Covered by Documenter Dean Jackson (notes)
Roadblocks to compliance
Fewer property owners have applied for lead safe certification this year. As a result, the city may not achieve its goal of full compliance with its lead safe ordinance by 2028.
The Lead Safe Auditor’s December report to the Lead Safe Advisory Board stated that applications for lead safe certification are down for the fifth quarter in a row, meaning application numbers have been declining for over a year.
From July through September, application numbers came in at 355. To achieve full compliance by 2028, application rates would need to increase to about 2,600 applications per quarter.
The auditor’s report also stated that 627 properties have renewed their certifications this year while 467 certificates have expired. The report said the trend suggests “ambivalence” from owners when it comes to maintaining compliance.
A new enforcement system
Cleveland’s Department of Building and Housing Director Sally Martin O’Toole said the Residents First legislation, if passed by Cleveland City Council, will make it easier to enforce compliance with the lead safe ordinance.
O’Toole said the city has begun fining landlords who don’t comply with the lead safe law. She said the city has issued 150 misdemeanor tickets and is hiring two prosecutors to focus on lead safe enforcement.
The Residents First legislation will allow the city to issue civil fines, which O’Toole said is an easier and faster approach than seeking criminal charges.
Targeted marketing
Advisory board members suggested collecting data by census tract to identify areas with rental properties that might not be registered with the city. Previously registered properties are three times more likely to be certified lead safe than unregistered properties, according to the report.
Scot Kroehle, an advisory board member and landlord, said the city could use the data to identify census tracts that would most benefit from more marketing and communication about lead safe certification. He said he was worried that landlords in higher-income neighborhoods would have an easier time navigating the bureaucracy of the application process than those in lower-income neighborhoods.
O’Toole told Kroehle that the city had to be careful about bringing bias into their process.
The Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition has resources for both residents and property owners, including resources on how to get yourself or your child tested for lead poisoning.
Read more from Documenter Dean Jackson:
Suggested Reading
Poverty and segregation remain key challenges for Cleveland, says retiring healthcare policy expert
One of the proudest moments of John Corlett’s career as a public health and policy advocate impacted more than 38,000 Ohioans.