Update

Disorderly housing ordinance gets tougher

by Brian Hanscom

Portland's housing code might soon get a new set of fangs, the better to attack disorderly houses with. The Portland City Council is mulling over amendments to the code that would facilitate the enforcement of the one tool the city has to deal with problem buildings.

Major dysfunctions of the ordinance have been its inability to effectively document calls and subsequently prosecute for continuing problems of disorderly behavior in apartment buildings. In the current ordinance, a single residence must accrue 10 calls in a calendar month to warrant a meeting between the landlord and enforcement officials with the city, which could ultimately result in a building's tenants being evicted by the city. Penny Littell of Corporation Counsel, legal advisors to the city, explains, "The problem arose when a number of calls occurred at the end of the month, and then again at the beginning of the next month when technically the slate had been wiped clean. We would then have to wait for the next 10 calls before we could do anything."

The ordinance, upon approval, will change so that if only eight calls occur in any 30-day period it will warrant a meeting with the landlord. In addition, the city will designate properties as "hot-spots" after only four calls in a 30-day period, down from five, alerting the landlord of a problem in order to nip the situation in the bud, which, with most landlords in the city, has been an effective solution.

Yet some property owners have not been as proactive about remedying their unruly houses, as was the case at 80 Grant Street (see "Disorderly conduct," May 26, 2000). Says Councilor Tom Kane, "The real crux was that a landlord could come in and just kind of blow smoke and promise to do whatever was needed, and then do nothing, or do something ineffective, then we would have to wait for the next 10 calls and have another meeting."

Littell explains that, if the changes to the ordinance are approved, the city will no longer have to trudge through an ineffective process. "We reacted to a technicality that we have avoided with the new language. [Before], after the first 10 calls we would meet with the landlord, then after the next 10 calls we would meet with the landlord, and so on. Now, if that [landlord action] is not effective, we can go right to court."

There will also be financial incentive for property owners to deal with their problem residents. If disturbances continue after the eight calls, a $50 fine will be assessed per disturbance.

Councilor Kane is pleased with the amendments noting the improvement that as happened since the disorderly housing ordinance was first put in place in 1998. "Essentially, we can treat behavior as a code violation," says Kane. "The goal is to bring the property owners or tenants to the table and tell them, `Listen, something has to change.'"