Murphy – Lawmakers voted to adopt an ordinance earlier this month that permits town officials to address unfit living conditions of properties occupied by a homeowner or tenant.
The town already had a law on the books that allows inspectors to address abandoned properties unfit for habitation.
However, the new minimum housing standards ordinance allows officials to hold occupants accountable when their living conditions adversely affect neighbors.
“In general, I’m for very limited government,” Mayor Rick Ramsey told the Cherokee Scout while explaining the need for the ordinance. “But in this case, we needed something on the books that allows us to do the right thing for our citizens who are being impacted by others.”
Ramsey said the idea for the ordinance spawned from a situation where teenagers were living in “deplorable conditions,” with raw sewage spilling out of the house into the yards of two adjacent properties.
“We tried to get them to fix it,” he said. “When they didn’t, our only option was to turn their water off. We needed the power to issue some sort of citation.”
While the ordinance allows a town official to investigate a property that appears to be unfit for habitation, lawmakers expect enforcement to be mainly complaint driven since the town does not have the manpower to cruise through communities searching for housing violations.
The ordinance states that an investigation will automatically be triggered whenever five residents separately complain that a dwelling is unfit for human living.
“I doubt that [this ordinance] will be used very much, but we need it just in case,” Ramsey said.
To read the ordinance online in its entirety, go to www.townofmurphync.com.
Town ordinance holds neighbors accountable
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