calls placed in District 5 since the beginning of the year, according to the city’s open data portal, and 8,400 calls were considered priority one, which means the circumstances were deemed the highest priority. 

There were just under 4,300 emergency calls placed in District 5 last month and 1,300 were considered priority one, a decrease of 85 priority one calls compared to June of last year. 

In the Boston Edison neighborhood, DPD has serviced 60 priority 911 calls this year, and nearly half (29) occurred after June 1.