[{"_1":2,"_85":-5,"_86":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6329021,"mediaKeyId","2316578-86cd55d8f652d5019ca99c7776aae3a8","parentId",2316578,"title","Committee delays vacant‑building registration ordinance after equity and enforcement questions","audioSeconds",3062,"startMs",551000,"endMs",3613000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2316578-86cd55d8f652d5019ca99c7776aae3a8&start=551&end=3613","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6329021/Ohio/Committee-delays-vacantbuilding-registration-ordinance-after-equity-and-enforcement-questions","mediaUrl","author","City Council of Cincinnati OH","date","2025-02-11T00:00:00Z","article","The Equitable Growth and Housing Committee delayed action on a proposed vacant building registration ordinance after members asked the administration for more data on enforcement capacity, equity impacts and ownership patterns.

Chair Mark Jeffries told the committee that city data show about 2,790 properties without water service that appear vacant and that 97 percent of those properties have generated at least one police or fire call. \"If you average the last five years, all the fire runs, it's about 1,700 a year, which is about 10% of the total fire runs in a year,\" Jeffries said, adding that the properties owe roughly $4,500,000 in back taxes.

The ordinance as presented would create a proactive registry for properties determined to be vacant, require twice‑a‑year interior inspections (and regular exterior monitoring), and establish a modest registration fee estimated at \"$200 to $300,\" Director Dahlberg said. The proposal includes exemptions for certain government‑owned properties, owners with active building permits, owners who can demonstrate an approved maintenance plan, and so‑called \"snowbirds.\" Dahlberg said the ordinance is intended to be an \"entryway\" to assess conditions and to move truly unsafe properties into the existing vacant building maintenance license (VBML) regime.

Solicitor Faulberg clarified a legal point raised during questions: \"The land bank is the entity that is exempt. They are a legal entity that is separate and apart from the port and they are immune under the state law from receiving civil citations,\" he said, noting that some exemptions reflect limits in state law and not a city policy decision.

Committee members pressed the administration on several fronts. Council member Scotty Johnson said he was concerned about perceived inequitable enforcement and exemptions, arguing that issuing fines in some neighborhoods while exempting others would fuel complaints of unequal treatment. \"If we're gonna be talking about handing out citations to citizens, then I have a problem with anybody being exempt,\" Johnson said. Council member Seth Walsh pressed the administration on implementation capacity: with roughly 2,800 properties identified, Walsh asked how the city would reach owners who do not respond to notices and how staff would inspect the properties in a timely way. Dahlberg replied that the city intends to use data to prioritize field verification, pursue inspection warrants through the solicitor's office when owners do not cooperate, and use collections and legal tools as needed.

Other clarifications during the discussion:
- The registry would apply only after a property has been vacant for six months, Dahlberg said; the measure is not aimed at short‑term vacancies such as a home awaiting a scheduled closing.
- The VBML program remains complaint‑driven and targeted to properties already found \"unsafe or unfit;\" the proposed registry is expressly framed as a proactive, broader screening tool to identify properties that are not yet in VBML.
- The VBML fee schedule presented to the committee escalates with time vacant (administration described a stepped fee structure with higher fees for longer vacancies); the registry fee would be significantly lower than VBML fees.

After roughly 90 minutes of questions and public comment — including residents and neighborhood advocates who described hazardous vacant properties and illegal occupation of structures — Council member Walsh moved to hold the item for two weeks to allow the administration to return with additional information the committee requested. Walsh said, \"I move to hold this for 2 weeks for presentation and further consideration.\" The motion passed on a roll call vote with the following members recorded as voting yes: Mark Jeffries; Mika Owens; J. Michelle Kearney; Scotty Johnson; Seth Walsh; Jeff Krammerding; Anna Albee; Evan Nolan; and one abstention or second not specified in the record. The chair and administration confirmed the ordinance would not be implemented immediately; staff said the city intends to delay full implementation for about a year to allow hiring and training of inspection staff.

What the committee asked the administration to return with in two weeks included a clear visual workflow comparing the existing VBML process to the proposed VBR process, data on ownership (individuals vs. LLCs, local vs. out‑of‑state owners), a plan for how the city will reach non‑responsive owners and prioritize ‘‘bad actors,’’ and an equity analysis that considers reduced fees or relief for low‑income owners or community development organizations.

The committee set no new vote date beyond scheduling the administrative return in two weeks; the motion to hold was recorded as a postponement of formal action.

