ACTION REQUESTED:
Title
Communication from the City Manager with a Request to ADOPT an ORDINANCE Amending Chapter 5 of the CODE of the City of Peoria Pertaining to BUILDING PERMITS and REGISTRATION of NON-OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTY FEES.
Body
BACKGROUND: On October 27, 2015, the City Manager presented to Council a balanced 2016-2017 Biennial Budget. As part of the budget presented, an increase in various building permit and "rental registration" fees were included. The attached ordinances reflect the increases in these fees.
During the November 24, 2015 Council meeting, several questions were raised related to this item. Responses to these questions are listed below:
* How many properties are not registered?
o We estimate that there are approximately 8,500 non-owner occupied structures in Peoria. We currently have approximately 7,200 registered properties. As such, around 85% of all potential properties are registered.
o Moving to a requirement to register each unit instead of each structure will make it easier to match the number of registered units with the number of units reported to the Census Bureau.
* What percentage of properties with violations are owned by participants in the annual Landlord Training?
o We do not have a specific number in this case. However, as the great majority of landlords attend the annual training, most of the violations would be attributed to attendees.
o While the annual training provides good information to landlords, it does not necessarily cause them to be better property owners. We have found that the strict enforcement of code violations is the best tool for reducing recidivism.
* Peoria's rental market is already too expensive and any additional cost will be passed onto the tenants.
o The median rent in Peoria is less than Morton, Washington, Metamora, and the overall Peoria Metro area. The median rent for East Peoria is slightly less than Peoria.
o Rents in Peoria range from over $1,000 a mon...
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