A proposed blight-remediation ordinance, which would significantly expand the city’s power to renovate or demolish dilapidated buildings, is expected to be considered again by the Memphis City Council on Oct. 7. The ordinance was delayed last month after residents raised concerns about its potential use against low-income homeowners.
Council members say the ordinance will be used to target neglectful out-of-town landlords. City officials say they hope to reduce the number of unsafe and unsanitary properties in the city, protecting residents from hazardous conditions and clearing the way for more affordable housing.
Give feedback
Constituents can provide feedback to their city council members via email or by making a public comment at council meetings. The next meeting is Sept. 23. The ordinance is likely to be discussed at the council’s Oct. 7 meeting. Meetings are at 4 p.m. in City Hall, 125 North Main Street.
But the ordinance doesn’t actually mention out-of-town landlords, meaning it could be used to target any property that inspectors deem “blighted.” Some residents worry that the city might use the ordinance’s broad language to go after Memphians who simply can’t afford to repair their homes.
City legislators have said this isn’t their goal.
“We’ve heard a lot of concerns in the community that we’re going to kick your grandma out of their house or something like that. That’s not at all, that’s never been our intent,” Councilwoman Jerri Green told those at a community meeting on July 30. “What we’re trying to go after, that’s the bad actors and the people that are trashing your neighborhoods and making your property values go down.”
What impact would the blight ordinance have?
The ordinance, in its most recent version, gives newly appointed city inspectors broad authority to declare buildings blighted, and says that the city will generally side with its own inspectors when owners dispute their conclusions. Inspectors will also be allowed to make random property inspections, including inside problem buildings, without advance notice.
The text also takes a broad definition of blight, describing it as conditions that are “dangerous or injurious to the health, safety or morale of the occupants of such dwelling, the occupants of neighboring dwellings or other residents of such municipality, or which have a blighting influence on properties in the area.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox every Wednesday in The Weekly.
Subscribe to MLK50’s newsletter
and get Memphis-rooted news and insights
right-sized for your neighborhood.
These can include everything from poor ventilation, fire hazards and general uncleanliness to pest infestations and structural damage. “Overcrowding” is also a condition that can deem a building “blighted” and prompt the city to take action.
Council members who support the ordinance say it will allow them to speed up the remediation process by bypassing Environmental Court, where code violations are typically handled.
They also hope that by imposing fees on negligent property owners, they’ll be able to recoup some of the costs of fixing a property up or tearing it down.
If the city has to make repairs or demolish a property with a nonresponsive owner, it may place a lien on the property, Green said. Out-of-town landlords, even those who are hard to reach, will find themselves facing the lien when they try to sell the property, just like they would with unpaid property taxes.
“If you use these powers in a community-driven, proactive, going-after-the-worst-actors way, there could be some benefits for existing residents,” said A.T. Harrison, a professor of urban studies at Rhodes College with a focus on housing policy.
“But… I think it might even end up being regressive to a certain extent, just based on where code enforcement tends to spend their time: on local homeowners living in low-income neighborhoods, and not going after out-of-town actors that are having a disproportionate impact on this issue.”
How could Memphis’ blight ordinance be more responsive to community needs?
Many other cities have found ways to fix dangerous buildings without unfairly targeting low-income residents. Memphis could learn from those examples, Harrison said.
The ordinance, for instance, could direct city inspectors to focus on buildings with serious structural issues, like abandoned buildings at risk of collapse. It could also prioritize inspections of properties that rent out space to tenants, ensuring large landlords aren’t profiting off of units that are unsafe or unsanitary.
Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton, who has not sponsored the ordinance, said there needs to be a plan for the renters in blighted properties so they are not displaced from their homes, a concern she heard from community members.
“What happens when it’s not their fault?” she said.
The solution to this and other issues in the ordinance, Harrison said, is to give residents a say in which properties the city targets.
“There’s been other strategies that other cities use that have given more power to their code enforcement, but then have also given power to the community to control where that power goes,” he said. “The people who are asking the mayor to make blight a priority — bring them to the table and find a way to get them involved.”
Parkway Village resident Ivy Caldwell, who attended the July 30 meeting, has seen blight spreading in her neighborhood in recent years. Caldwell says that while she reports poor upkeep of nearby homes and lawns, as well as illegal dumping and litter from evictions, the city is often slow to respond.
“The leadership could be doing more holding people accountable,” she said. “An ordinance is no better than the paper it’s written on… nothing left to itself happens. People have to make it happen.”
While Caldwell supports the intentions behind the new blight ordinance, she remains skeptical about whether the city has the resources and the will to follow through on its aggressive new strategy.
“Until and unless people see people being held accountable, some of them will continue to do what they’ve been doing,” she said.
Natalie Wallington is the housing reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Email her at natalie.wallington@mlk50.com.
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
This story is brought to you byMLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors.