For many, it’s fix up time at home

By Charles Sercombe
For decades Hamtramck has run hot and cold when it comes to enforcing housing codes.
You can now say the city is in its hot mode.
Barbara Cotter is one of possibly dozens of homeowners who have received a letter from the city’s Department of Community & Economic Development detailing repairs that need to be made, and completed within two weeks.
The letter also says that failure to comply with the city’s demand can result in a misdemeanor ticket and the possibility of 90 days in jail.
That threat is what particularly upset Cotter.
“The rebellious side of me said ‘OK, take me to jail because I didn’t fix my porch,’” Cotter said.
More problematic was the two-week deadline and coming up with the money to fix the needed repairs.
“The house needs lots of repairs we can’t afford,” Cotter said.
But Kathy Angerer, the Director of Community Development, said there was no need for alarm. She said the city is willing to work with homeowners and grant extensions.
She said the point of the letters is for homeowners to start taking action toward code compliance.
“The goal is to have homeowners improve their properties. As long as forward progress is being made we work with the homeowner,” Angerer told The Review.
“If property owners ignore the notice, we list the action that will be taken. Some homeowners state that repairs are too many for a short period of time. We give them more time, but follow up regularly to make certain that issues of ‘health and safety’ are addressed promptly.”
In the case of Cotter, she was given a month extension to make repairs.
There will likely be more homeowners upset with the city as more letters are mailed out.
“Building inspectors walk the neighborhoods on both the front sidewalk and down the alley doing inspections,” Angerer said.
“They note items like broken garage doors, windows, peeling paint, roofs in disrepair, broken or missing handrails or any of a variety of other ‘property maintenance’ issues. A letter is sent to the property owner listing the violations and asking them to contact the department. “
In the past when the city cracked down on code violations there would inevitably be a backlash from homeowners. Past administrations would eventually back down.
But this is a new era for Hamtramck. The city recently emerged from a financial emergency and being under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager.
Although there is no longer direct state control of the city, the roles of the mayor and city council have been greatly curtailed until a state-appointed Transition Advisory Board, which overlooks all financial decisions made by the city manager, is dissolved.
That situation has left the city administration pretty much immune from political pressure to reverse things like code enforcement.
In other words, don’t expect code enforcement to go away any time soon.
Angerer said despite the city’s past history, the main message should be this:
“You should voluntarily take pride in home ownership.”