Letter from Mayor concerning Public Hearing for Rental Ordinance

January 16, 2013
　
RE: Rental Ordinance Public Hearing

On behalf of the Board of Aldermen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Louisville for attending the public hearing concerning a proposed rental ordinance on Tuesday, January 15. The outpouring of interest in this ordinance was welcomed. We would like to also issue a public apology for the lack of adequate space and time for the hearing to be more effective. As a result of the limited space, time restraints, and the information provided by the public, the City of Louisville will not take any action until future hearings are held with better accommodations. The proposed ordinance is in a draft form on the city website (www.cityoflouisvillems.com under “news” tab) or you may request a copy from City Hall. The origin of the ordinance began over concerns from citizens and issues the City has faced over time. The next meeting time and location will be published in the near future. The public is encouraged to submit your input in writing to the City of Louisville and consideration will be given. I want to emphasize the intent of such an ordinance is to address ongoing issues our City faces while striving to make Louisville a better place. Again, thank you for your attention and concern for Louisville, Mississippi.Respectfully,

Will Hill

"DRAFT" Proposed Rental Ordinance

DRAFT / PROPOSED

ORDINANCE _______

AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING THE REGISTRATION OF ALL HABITABLE RENTAL PROPERTIES AND ESTABLISHING AN INSPECTION FEE

Sec. 1-100

       - Scope

 This ordinance shall apply to all habitable rental housing units located within the City of Louisville, Mississippi, including single family homes and multifamily units. The intent of this code is to establish base standards for rental housing in Louisville so as to prevent or correct deterioration, slum-like and blighted conditions and protect the health, safety and welfare of the community.

Sec. 1-102

       - Exemptions

 The Louisville Housing Authority is exempt from this ordinance due to there own regulations that are enforced on their rental property by the Louisville Housing Authority Board of Director.

Sec. 1-102

       - Designation of administer

 The Director of the Code Enforcement Department for the City of Louisville is hereby designated as the administrator of this article and may delegate duties of this code to the building inspectors, code enforcement officers and other employees of the Code Enforcement Department or other employees of the City of Louisville.

Sec. 1-103

       - Registration required

 It shall be unlawful for any person and/or entity to maintain or operate any rental housing unit or units within the City of Louisville unless such person or entity has registered the property prior to January 15 of each year or within thirty (30) days of transfer of ownership.

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Sec. 1-104

       - Failure to Register

 A late penalty fee will be assessed in the amount of ten dollars ($10.00) per unit multiplied by the number of months the registration is past due. A penalty of three hundred fifty ($350.00) will be assessed for failure to register a dwelling unit.

Sec. 1-105

       - Annual registration application

 (a) Annual registration. Application for an annual rental

housing registration shall be filed with and issued by

the department of Code of Enforcement, located at City Hall, 200 S. Church Ave. The application shall be in writing, signed by the property owner, agent or designee and shall include the following.

     (1) The name and address of the applicant;

     (2) Proof of ownership must be provided if the

         information provided differs from Winston County

         records;

     (3) The location and parcel number of the property on

         which the rental housing unit is located;

     (4) For new construction, a complete site plan of the

         complex showing it is in conformity with the

         requirements included within this rental housing

         code;

     (5) For new construction, plans and specifications of

         all buildings, improvements and facilities to be

         constructed within rental housing complex or on

         the same property as the rental housing unit;

     (6) Such other information as may be requested by the

         Department Code of Enforcement to enable it to

         determine if the proposed rental housing unit or

         complex will comply with all codes and ordinances

         adopted by the City of Louisville.

     (7) If the Owner does not reside within 60 miles of

the rental unit OR is not able to be contacted on      a 24-hour basis, the Owner must provide information for a Local Agent who resides in Winston County or an adjoining county AND is able to respond reasonably in the event of an emergency on a 24-hour basis.

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 (b) Inspection required. Before any registration is issued

     by the department of Code Enforcement, the applicant

     must authorize the administrator or designee to      inspect the rental housing unit and accessory areas or

complex for which an application for registration has

been made. The administrator or designee may inspect only a portion of the rental units within a rental housing complex if the administrator or designee

determines an inspection of the entire complex is not needed. Every landlord who retains all utilities in his/her name is required to allow all rental units inspected with each change of occupancy. All utilities must be turned on at the time of the inspection in

order to inspect all systems, appliances and

equipment. All dwellings must meet the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) adopted by the City of Louisville.

 (c) Registration renewal. Upon application in writing for

renewal of a registration issued under this chapter

and the Department of Code Enforcement shall issue a certificate renewing such registration for another year. The Department of Code Enforcement may, in its discretion, inspect the rental housing unit or complex for which application is being made before a renewal of the registration is issued.

 (d) Registration transfer. Upon application in writing for

transfer of a registration accompanied by an

application with the transferee's information, the

Department of Code Enforcement shall issue a transfer

if the application is found to be in compliance with

this chapter.

 (e) Certificate of occupancy requirements. In accordance

     with, a certificate of occupancy shall be required as

a condition of providing new utility service to any rental property or as a condition of transferring     service to a new owner, new renter or new billing     name. A certificate of occupancy is required prior to      tenant taking possession of a rental unit.

Sec. 1-106

       - Registration revocation

 The Department of Code Enforcement may revoke any registration to maintain and operate a rental housing unit

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or complex when the owner or agent has failed to comply with any provision of this ordinance. After such failure to comply the registration may be reissued if the circumstances leading to the failure to comply have been remedied and the rental housing unit or complex is being maintained and operated in full compliance with the law.

