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Quincy residents urge council to adopt rental inspection, licensing ordinance ahead of April 1 vote
Summary
Multiple residents told the Quincy City Council that unsafe rental housing is widespread and urged adoption of a city-run registration, inspection and licensing program; speakers said a referendum on April 1 will ask voters about the issue.
Several Quincy residents urged the City Council to adopt an ordinance establishing a registration, inspection and licensing program for rental housing and said the matter will appear on the April 1 ballot as a referendum.
Bridal Hills, a Quincy resident, told the council, “I support safe housing, and safe housing does not always exist in Quincy right now,” and said she had helped place a referendum on the April 1 ballot asking voters how they feel about the issue. Hills left a letter of support from Megan Duerhouse at Aquinnata with the council, she said.
The proposed ordinance would create a proactive system to register, inspect and license residential rental units. Hills said the current complaint-driven process does not allow the city to enforce minimum-housing standards and that proactive inspection programs reduce blight and emergency calls while improving public health.
Nancy Dean, who said she is a renter, described multiple hazards in her former unit and told the council she faced “utility bills over $7,800” and recurring electrical and foundation problems. “There’s stuff like that going on around here, and it’s gotta stop,” Dean said.
Jerry Wagner, a longtime Quincy resident, said a registration and inspection program would be “one step” in a multipronged approach to improve housing stock and revive neighborhood values. “Licensing and registration are common requirements for many other businesses,” Wagner said, arguing the program would provide information and incentives for landlords to maintain properties.
A slideshow and comments by Lisonbee and remarks from Ryan Crist described unsafe conditions observed in rental units, including unsecured stair banisters and exposed live wiring. Crist said a tenant told him, “I don’t make the rules,” to explain why tenants often do not press for repairs; Crist added, “They deserve some decency.”
Speakers said unsafe rental housing disproportionately harms people fleeing domestic violence; Bridal Hills referenced a local agency’s goal to help survivors find safe housing and said the current complaint process “does not assist us in helping victims achieve safe, affordable housing.”
The council did not take formal action on the public comments during the meeting; public-comment speakers said they had brought the referendum to the ballot and left materials with the council. Council members move on to agenda items after the public-comment period.
