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RESOLUTION NO. <br />A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE EVERETT HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PLAN <br />WHEREAS, housing meeting the minimum standards of safety, habitability and <br />property maintenance established by City ordinance and other applicable law is <br />essential to a healthy community and a vital economy; and <br />WHEREAS, safe, secure, well-maintained rental housing providing a range of <br />housing alternatives throughout the City is a valuable community asset; and <br />WHEREAS, it is in the public interest that residential rental properties within the City <br />be actively operated and maintained by the owner, in cooperation with the tenant, in <br />compliance with the minimum standards set forth in the City's housing, fire, and <br />property maintenance codes and the minimum standards of safety and habitability <br />established by other applicable law, such as the State Landlord -Tenant Act; and <br />WHEREAS, most rental housing in the City is maintained in good condition and in <br />substantial compliance with applicable codes; and <br />WHEREAS, a small portion of the City's residential housing stock is substantially <br />below the minimum standards established by the EMC and expected by the <br />community; and <br />WHEREAS, in connection with its ongoing efforts to improve substandard housing, <br />the City has reviewed the programs and strategies of other jurisdictions in this state <br />and throughout the country, studies comparing the effectiveness, costs, advantages <br />and disadvantages of alternative approaches to improving substandard housing, and <br />applicable legal authority established by City ordinance and state law, and has <br />conducted public outreach to solicit input from stakeholders including rental housing <br />owners and rental housing industry groups, tenants and tenant advocacy groups, and <br />has conducted an interdepartmental review of the City's existing code enforcement <br />system and opportunities for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of that <br />system; and <br />WHEREAS, many stakeholders believe that substandard housing is best addressed <br />by enforcing existing codes with standard code enforcement tools, helping renters <br />better use existing remedies and procedures provided by laws such as the Landlord - <br />Tenant Act, encouraging informal dispute resolution before resorting to a formal <br />enforcement action, relying on existing legal authority to the extent possible, and <br />reserving regular inspections for only those properties that warrant focused, regular <br />attention by virtue of their compliance history; and <br />iz <br />