Sec. 1-107

       - Definitions

 For purposes of this article, the following words, terms

and phrases shall have the meaning respectively ascribed to

them as follows, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

     Accessory use areas are areas and buildings around a rental dwelling which provide space for amenities and facilities, including but not limited to recreation areas, laundry rooms, recreation rooms, refuse collection facilities, and accessory storage buildings.

     Agent is a person authorized by the owner of a rental housing unit to make or order repairs or service to the unit and authorized to receive notices on behalf of the owner.

     Approved means in conformance with the appropriate codes and approved by the administrator or his designee.

     Building official is the city official designated by the mayor and council to administer and enforce this ordinance, and such representatives as may be appointed by such city official.

     Certificate of occupancy is a certificate issued pursuant to this article by the building official to ensure  that a dwelling unit is in compliance with the provisions of this article.

     Change of occupancy is when a rental unit is vacated and is occupied by a new tenant.

     City means the City of Louisville, Mississippi.

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Deterioration means a lowering in quality of the condition or appearance of a building, structure or premises characterized by holes, breaks, rot, crumbling, cracking, peeling, rusting or any other evidence of physical decay. neglect, damage or lack of maintenance.

Dwelling means an enclosed occupied space designed as or being used as permanent living facilities, including single family and multifamily dwellings and accessory use areas.

     Failure to comply means a failure, refusal, or neglect to obey an official order or comply with any adopted ordinance of the City of Louisville.

     Habitable room means a room or enclosed floor space within a rental housing unit used, intended to be used or designed to be used for living, sleeping, eating or cooking and excludes bathrooms, laundry rooms, halls, closets and storage places.

     IPMC is the International Property Maintenance Code adopted by the City of Louisville.

     Legal entity means association, corporation, partnership or individual that has legal standing in the eyes of the law.

     Manager means any person who has charge, care or control of a rental housing unit.

     Occupant or tenant means any person living in, sleeping in or possessing a rental housing unit.

     Owner means a person, persons or legal entity listed as the current titleholder of real property, as recorded in the official records of Winston County, Mississippi.

     Proof of ownership is a title or deed to a piece of property signed by a notary public.

     Rental housing unit means that portion of a dwelling for which payment or other consideration is being made to

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an owner, agent or manager for the use or occupancy of that portion as an independent living facility, excluding transient occupancy such as hotels and motels. It also means each apartment or each rental unit within an apartment complex.

Slum-like means the unsightly condition of a building, structure or premises characterized by deterioration or other similar conditions and the visible outdoor storage of junk, garbage or rubbish, regardless of the conditions of other properties in the neighborhood.

     Uninhabitable means dwelling units that have not been approved for occupancy by the City of Louisville Code Enforcement Department.

Sec. 1-108

       - Authority to inspect

 (a) Personnel. The administer or designee is authorized to

make reasonable and necessary inspection of rental

housing units and premises to determine compliance with this article.

 (b) Access. Every owner, agent, manager or tenant of a

     rental housing unit shall, upon reasonable notice,

allow access to any part of such rental housing unit

at all reasonable times for the purpose of making such inspections. If the owner, agent, manager or tenant refuses access to make an inspection, the City is authorized to obtain an inspection warrant. If complaint is made to the City of conditions in any rental unit which may be in violation of any applicable City Code, the City is authorized to investigate such complaint without notice.

 (c) Scope. An inspector may expand the scope of an

     inspection to include other city code violations

     discovered during the inspection.

 (d) Compliance. If upon inspection, violations of interior

or exterior standards exist, the owner, agent or

manager will be required to correct all violations

within a reasonable period of time as determined by

the inspector. Failure to comply with the order of the

inspector may result in the revocation of the existing

certificate of occupancy. In the event the rental

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housing unit becomes unoccupied, future occupancy will

be prohibited until all violations have been corrected

and the unit has been re-inspected by the City and

deemed to be in compliance and a new certificate of

occupancy issued.

Sec. 2-100

       - Inspection Fee

 All tenants shall pay an inspection fee in the amount of fifteen dollars ($15.00) prior to connection of utilities which allows the administer or designee to make a reasonable inspection and necessary of the rental unit to determine compliance with this article.

Sec. 2-101

       - Inspection Waiver

 Any tenant may waive the inspection but such waiver will not prohibit the administer or designee from making an inspection.

City of Louisville's Banner Project for Bypass and areas in Louisville

BANNER PROJECT: SPONSORSHIP AGREEMENT

Date:

Terms of Agreement:
Any local (Winston County) business, civic club, institution, or organization, in good standing with Winston County & the City of Louisville may choose to sponsor a banner and will have their “Name/logo” displayed on a banner
The sponsorships are currently limited to 30 available locations, therefore will be on a first committment basis. This project is for locations in the City of Louisville (Bypass HWY 25/15 a.k.a. “Veterans Memorial Highway”)The sponsorship will be for the period of: the “life” of the banner. Due to wear and tear it may be necessary to replace the banner, and this would be done at the expense of the sponsor. Additionally, the sponsor must remain in good standing (ie: if out of business or inactive, may be replaced by the City)
The sponsor agrees to provide their logo in a format suitable for the banner company to produce.
The sponsor agrees to the design presented
The sponsor agrees to pay as follows:
Option 1: One time fee of $1,000.00 at execution of this agreement
OR
Option 2: Quarterly payment of $300.00/quarter for term of one year totaling $1,200.00 (first payment due upon execution of this agreement )
-Payments will be made payable to: Winston County Chamber of Commerce
P.O. Box 551
Louisville, MS 39339
7. The City of Louisville agrees to display the banners upon production and the banners will be the property of the City of Louisville
8. The revenue generated by this project will be used for the purchase, production, and installation of all banners. The remaining funds will be allocated for the “Design Committee” of the Chamber of Commerce
Signed:
Name/Title/Business/Organization Print Name
Date Authorizing Signature