DEPARTMENT: Development Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Michael Shannon, Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Proactive Inspections for Senior and/or Disabled Housing Facilities
SUMMARY:
Discussion will focus on review of existing regulations and ordinances, and drafting/proposal of new regulations and ordinances, to adequately ensure the health and safety of residents in senior and/or disabled residential housing facilities.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Council Member Roberto C. Trevino submitted a Council Consideration Request (CCR) on March 21, 2017, asking City staff to review existing regulations and ordinances, and to draft and propose new regulations and ordinances, needed to adequately ensure the health and safety of all residents of senior and/or disabled residential housing facilities. Such new regulations and ordinances shall provide for periodic, regular and adequate inspections with a goal of preventing or minimizing public health dangers and risks for seniors and/or disabled people living in residential housing facilities, such those confronted by seniors residing in the Aurora Apartments in Council District 1.
The Metro Health Department declared the situation at the Aurora Apartments to be a public health nuisance of potential disease transmission per the Texas Health and Safety Code due to infestation of bed bugs and roaches. Staff from Development Services, Metro Health, Human Services, and City Attorney’s Office monitored the location for several months to ensure that the infestation was addressed by the property owner and that the well-being of residents was also addressed throughout the process. In general, requests for inspections of multi-family facilities, such as apartments, are currently based on a reactive model. Consequently, conditions at a property can quickly escalate if left unreported. Proactive inspections of such housing stock may help to address such situations before resulting in a public health nuisance.
The San Antonio Property Maintenance Code (SAPMC), substantially based on the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code, constitutes the minimum requirements and standards for premises and structures for protection from the elements, life safety, safety from fire and other hazards, and for safe and sanitary maintenance. This includes infestation and other issues that may be found at multi-family housing units. While the current provisions appear to provide the building official with the authority to hold property owners accountable for unsafe and unhealthy conditions at a property, City staff will review the current SAPMC and other related City codes to determine if changes need to be made, as well as review models utilized in other cities, to address code violations in multi-family housing units.
ISSUE:
There are some instances where the presence of code violations can quickly become a health and safety issue, such as those which may occur within a multi-family unit with senior and/or disabled residents. Such violations can negatively affect the health, safety, and overall quality of life of all residents living at a particular location such as those at a senior and/or disabled residential housing facility.
Therefore, as proposed in Council Member Trevino’s March 21, 2017, CCR, City staff recommends beginning the review process of the current SAPMC and other City Codes and to begin the stakeholder process for proposing new regulations, ordinances, or changes to the existing codes.
ALTERNATIVES:
As an alternative, the Governance Committee could choose not to move forward with the review of existing regulations and ordinances, to include proposal of new regulations and ordinances, to further ensure the health and safety of residents in senior and/or disabled residential housing facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact is unknown at this time but may include additional resource needs based on the result of stakeholder process and code/program development.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends moving forward with a review of existing regulations and ordinances, and drafting/proposal of new regulations and ordinances, to include beginning the stakeholder process, to adequately ensure the health and safety of residents in senior and/or disabled residential housing facilities. The findings will be presented to the Community Health and Equity Committee prior to forwarding the issue to the full City Council for consideration.