! ! ! Mission Accomplished ! ! ! the ordinance is defeated ! ! !

I was talking to my neighbor's landlord a couple days ago and the topic of the landlord accountability act came up. As requested she passed my information on to city council to grant them access to the facebook group. This is the response I received:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Michael,

I represent Ward 4 on the City Council. I also work and teach at UNI. Melanie Griffith saw me at an event and mentioned that you were interested in information regarding this whole rental property proposed ordinance. She mentioned something about Facebook... (I don't even know where Internet is, muchless Facebook!)...

I too want to let students know what is happening--which is NOTHING. In a nutshell:

1. The council was exploring two ideas about a year ago: A) how do we better engage the landlords about certain issues on their property (not all of them have anything to do with renters), and B) how do we prevent chronic problems from occuring.

2. Nearly a year went by, and staff told us they are lookinginto another town's ordinance...

3. About a month ago, all of a sudden I receive a call from a landlord who was beside herself... "this an outragous ordinance", etc. I said, what ordinance... and she proceeded to tell me. I told her that I had not seen it yet and that Council was not even consulted about it yet.

4. And it turns out that neigher landlords, nor neighbors, nor renters ever were consulted.

In response to this poor process, at the first meeting it was briefly discussed (a public meeting that several UNI students attended) I insisted that we first get substaintial input from all stakeholders before we move ahead. And then at the last Council meeting, Councilman Darrah and I proposed that the Mayor appoint a committee of stakeholders (landlords, students, city staff, neighbors, etc.) who would review and revise the whole idea, BEFORE any further action. The Council in a 7-0 vote fully supported what I have pushed for--a fair process. Sires knows all this.

5. But the landlords and some students who have only listened to the landlords' pitch, keep talking about this "ordinance"!! There is no ordinance. It was a crappy first draft proposed ordinance, without anyone's input!! There is no urgency about this, because the council has not passed any ordinance and is not about to. But the some landlords and others keep scaring students as if something bad is about to happen, and of course their solution is "Vote for Sires" because, I imagine, they want one of their own friends on the Council.

This issue is not an "are you in favor or not in favor" type issue. It is about quality of life in our neighborhood around the University for students, neighbors, landlords, businesses. We all have a lot of work to do, and I have been doing it by bringing a lot of people together to work on it. It is not just about "making things pretty" on College Hill. I have worked hard to involve students in improving off-campus life around the Hill area.

My hope is that students who vote will consider all my accomplishments, all I have done for College Hill Area. More information about my accomplishments are at

http://enshayan.blogspot.com

Please take the time and read my take on the matter based on the news release I sent to the papers today (see below). The second version is more detailed.

Any way you can help share these ideas among students, please do it. There is no threat of eviction, no nothing. Please let me know if you need more information... Sorry for such a long email.

Kamyar Enshayan

319-266-5468

319-273-7575

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Kamyar Enshayan

Enshayan for City Council

266-5468 or 273-7575

enshayan@yahoo.com

Enshayan Calls for Collaboration, Better Working Relations with Landlords

Cedar Falls, Iowa, November 19 – Kamyar Enshayan, the incumbent in the upcoming city council run-off election for Ward 4, is calling for collaboration between all community members in reviewing the recently proposed "landlord accountability" ordinance. Enshayan wants to help all stakeholders work together to find creative ways of resolving certain rental property issues, rather than just more of the same.

"The recent proposed ordinance, which did not seek input from landlords (nor tenants, nor neighbors) further deteriorated city-landlord relations," said Enshayan. "It needs to be clear to these small business owners that the city cares and is fair. Right now, for these small businesses, all we have is sticks and no carrots. We need a good balance of both."

"Neighbors' concerns about the condition of some of the rental properties are very real. Our code enforcement efforts over the last two years have been successful, and we need to continue; but we also need new approaches," Enshayan said. He proposes the development of incentives to help property owners maintain and improve their properties. "What if we offered certain incentives to help a responsible rental property owner make energy conservation improvements, which would help the tenants as well as owners? Or improve the façade, or landscaping to make it pleasant to whole neighborhood?" Enshayan asked.

Councilmen Darrah and Enshayan led the council recently in asking Mayor Crews to appoint a committee of stakeholders – landlords, tenants, neighbors, council members, city staff, business owners and others – to review and revise the proposed "landlord accountability" ordinance before any further action.

"All sorts of great things will happen as a result of developing positive working relationships. I am a strong believer that dialogue and better understanding will always lead to better decisions," said Enshayan.

- END -

A more detailed descripotion:

November 19, 2007

Press release by Enshayan for City Council

Contact Kamyar Enshayan 266-5468 or 273-7575

Need: Encouraging neighborhood-friendly rental properties by improving working relations with property owners

Background: We all benefit from well managed rental properties that complement their neighborhoods. While many rental properties around the city are well-managed, some with chronic problems (yard trash, poor maintenance, noise excess, unshoveled snow in the sidewalk) continue to cause trouble for neighbors, and the problem is severe in Ward 4.

I think it is fair to say that some landlords may perceive that City Hall is always after them for something, and that the city has done little to help them as small businesses. Rental property owners receive a notice or penalty when something goes wrong, but what encouragements do we have for well-run rental properties?

Certainly, the recent proposed ordinance, which unfortunately sought no input from landlords, tenants, or neighbors, did not improve city-landlord relations.

Because of this misstep, the council asked the Mayor to appoint a committee of stakeholders (landlords, tenants, neighbors, council members, city staff, business owners and others) to review and revise the proposed "landlord accountability" ordinance before any further action.

The italic parts above have not been emphasized in the media enough, which fans the flame of more misunderstanding, and unnecessary worries.

Enshayan's proposed solutions: I am a strong believer that dialogue and better understanding will always lead to better decisions. My hope is that, the appointed committee, if facilitated properly, can arrive at win-win solutions that will be robust, practical, and benefit the entire community. Here are a few I am hoping for.

• The last couple of years of code enforcement has been very effective in some ways, and therefore reviewing the accomplishments and identifying new strategies might be a good first step.
• Improving communications with landlords was the original intent of the proposed ordinance. The idea that better communication can help resolve problems. Let's focus on that. It was suggested that we make landlord's phone number available to neighbors so that minor issues could be resolved easily. Other such ideas are needed here.
• The city has been very generous toward new developments on the edge of town, but the improvement of existing neighborhoods (and commercial areas) also requires a caring investment of time, creativity and financial resources. That's what "urban renewal" policies were meant for. What if we offered certain tax incentives or cost shares to help a rental property owner make energy conservation improvements to benefit tenants as well as the owner? Or to improve a façade, or landscaping that could enhance the whole neighborhood's appearance? A successful program would help the City and landlords develop positive working relations.
• Some realtors discourage families new to Cedar falls to locate in the College Hill area. That happened to our family, but we insisted that we wanted to live near our place of work. Rehabilitation, creative financing, and redevelopment of existing older homes and neighborhoods can make Ward 4 attractive to young families who wish to live in modest-sized homes. This would increase the number of owner-occupied homes. Through involvement of various stakeholders, this committee can help the city plan and become a major force in re-inhabiting the core of the city.

Many creative ideas could come out of more dialogue about ways of revitalizing our existing neighborhoods. At the center of any neighborhood renewal plan, especially in Ward 4, are rental property owners. The City must develop better working relationships with them.