The discussion reflected competing priorities: council members said they want to stop vacant properties from endangering neighbors and consuming public safety resources, while also ensuring the program does not unduly penalize small local owners or community developers awaiting financing. Administration staff and the committee agreed to provide more granular data and a more detailed implementation plan when they return.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Cincinnati OH, Equitable Growth & Housing Committee (February 11, 2025)","oneSentenceSummary","The Equitable Growth and Housing Committee delayed action on a proposed vacant building registration ordinance after members asked the administration for more data on enforcement capacity, equity impacts and ownership patterns.","taxTitle","Cincinnati Board & Committees, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio","taxId",75954,"location","Ohio","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6329016,"Local agencies report sharp rise in families sleeping outside as shelter capacity lags",263,4034000,4297000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2316578-86cd55d8f652d5019ca99c7776aae3a8&start=4034&end=4297","/articles/6329016/Ohio/Local-agencies-report-sharp-rise-in-families-sleeping-outside-as-shelter-capacity-lags","Four local providers told the Equitable Growth and Housing Committee that demand for family shelter far exceeds capacity and that the number of families sleeping outside rose sharply in 2024.

Representatives from Bethany House, Found House, Strategies to End Homelessness and the YWCA said the central access point (CAP) helpline received more than 2,200 family calls in 2024. Of those, 697 families were screened and determined to need emergency shelter; only 266 of those families were able to be admitted to emergency shelters, Kevin Finn said. \"Only a little more than a third of the families that we determined really did need emergency shelter were actually able to come into a shelter,\" Finn said.

Finn and other presenters said outreach and improved counting increased the number of families found sleeping outside; in 2024 the providers counted 232 families sleeping outdoors, compared with past years when the count had not exceeded the high 20s. \"That might explain a part of that increase,\" Finn said, \"but clearly a large amount of those numbers is families that attempted to access emergency shelter and were not able to, and as a result ended up sleeping in their car or something like that instead.\"

Program directors described services and outcomes alongside systemic gaps:
- Bethany House reported serving 449 families (more than 1,000 children) and providing over 79,000 bed nights in 2024. The agency said it raised roughly $250,000 in one‑time assistance for households but that the need exceeds available private funds. Joanna Glover (YWCA) said about 85 percent of program participants move from shelter into permanent housing and that 85–90 percent of those households remain housed over a two‑year follow‑up window.
- Found House and others noted structural obstacles to stable exits: a loss of daycare capacity since COVID, a high prevalence of chronic physical, mental health or developmental conditions among parents (about 40 percent among families they serve), and a scarce supply of multi‑bedroom rental units at rents households can afford. Stacey Burd said longer term rental assistance has waned; when local public housing vouchers are not available she expects up to 150 families who are exiting shelters or diversion programs will be affected.

Speakers emphasized that prevention and shelter diversion (helping doubled‑up families secure an apartment) work well when resources are available but capacity is limited. Finn explained that in 2024 the system could only place 106 families in shelter diversion. \"So the vast majority of the families that called the central access point were not offered any sort of assistance at all simply because shelter space was not available for them nor was there enough capacity in the shelter diversion program,\" he said.

Panelists also described the affordability math many households face: Found House cited an example of a mother with STNA earnings (about $2,500 per month) facing a two‑bedroom market rent of about $1,362; that rent would consume roughly 54 percent of pretax earnings before utilities, childcare and transportation are counted.

Committee members thanked the presenters and raised questions about cross‑jurisdictional effects and county funding. Members heard that most people experiencing homelessness are local but that some movement across county lines and from neighboring Northern Kentucky contributes to demand. Panelists noted that county indigent care levy funding historically supports single adult shelters, while family shelter funding has been more limited.

Committee members requested the agencies' data be filed with the clerk and signaled continuing interest in the ongoing RFP for human services funding. No formal committee action followed the presentation.

The presenters asked policymakers to consider sustaining and expanding rental assistance, addressing childcare capacity, and aligning funding for family shelters with demonstrated need.

The committee filed the presentation and concluded the meeting.","Shelter and nonprofit leaders told the committee that in 2024 about 2,200 families called the central access point for help, 697 were assessed to need emergency shelter and only 266 were placed; agencies counted 232 families sleeping outside in 2024 and said limited housing supply, lost longer‑term assistance and childcare gaps hinder exits to稳定","actionData","errors"]

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Committee delays vacant‑building registration ordinance after equity and enforcement questions

Local agencies report sharp rise in families sleeping outside as shelter capacity lags