Title
Update and Discussion on Quality Housing Program
Body
Issue/Request:
Discussion over progress developing the Quality Housing Program.
Key Issues:
To preserve the integrity and safety of housing options within the City, protect the rights of owners, landlords, tenants, and preserve the standards of the surrounding neighborhoods, it is desired to have a discussion on updates to the Property Maintenance Code.
At the February 2018 CEDC meeting, a proposed alternative approach and framework for the Quality Housing Program was discussed. Based upon feedback from various stakeholder groups, a program that applies to all housing is more desirable than a market specific program. The current Property Maintenance Code (Chapter 16 of the Lee's Summit Code of Ordinances) is based upon the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) published by the International Code Council (ICC), however the IPMC is not currently adopted in a similar fashion as the rest of the Building Codes. The IPMC provides an internationally recognized basis for the code, while also allowing for local amendments. All of the saftey provisions previously discussed are also located in the IPMC, and would apply to all housing within Lee's Summit. Review and adoption of the IPMC will also place the Property Maintenance Code on a more regular review schedule for continual updates.
An opportunity for stakeholder feedback on the IPMC was provided. An interest form was sent out over social media platforms and available at the Development Center counter. A total of 22 stakeholders representing landlords, tenants, homeowners, and property managers participated in the code review process. Over the course of 8 meetings, each chapter of the IPMC was reviewed and discussed. Currently, the collected feedback is being organized and proposed amendments are being prepared for review.
The next phase of the overall program is proposed to be dedicated towards educating the public and creating comm...
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