Aldermen to vote on harsher penalties for problem landlords

Posted on September 24, 2018
Apartment fire
Bloomington city inspectors found hundreds of housing code violations at a 12-unit apartment building on Gettysburg Drive just 11 days before a fire caused an estimated $650,000 damage to the building. (WJBC file photo)

 

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington City Council is considering taking a harder line on repeat offenders of the city’s housing codes.

Property owners would not be able to skirt paying fines and second offenses would likely lead to more frequent inspections on an ordinance to be presented to aldermen Monday night.

The proposal follows a highly publicized fire last February that severely damaged a 12-unit apartment building at 1101 Gettysburg Dr. The blaze happened just 11 days after a city inspector was said to have found 226 code violations at the site.

The city initially filed 572 code violations against the same landlord for other apartment buildings in the 900 blocks of West Front and West Grove Streets.

In a report to the council, city staffers noted building owners were allowed to settle their cases without fines as long as they made needed repairs. Landlords would at least have to pay $110 for administrative court costs, plus a fine if repairs aren’t made by the first court appearance.

A “chronic property” would be defined as a location with more than one violation in a year, and would face inspections after three, six, and 12 months.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]

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