Peoria City Council member Denise Jackson is advocating for regulations mandating 24-hour security staffing at apartment complexes with more than 50 rental units.
An ordinance amendment drafted at Jackson’s request advanced from a first reading during Tuesday’s three-hour council meeting.
The proposal would require owners of these rental properties to maintain a property manager on site and keep security guards at the buildings around the clock.
Jackson said her proposal stems from incidents and complaints she's heard from constituents regarding conditions at some apartment buildings.
“I’m not suggesting that this is a perfect ordinance, but I am concerned about safety,” said Jackson. “I’m concerned about code enforcement issues, and I’m appalled at some of the conditions we have allowed to persist in some of these buildings and let people live under them.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take before we do something.”
However, several other Peoria City Council members expressed reservations over enacting the proposal in its current form. The motion to receive and file the proposal passed on a 7-2 vote, with two absences.
“As a licensed property manager and being an owner of a property management company, the financial application of this is rather impractical,” said Zach Oyler, who was joined by Alex Carmona in the dissenting vote.
Key provisions of the proposed change call for a property manager on site during the work week; either one or two security guards, depending on when the property manager is there, to assure two personnel at all times; and video surveillance on the premises that cover entrances and exits, parking lots and common areas.
City attorney Patrick Hayes said a staff estimate puts the cost for staffing the buildings as the ordinance would require at between $500,000 and $600,000 per year for each complex.
“You’d end up in a situation where either the complex would have to shut down due to financial instability, or you’d have tenants that wouldn’t be able to afford the rent to live there,” said Oyler. “In either event, you end up further exacerbating the problem that we have with housing folks in our community.”
Tim Riggenbach said the proposed ordinance change would apply to 32 rental properties across the city.
“If we go conservatively at $500,000, we’re talking about $16 million hit to the housing community in Peoria,” he said. “I think we could all find ways to use that $16 million to alleviate some of the challenges that that the community faces at large, and that that’s probably not the best way to do it.”
The 85-minute discussion included accounts from tenants, primarily from the Schlarman House and Oak Woods apartment complexes, describing poor conditions and incidents of trespassing and alleged assaults.
“We certainly need cooperation from the facilities in regards to trespassing and who’s on a trespass [list], if there’s a trespass list. We need that from management,” said Police Chief Brad Dixon, who said overall incident calls to the apartment buildings in question are down compared to a year ago.
“The ordinance is not meant to be punitive at all. I think the vast majority of apartment managers and owners here in the City of Peoria are doing a great job,” said Jackson. “But I have been privy to witness circumstances that have tended to compromise public safety in several of these buildings.”
Mayor Rita Ali said she didn’t believe the ordinance is the best way to accomplish the goal of improving safety and security.
“I truly wish that we had more housing options, because competition changes things. It gives people more choices,” said Ali. “I think some of these complexes are really taking advantage of people and not investing in their properties anymore, not investing in the quality of life for their residents.
“[They] understand that there’s a severe housing shortage in Peoria, and that because of that housing shortage, people don’t have a lot of choices to leave and go somewhere else.”
Ali favored accepting the first reading to give the council more opportunity to discuss possible solutions. Riggenbach said he initially intended to vote against it before opting to follow the mayor’s recommendation.
“I think we have to go back to our nuisance ordinance and modify it, strengthen it, make it more effective because it hasn’t worked in many cases,” said Ali. “But this ordinance that we’re looking at today is just not the right pathway.
“I think it could cause more problems than what it will do to solve the problem.”
