NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN-UP - for Graduation
Properties of residents, absentee landlords outlined in map
By Jane Adams
A full-color map of the Arbor District, showing landlord-owned and owner-occupied properties in 2005, is available on the Arbor District website.
An analysis of ownership of residential property in Carbondale is available here.
The tax rolls show that between 36% and 41% of all single-family homes and small (fewer than 5 unit) apartment buildings are owned by landlords. Of these, 40 percent live outside Carbondale's city limits. Most live in the surrounding region, with only 17 percent living outside the 629xx area code.
Most landlords are smallholders, with fewer than 7 properties. The analysis shows who owns seven units or more. The largest landlord, by far, is Henry Fisher (aka Home Rentals), with 168 rooming houses and 10 apartment buildings with 6 or more units.
The tabulation of landlords with more than 7 properties is here.
Working with me, Christina Bearden-White created the map using 2005 data from the Tax Assessor’s office. Property ownership is also available on the site: one data set is organized by the Tax Assessor’s “Property Identification Number” (PIN), one is organized by owner, and one organizes the data by street.
You may have noticed a general improvement in the condition of rental properties in the Arbor District over the past couple of years. Thanks to the City's recent implementation of its long-standing mandatory rental inspection program, Carbondale landlords are cleaning up their act. New roofs, porch repairs, painting, and general fix-ups are happening everywhere.
The Arbor District has campaigned vigorously for code enforcement so that renters can be confident their home is safe, and to reverse the blight that affects too many rental properties. The $35 rental inspection fee, passed in 2009, initially proposed by the Arbor District before the 2007 mayoral election, has provided funds for this program.
With high unemployment, landlord repairs, as well as repairs from the May 8, 2009 "super derecho" wind storm, is helping our local economy thrive.
Northwest Neighborhood Organizes
The residents of the Northwest Neighborhood, adjoining the Arbor District on the north, have organized a neighborhood organization. See on Facebook: Northwest Carbondale Neighborhood Association.
TownGown World's 'Best Practice' Neighbourhood Community Organizations listing. www.towngownworld.com
CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS
We live in Carbondale, a college town in a largely rural region of Southern Illinois. Outside our town, the scenic hills are still dotted with wooden barns and the peach and apple orchards which once made the region famous. Within our town, much of the pre-World War II housing still stands. It's a reminder of a time when neighborhoods were "walkable" and services were nearby...and cars were far more rare.
But, after World War II, Southern Illinois University expanded from a small regional college to a major research university. Across the United States sleepy college towns awoke to the heightened national interest in higher education following WWII. They all shared the problems of growth in the universities that we face. Similar issues have been dealt with in towns like Ames, Iowa and Albany, Georgia, Durham, North Carolina and Lawrence, Kansas. We are fortunate in that the internet now connects the neighborhood organizations of all those cities, and more.
We encourage a careful study of these sites, and the links that they afford.
The Arbor District
Our Carbondale neighborhood is located between two of the largest employers in Southern Illinois, Carbondale Memorial Hospital and SIU. Living here dramatically drops the costs of transportation. Many people actually walk to work in reasonable weather! Grocery stores, dry cleaners and service stations are nearby. Precious time is saved.
But, we also face the continued degrading of housing stock by landlords as well as the inappropriate use of the single-family dwellings. These issues have been addressed many times by college town neighborhood associations. Here is an ordinance from W. Lafayette, Indiana, the home of Purdue. Might be a worthwhile idea for Carbondale:
http://www.city.west-lafayette.in.us/ government/ minutes/ord17-01.htm
Old West Duram
http://www.owdna.org/siteindex.htm
They contain valuable examples of programs that have revitalized their historic neighborhoods. Duke directed the building of townhouses and separate housing for staff and faculty in a planned community. In Ames, Iowa, the University finances low cost loans for faculty and staff . In a number of college towns historic preservation is accomplished through revolving loans that are backed by the universities and communities.
A few other neighborhood
associations
A web search on university neighborhood association yields a great many organizations like our. Here are a few:
South Campus Area Neighborhod Association, Ames, Iowa (Iowa State University)
http://www.scanames.org/
North University Neighborhood Asociation, Austin, Texas http://www.nuna-austin.org/
South University Neighborhood Association, Eugene, Oregon http://www.sunaeugene.org/2009/03/hello-world/
South University Area Association, Ann Arbor, Michigan http://www.a2southu.com/The International Town and Gown Association links communities like ours http://www.town-gown.net/.
The Plan focuses on renewing the older parts of Carbondale to create a walkable, bikeable community. Carbondale, the Plan stresses, is a college town, and it should cultivate the amenities and streetscapes that people expect of a lovely university community.
Over the past 30 years, absentee landlords have acquired large numbers of homes in Carbondale's core neighborhoods -- the Arbor District on the south, stretching north past the old high school to Willow Street. With little reinvestment, many of these homes are now in grave disrepair. Thousands of new rental units have been built over the last few years, and, due to Arbor District initiatives, inspections of rental houses have been stepped up. With pressure from higher quality rentals that meet current student expectations, many landlords have had difficulty attracting tenants.
The City has been slow to move on the challenges raised by this increased competition. It is a challenge that must be addressed if the City is to enhance its ability to attract visitors and students -- our economic lifeblood. Solving the substandard housing problem will also go a long way to addressing the area's excessively high crime rate. It will also promote a generational transition in our older neighborhoods, so young people, rather than absentee landlords, can buy homes.
Improvement of the area's housing stock is one of the Arbor District's central concerns. We have been gratified that the Comprehensive Plan makes this a central focus for the City.
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