Minutes 03/23/1971 - Laserfiche WebLink

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71-123 The following letter was received from Mrs. Joyce Winston, President, South- side Neighborhood Assembly: "In the light of the recent Neighborhood Assembly are forced neighborhood. zoning decision by the City Council we of the Southside to withdraw our support of the proposed USO center in our The recent decision by the City Council concerning the zoning of the Southside section precludes the possibility of a neighborhood being established. If thereis no neighborhood, there is no need for a facility such as USO." 'Motion of Mr. Holley to be received as information. Substitute motion of Mr. Irvine Smith to refer to Southside Neighborhood Assembly, City Manager and Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housi.ng Authority to assess-the-~r~blem cir- cumventing the USO, Neighborhood Facility and Crawford Connector, was adopted, and by the following vote: Ayes: Holley, Johnson, Irvine Smith, Turner Nays: Raymond Smith, Barnes 71-124 The following letter was received from Mr. Barry Dale Holland, 3507 King Street "I Would like to suggest to you that you consider for app,ointment to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Lawyer William 0cst, Jr. I believe he has the understanding and moral standards to be a great judge." On motion of Mr. Ho!ley to be received as information, was adopted, without dissenting vote. 71-125 The following letter was received from Mr. Carlton S. Stublen, Jr., Chairman, Minimum Housing Board: "For quite some time the Minimum Housing Board has been discussing and considering the feasibility of recommending that the City of Portsmouth adopt an ordinance requiring that all rental housing be registered with the City, and that each piece of rental property be ~nspected between the time it is vacated and the time it is to be reoccupied to insure each tenant that his dwelling or dwelling unit conforms to the standards of the Minimum Hous- ing Code. Other cities have such ordinances which are quite satisfactory in helping to con- trol and eliminate Blight. One case in point is the City of Saginaw, Michigan. Enclosed for your information and for the information of all members of the City Council are copies of a letter from the Urban Renewal Coordinator of Saginaw~ Michigan, copies of Saginaw's ordinance requiring the registration of notices of violations, and receipts for inspections. The recommended fees are printed on the receipts. We realize that many details will need to ba worked out and refined in order that such an ordinance may be drawn up and properly administered, and s~nce we are recommending the adoption of such an ordinance, we are prepared to render all assistance within our power to help to bring this about. Since rental property seems to comprise the bulk of violations of the Minimum Housing Code, we feel that an ordinance of this type would be of great benefit to the City, thus enabling us to do a more complete and efficient job of enforcing the Minimum Housing Code. It is our belief that a program of this type will be self-sustaining and will not add-~mn financial burden to the budget of the City. We shall appreciate your presenting our recom- mendation to Council for serious consideration." On motion of Mr. Irvine Smith, to refer to the City Manager and City Attorney for their study and recommendations, was adopted, without dissenting vote. 71-126 The following letter was received from Chamber of Commerce: "It is my pleasure to transmit the following resolutions which were passed by the Board of Directors, without dissenting vote, at their meeting of March 1Sth. 'Be it resolved that the Portsmouth Chm~bmr of Commerce, in its continuing effort to make our City a better place in which to live, work and play, urges Gity government/manage- ment to strictly enforce the Minimum Housing Code on a broader base in order to exercise some' control over the rapid physical deterioration of our residential neighborhoods.' 'Be it resolved that the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce endorses and recommends for implementation the action of the Minimum Housing Board requesting that City Council enact ordinances requiring registration of all rental property and inspection before occupancy.' In passiag the second resolution, the C~amber of Commerce indicates support for the con- cept of charging a fee that would serve to liquidate the cost of inspections and thereby m~nimize the cost to ;the City. The Directors urge you to seriously consider these resolutions as you seek ways to con- trol the fast moving blight that is destroying our residential neighborhoods. On motmon of Mr. Holley, was referred to the meeting in with the subject Item 71-125 could be considered, was adopted, without dissenting vote.