Topeka committee advances property‑maintenance overhaul, adds new notice options and weighs rental registry

Karen Hiller was re‑elected chair of the Topeka City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee on March 11 as members opened a year‑long work plan to continue the city’s “Changing Our Culture” property‑maintenance initiative.

The committee spent the meeting reviewing the initiative’s goals — including reducing substandard structures by 50% in five years, shrinking abatement cost gaps and improving curb appeal — and heard staff and community feedback about enforcement, data sharing and tenant protections.

Director of Property Maintenance John Shardine asked the committee to amend its local ordinance to allow first‑class mail and email as acceptable primary methods for delivering notice of code violations, while retaining certified mail for items such as invoices. “If you elect to receive it through email, you’ll get color photographs, a better representation of the case and a chance to respond immediately to the inspector,” Shardine said. Committee members discussed legal and practical implications; staff said the city’s legal team supported the change. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and will forward the amendment to the full City Council for final action.

Members and staff also focused on how the city tracks and inspects rental and vacant properties as the initiative moves into its fifth year. Staff described a planned software transition from MyGov to Tyler to create an interdepartmental data inventory that would let police, fire and property‑maintenance staff see a property’s recent history before responding. Nicole Stoval, program administrator for the initiative, said the system is intended to give responders “the best possible current information point in time” about ownership and complaint history.

The committee discussed two registry models. Staff said a vacant‑property registry had been dropped because it proved hard to enroll and offered limited real‑time value; instead the city will focus on building multi‑family inventories and interdepartmental data sharing. Several council members pushed for exploring a targeted rental‑registry pilot focused on multifamily buildings (defined by the committee as five or more units). One council member said a pilot could be pursued simultaneously with other software and outreach work and suggested a 24‑month phase‑one model used by other cities as a template.

Public commenters representing Topeka Tenants urged a comprehensive landlord registry and tenant‑protection measures, including a local registered agent requirement, formal repair timelines, a publicly accessible “bad‑actor” list, mandatory tenant‑rights brochures and training and small‑landlord rehabilitation programs. “A landlord registry will result in a safer and more inviting city,” Jonathan Smith of Topeka Tenants said.

Speakers representing landlords expressed interest in seeing the registry proposal text and asked how costs and noncompliance would be handled. Steve Vogel, president of the Shawnee County Landlords Association, said existing penalties already include options up to criminal prosecution but questioned enforcement consistency.

On enforcement practice, staff described the agreed cadence for multifamily buildings: exterior inspections for properties with five or more units on a three‑year rotation (annual if problems exist) and interior inspections only by invitation or where law and lease terms allow. The committee emphasized building public trust in the inspection process and refining definitions — for example, what legally constitutes a “substandard” structure and what threats require immediate vacancy.

The committee also discussed outreach plans for 2026, including website updates, regular social‑media postings, “Coffee with Code” events, yard‑of‑the‑month promotions, and tenant/landlord education programs run in partnership with community groups. Staff said one person — Leo Hope — now fills the community‑navigator role previously described as a housing navigator; members requested a fuller briefing on the navigator’s duties at a future meeting.

Next steps: the committee will forward the ordinance amendment on notice delivery to the full City Council for approval and will continue to develop the 2026 work plan, software testing and a potential rental‑registry pilot. Members also discussed holding one or two evening meetings during the year to improve renter participation.