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Resident urges Lewiston to tighten lead-abatement enforcement and consider pulling occupancy permits for lead-positive rentals
Summary
A Ward 5 resident asked the council to pull occupancy permits from rental properties that test positive for lead, citing an earlier estimate that cleaning all lead hazards could take decades and expressing concern for children’s health. The council did not take action; city staff earlier announced a new lead-abatement program manager hire.
Matthew Egren, a Ward 5 resident, used the second public-comment period to urge the Lewiston City Council to take stronger enforcement action on lead hazards in rental housing, asking whether the city should pull occupancy certificates for properties that test positive for lead.
"At what point should the city pull, at least from rental properties, occupancy permits for any property that tests positive for lead?" Egren asked. He said residents were told at a prior meeting the city's lead-abatement effort would take roughly 70 years to complete and called that timeline unacceptable because it leaves children exposed to lead hazards for decades.
Egren acknowledged the city's housing-supply constraints and said he understood the practical difficulties of removing units from the rental pool, but pressed for stronger protection for children. "These kids go forward," he said, describing concerns about long-term harm.
Earlier in the meeting, City Administrator Kanrath welcomed Mansour el Alawi as the new lead-abatement program manager in the Economic and Community Development Department and described ongoing replacement-tree and beautification efforts. The council did not take formal action on lead-abatement policy at the meeting; Egren requested the council consider more robust enforcement options going forward.
