City Council

I 9...,,.tr' ." 0d-/-tft Counc i I Agenda I tem No; V. A 9/?B/71 I I couNctL HEHo N0. l\32-71 I I September 21, l97l t TO Hayor and City Council FROM: City Manager B0 \91\ SU BJ ECT : Status Report on the Abanfloned Housing Program SEP oIY eouNe\L rH6 B'( s6{ eERt{ As per the direction of the city cop.rncil, this office i t t"o^:,'[,6rgi'i-f' for your information a report on the status of the Abandoned Housing Prog ram. The Abandoned Housing Prog.ram, initriated at Counci I request aplroximately one year ago, has proven to be extremely effective in obtaining compl iance and reducing the number of vacant substandard housing units in oklahoma City. After several months of research and investigation, procedures were developed to allow the City to movq against owners of abandoned or dilapidated houses throughout the City. These procedures are as follows: An area is surveyed noting all Jrch structures and all violations of building, fire, and health cqdes of the city. lnspectors then must locate the individual property bv legal description and address of property owners. A picturb must be made showing the condition of the property on the first inspection. Thirty day notices are then sent to thq last knorvn property owner. The notice states all violationg of the city codes and informs the owner if compliance is not made within the allotted time the penalties of the ordinance will be enforced. lf at the end of this notice time the owner has failed to comply, charges are prepared, the owner is served, and a municipal court date is set. Subsequent to court action the strr]icture is brought into compl iance by either denrol ition or rehabi I itat iorn. The program has thus far extended into two non-urban renewal neighborhoods, Harrison-Walnut and Riverside. Attached to this report is a map oh tf,u Harrison-Walnut area showing structures surveyed, cleared, and I n process. Whereas this area is our present target area it does no t preclude other areas. Any complaint Iodged aga i nst any vacant. structur e is investigated as soon as it is lodged, and correction required no ted, if discrepancies are found. : ,n ,,: l ' . - '/ I I r- I i I I I Fo, nci I Memo No. l\32-71 Fep tember 23, I97l Faq e2 I l" I I I I I lRes ponse to specifli c complaints are part of the normal routine effort br the Building lnspection Department. ln order to meet the growing demand for inspection of vacant sub-standard dwell ings in Oklah'oma City the Building lqspection Department requested, and Council approv'ed, the addition df two inew inspectors and one clerk typist i I Based on the program as it has existed thei past year the following inforrnation is provided on current Status:1 I A. Estineted number of abandoned structures - 5,000 B. Number surveyed and inspecte{ to date - 21313 C. Number of abandoned structures demolished - 391 D. Number rehabil itated - 2? ' E. Number presently pending beffre the Courts - 17 F. Number of first notices sent - 40 G. Number prepared for first notice - 200 H. Number prepared for final notice - 200 l. Number being researched for ownership and first action - 1443 0n the average the Building lnspection Department will be sending ten first notices, ten final notices and processing ten court cases per week. This activity will greatly increase with the additional inspectors. ln the future a monthly status report on the Abandoned Housing Program wi I I be prov i ded for your i nformat iron . R.Espect f y submi tted, N. Ross C ity Manager at tachment t I I