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Local Legislative Update

By Jamie McMillen posted 11-24-2020 12:16:00 PM

  

What continues to be an unusual year also continues to be a very busy one for the Government Affairs Department. Here is a brief update on the variety of local issues the Legislative Committee has been working on, along with some other helpful information, that we could not fit in our latest video updates.
 

  • Akron - Housing Affordability Study – ACAR commissioned a study which has been shared with the Mayor's office, Planning Director, and members of City Council, along with a few other Summit County officials that expressed an interest. ACAR had a preliminary meeting with city officials re: the study, and we will be having a follow-up session in the next couple of weeks. Also, keep an eye out for Mayor Horrigan's Plan to Grow Akron 2.0.
  • Cleveland - Short Term Rentals – Earlier this summer, Cleveland City Council introduced an ordinance over the summer restricting short term rentals. ACAR had a few meetings with the Ohio representative for Airbnb, along with Councilman Brancatelli and Council President Kelley. While more information is being updated, we are hopeful that the final version will be friendlier on private property rights.
  • Cleveland - Housing Plan - The City has hired an outside firm to spearhead work surrounding the development of a new 10-year housing plan. ACAR President Brant Smith was asked to recommend a few REALTORS for a focus group, which he has done. Per the plan website, "The goal of the Ten-Year Housing and Investment Plan is to foster a robust housing market that will ensure everyone has access to a decent home, provide a full range of housing choices for existing residents, and attract new residents to Cleveland's neighborhoods. It will create a blueprint for programs, policies, and investment tools to achieve this goal."
  • Cleveland - Source of Income - We have heard that 2 members of city council are willing to introduce an ordinance that would add source of income to the protected classes in the City. Advocates have also started including COVID rental assistance as part of the discussion. Consider sharing your experience with Housing Choice Vouchers or other similar programs.
  • Cleveland - Lead Safe Rentals - If you or someone you know owns a pre-1978 Cleveland rental, be sure to check out the Landlords & Property Owners section of the LeadSafeCle.org website. There are weekly learning sessions for landlords covering just about everything. "The Lead Safe Certification will be rolled out in phases, beginning in March 2021. There is a quarterly schedule, according to the zip code, listing by when a property owner is required to obtain their Lead-Safe Certification. Any landlord can follow 5 simple steps to obtain their Lead Safe Certification. Learn More."
  • Cleveland Water Dept – Having received correspondence that delays with the Cuyahoga Co. Recorder’s Office were impacting final water bills with Cleveland Water, we reached out to Todd Albrecht, Credit & Collections Manager, for some clarification. The full update is available here.
  • Maple Heights – On November 18, 2020, Ohio Auditor Keith Faber announced Maple Heights's fiscal watch release. This is major news and is something that REALTOR Party Champion, Mayor Annette Blackwell has been working towards since her first election to office. Congratulations to all that worked diligently over the last several years to achieve this.
  • Maple Heights - Also, news out of Maple Heights: Prefabricated modular homes are coming to the city as part of a new initiative from the Cuyahoga Co Land Bank. Learn more here.
  • University Heights - Rental Regulations - The City is once again looking at updating its rental policies. This time, however, things appear to be much friendly than the previous proposal that quadrupled fees. There are a couple potential fair housing items that ACAR will bring to their attention (namely familial status and unrelated persons living together restrictions).
  • Portage County - NAR confirmed that ACAR will now be the association advocating and doing community outreach in Portage County. If you, or an ACAR member you know, live or work in one of its cities, consider becoming a watchdog and/or joining the Legislative Committee.
  • Summit County - Age-Friendly Council - If you have seen the news from NAR, you know that they recently penned a partnership with AARP. Next year, you will be able to access livability index numbers for homes in the RPR database. If you are not using this tool, you may want to check it out (narrpr.com). Why does this matter? A few cities or counties in Ohio have pledged to become Age-Friendly, which essentially is modeled after a plan developed by AARP. Learn more about the Summit County Age-Friendly Council here. For more info on the AARP Livable Communities program, check out this link.

Consumer Education/Advocacy:

  1. ACAR’s "Building Better Communities" 2.0 was published in the October issues of Cleveland Magazine & Akron Life. This year's topic was point of sale inspections as a barrier to homeownership. Four agents were interviewed, along with 4 mayors from throughout our jurisdiction. You can check out the insert here.
  2. ACAR’s Point of Sale consumer petition is live on HomeownershipMatters.Realtor. Be sure to sign the petition and share with your colleagues and clients.
  3. Some advocacy work of ACAR’s was included in the latest issue of On Common Ground, a smart growth magazine published by NAR. If you are not already receiving the On Common Ground magazine, as a member of ACAR, you can be added to the distribution list by emailing OCG@realtors.org.

Last but certainly not least, hundreds of local elected officials continue to get monthly updates from the Government Affairs Department with real estate data and news.

If you have any issues with transactions due to government policy, let our Government Affairs Department know by completing this simple form.

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