City Director of Development Crystal Surdyk and Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Haskins address City Council Housing Committee (August 8, 2022)

The Jamestown City Council Housing Committee received an update on properties that would be purchased and rehabilitated by the city under the 19A Homeownership Program if Council approves the $750,000 request of American Rescue Plan funds.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Haskins said under state law, municipalities can take ownership of properties that are vacant and either have one year of unpaid taxes or are subject to an order of condemnation, “We have, as you all know, pursued title to numerous houses under the statute. We’ve currently got about 11 of them with another five or six in the wings coming up. And then we’ve got two or three more potentials that we found in the last couple of weeks, just stumbling upon them through complaints and stuff – one on Stowe and one on lower Dearing.”

Haskins said the funding request would go to rehabilitating four houses located on Utica, Baker, Johnson, and North Main Streets, “And selling them to people who, A, reside in them for five years as a owner-occupant; B, during that time pay their taxes on time; and, C, once all the initial code enforcement violations that were written up upon taking title are fixed, that they will ameliorate further code enforcement that arises over that five year period.”

Haskins said the mortgage by the city would be action based, versus money based, where the city can foreclose on the property if the owner doesn’t meet requirements of the program.

He said three of the four properties proposed to be rehabilitated could likely be sold at a profit with the money being used to purchase and rehabilitate other vacant houses in the future. Haskins added the city would contract out for the rehabilitation.

He said once the houses are ready for sale that some will go right to market for anyone to buy with the city working with other non-profits that have first-time home buyer programs for the other properties, “They aren’t going to get them for free. They’re still going to have to make some sort of offer to us, but they’re probably going to be able to get them for below market value in a lot of cases. They’re going to be subject to the same five years and we’re probably going to require them to at least take some sort of online first time homeowner course that we prescribe. Make sure they’re aware of the responsibilities as homeowners, especially as it relates to more nuisance items.”

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk added that the Chautauqua County Land Bank was working on developing a tool lending program to help new homeowners as well. Land Bank Executive Director Gina Paradis had been expected to give a presentation to Council on Monday, but had to reschedule that for the August 22 work session.

Surdyk also relayed to the Housing Committee that the department met with the Real Estate Investor’s Association Monday to begin reviewing three proposed housing ordinances. She said they only got through the public nuisance ordinance with the rental inspection and vacant property registration still needing review at future meetings.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Ben Haskins said one part of the discussion was a clarification on the public nuisance ordinance regarding police action, “In terms of arrests at a premises, if it’s a multi-unit premises, instead of counting, if there’s a 24-unit, and there’s three arrests in separate apartments versus just specifying it’s got to be all within the one unit to constitute a nuisance, I think was our biggest point of discussion, which I thought was pretty fruitful.”

Surdyk said the intention is once all three ordinances are reviewed and revisions are made that the Department of Development will send the revised ordinances to the Real Estate Investor’s Association members for review. She said DOD will then meet again with the full association for a final discussion before it comes to City Council for a vote.