75A - PH - PREP ORDINANCE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Continuation of PREP September 6, 2011 Page 2 The primary benefit for rental owners who can successfully complete a three stage qualification process and receive Gold Seal recognition is an exemption from the annual which initially was $17.50 per unit fee for a period of four years. The annual PREP per unit fee of $17.50 was increased in 2010 to $19.50 due to increasing costs to administer the program. The increase in revenue also reduced the amount of expenditures not funded by the PREP fee were accounted for in the Planning and Building Agency's operating budget. The exemptions for rental owners currently participating in the Gold Seal program are scheduled to sunset along with the PREP program in December 2011. An early continuation of the program by the City Council will allow time for a Gold Seal application period to be conducted in 2011 and no break in rental fee exemptions for those that can re-qualify. The present funding for the Gold Seal program is $110,000, which provides for 5,640 units to receive exemptions from the $19.50 per unit annual fee. The primary concentration of the PREP inspections is on the exterior maintenance of rental properties, such as poor landscaping, unsightly paint, damaged fencing, illegal storage or inoperable vehicles. Should a condition be observed that leads to suspicion of a more serious issue being present on the property, or within the structure, a thorough inspection is conducted. The PREP team also responds to all complaints received by Community Preservation pertaining to rental properties. As awareness of the PREP program has grown, rental owners understand their properties will be routinely surveyed. This has led to an increasing number of owners regularly monitoring their properties and correcting unsightly conditions as they may occur. Unfortunately, another sizable number of rental owners still does not demonstrate diligence in their management and lets their properties to repeatedly regress into eyesores. These are the properties requiring continued regular proactive inspections by the PREP staff. Each year, PREP inspectors survey one-fourth of the City, using the Police reporting districts as a guide. All rental housing in the quadrant is surveyed and those with deficiencies are issued notices to correct the conditions. The on-going challenge for PREP is to maintain improvements made in the completed areas, while moving on to conduct inspections in the next quadrant. Properties that rapidly deteriorate generate most of the complaints received by the PREP staff. Due to the proactive nature of the program, inspectors have addressed conditions of the rental properties before adjacent impacted neighbors are compelled to file a complaint. The on-going challenge for PREP is to maintain improvements made in the completed areas, while moving on to conduct inspections in the next quadrant. Properties that rapidly deteriorate generate most of the complaints received by the PREP inspectors. 75A-2