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Rental Licensing for Springfield

by Bill Dusty

The effort to create an ordinance for the licensing of rental properties moves ahead as City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke, who first brought up the issue back in May, will bring up the matter at a meeting of the City’s Planning and Economic Development Committee on Tuesday. According to the Republican story by Mike Plaisance, the proposed ordinance would create “rental occupancy permits” to be issued by the City, and would apply to both existing landlords and any new landlords renting out properties in the city. Initial inspections would require the hiring of more inspection staff until all rental buildings are inspected and determined to be up on taxes and fees owed. The permits would be good until either the property no longer rented or whenever ownership changes hands.

This issue is yet another step in the right direction for the City of Springfield. Our city is in dire need of setting up standards of behavior not only for those who wish to live here, but also for those who wish to do business here. Bad landlords mean blighted properties, higher crime, and overall sense of hopelessness in the communities they are located in.

Springfield should continue to press ahead with the enforcement of its existing ordinances, as well, including illegal trash dumping, noise, and other quality of life issues. When the City shows it cares enough about its neighborhoods to more vigorously enforce its laws, the people who live in those neighborhoods will be more inclined to respect those laws.

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Oct 29th, 2007 and filed under Cities & Towns, City Hall, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.