Update: Alderman David Lenart reports that the law has gone back to city attorney Joseph Coppola for further tweaking, but will be most likely come before the full Board of Aldermen later this month.
Original post from Tuesday afternoon:
A subcommittee of the Derby Board of Aldermen is scheduled to talk about a proposed “ chronic nuisance” law tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 8).
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Derby City Hall at 1 Elizabeth St.
The law would give the city a way to deal with problem landlords by placing them on a nuisance list, where they could face potential fines for not dealing with quality of life issues such as:
- Fire code violations
- Health issues
- Blighted properties
- Criminal activities such as prostitution, drug-related loitering, or assaults
The law was first proposed after a rash of violence hit Derby two summers in a row. Neighbors along Hawkins Street came to Derby Aldermen meetings and complained that landlords of rental properties weren’t paying attention to what was happening in their rentals.
Alderman David Lenart said the law will give the city another tool in the fight against blight — and an indirect way to deal with criminal hot spots.
“Obviously, this could help prevent things such as the violence we had over the summer,” Lenart said. “The police department, though, has done a great job getting that under control.”
Weather canceled a number of the subcommittee’s subsequent meetings.
It’s possible the subcommittee will vote tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 8) to pass the ordinance to the full Board of Aldermen, who will ultimately decide its fate.
Ken Hughes, president of the Board of Aldermen and a member of the subcommittee, said he supports the concept but will be asking questions about the law tonight.
“There are some sections in Derby zoned for multi-family use which have posed a perennial problem in terms of the city allocating taxpayer funded resources, mainly the police, building and fire marshal departments and our schools,” Hughes said. “While the chronic nuisance property ordinance will be enacted city wide, my hope is that it will address those properties and absentee landlords who seem to have no respect for our city and taxpayer funded services.”
A draft copy of the ordinance is posted below. Changes could be made to it tonight.
