City removes negligent apartment owner, enters "uncharted territory"
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles and Bradley Olson have details on the city's actions this week in removing the owner of a rundown apartment complex:
In the latest case involving La Casita Apartments, 313 Sunnyside, Mayor Bill White marshaled the help of an old high school friend who retired in 2004 as a federal bankruptcy judge. With his help, city lawyers were able in less than 24 hours to get a judge to turn control of the property over to a new management company.
"I felt that we needed to act immediately to both hold the owner accountable and use the legal remedies in bankruptcy to protect the property," White said. "We are getting much better at identifying and remedying substandard apartments."
[snip]
City officials also said they do not expect to recoup $1.3 million in federal housing money loaned to the property for improvements that state records show began about a decade ago.
Still, officials said the initial success with La Casita was good news, since it can be replicated with other substandard complexes that have vexed inspectors and police.
"This is a great step," said City Councilman James Rodriguez, who has taken an active role in the crackdown. "I know we're in uncharted territory here, but we have to be proactive. Enough is enough."
Houston's push against bad housing began last year after two children were shocked by an unguarded power transformer at an apartment complex, but began in earnest this summer after several Houston Chronicle stories documented substandard conditions in a number of properties.
White announced plans to spend $1 million a year to create a new team of multifamily inspectors. That team, which has yet to be completely formed, now can proactively visit properties and issue citations instead of making trips only after complaints, as had been done in the past.
Since White announced plans to add inspectors, two children have died after being crushed by a staircase that collapsed at a complex that had not been inspected since 1996. Another toddler drowned in a squalid apartment complex last month, only hours after an inspections coordinator had visited the property and noted a damaged fence around the pool.
Hopefully, this won't end up in the category of "Ready! Fire! Aim!" governance.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/08/08 10:36 AM | Print |
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