‘Time for the real work to start’: Proposed housing ordinance debate falls into Quincy City Council’s lap

QUINCY — The debate over an ordinance proposal for rental inspection program in Quincy is moving from the ballot box to the Quincy City Council.

A non-binding referendum supporting the proposal, created by Quincy for Registration Inspection Licensing Enactment (Q-RILE), was passed by 60.6 percent of voters in the April 1 general election. Q-RILE worked for more than two years to get the proposal on the ballot by raising awareness about Quincy’s housing crisis and collecting signatures for its petition. 

However, the Quincy City Council still needs to pass the proposed ordinance for it to be enacted. (Q-RILE created a proposed ordinance and published it on its website.)

“The way the vote turned out definitely means that this council needs to talk about it,” 7^th Ward alderman Ben Uzelac said at the end of the meeting. “I just want to make sure that the public knows that what you voted on does not mean that any additional rental housing inspections, ordinances or anything like that are coming. 

“However, I do want to also make sure the landlords know that, because several of them are out there saying that they’re going to start raising their rent, and that’s totally not fair, because we have not taken any action. You’re just kind of proving the point that you’re a slumlord if you’re saying you’re going to raise rent based on something that we haven’t done and may not do so.”

Members from Q-RILE and the Quincy Landlord Rental Association (QRLA) both addressed aldermen during the April 7 City Council meeting.

Trish Santos with Q-RILE said the small group now has more than 4,000 voters asking for change. 

“We didn’t work for over two years, standing in the cold getting signatures, standing in the heat getting signatures, going door to door and getting out of our comfort zone just to say that we passed this referendum,” she said. {We really believe in it. I’m here to let you know that we won’t just sit aside now that it’s time for the real work to start for the residents of Quincy. We hope that you will partner with us so together we can work to improve housing.”

“Those voters made a decision because they thought it was moral, and it was right,” said Brennan Hills, one of the founders of Q-RILE. “I really think that you guys should take that seriously and should start listening. … It’s time to start getting to work, because we have done the work of letting you know that this is something your constituents want.”

David Arns, board president of the Quincy Landlord Rental Association (QLRA), told aldermen that the current complaint driven system is adequate, and the existing city codes need to be enforced. He told aldermen about how he and Conlon Carabine, another QLRA member, had been recently invited to minimum housing complaint inspections in the 900 block of Chestnut and the 300 block of Locust. 

In both instances, the buildings were placarded — meaning it was deemed not safe for human inhabitation.

“The city inspector has the power and authority to shut down any of these dangerous properties instantly and on site,” Arns said.

Arns then questioned if the goal of the proposed ordinance was to help vulnerable people or “run them out of town.” He believes if the ordinance is adopted, rent, fees and property taxes all will increase.

“The proponents have stated they just want to start a conversation with this referendum,” he said. “We will talk, but we will say what no one else is willing to say. Truth must be a part of this discussion. The truth of the matter is that there are people who are just not able to be housed in what we consider to be safe and livable housing due to their lifestyle choices. Until this is corrected, there will always be a market for slum properties.

“I also heard the Q-RILE proponents say it last week: ‘Maybe these people just need to move to Payson, Hannibal or Keokuk.’ So which is it? Are we helping the less fortunate being taken advantage of by property owners? Or are we running problems out of town? The honest answer to the question makes a big difference on how to actually attack the housing problem.”

Arns noted the Chestnut property was on the fix or flatten program list that aldermen voted on during the April 7 meeting.

“It was without water since Jan. 3 with three adults and pets living in it,” he said. “This is due to the water line being broken from the house to the city since January. Prior to the inspection, we were led to believe that the owner was just not turning the water on. The owner was clearly not going to fix it. No water to a property makes it instantly condemnable. 

“Shouldn’t the water department be doing something to alert the inspection department of this, since it’s a major health concern? That house should have been condemned back in January. We do not want to see anyone living like this, but there’s also not one of us … who will accept this way of living.”

Carabine said the people living in the Chestnut and Locust properties became homeless because of the inspector’s decision to condemn the buildings.

“The more aggressive you are hunting down those bad properties, you will be dealing with another issue, which is an increase of homelessness,” he said. “The real crisis in Quincy is housing stock. You don’t have enough housing stock here. We as a community need to come up with innovative ways to increase our housing stock that will relieve the pressure and ultimately help the folks who are on the lowest tier of the housing community.”

Carabine told aldermen that he believes the Q-RILE proposal was approved by the public was because of “a lack of education on the public.”

Hills bristled when he heard that comment.

“If we’re calling those voters uneducated, all of those voters also voted for seven of you,” he told aldermen.

Hills added that he believes that no changes in how the city’s housing policies have been administered in the past four years have only exacerbated the situation.

“There is a housing crisis, but it’s not going to help to continually lose housing stock in this community as they deteriorate,” he said. “We are not enforcing the codes that are on the books. We have no enforcement mechanism, that’s a problem, and that’s not helping the crisis that was previously illustrated. I really hope that you guys take this and do something with it.”