FRESNO, Calif. — On February 2, the City of Fresno is scheduled to make an important vote for residents of Fresno living in substandard housing. The vote will decide whether the city will adopt a routine inspection ordinance, which will give Fresno a proactive code enforcement system- something it has sorely needed for quite some time.
Last year, Fresno saw a housing crisis in 2015 when Somerset residents were left without heat or hot water for weeks. Without other options, many were forced to stay in their apartments and live with the substandard housing and dangerous conditions. The crisis was not an isolated incident, but rather a symptom of the failure by the City of Fresno to properly curb its slum housing epidemic.
Thursday’s vote is seen by many as a step in the right direction. A routine inspection ordinance has widespread support from residents and community advocates.
In order to highlight the need for this ordinance No More Slumlords, a Fresno based all-volunteer advocacy group and collective of citizen journalists, have undertaken a 33 day campaign highlighting the situations of those affected by substandard housing. No More Slumlords shared these stories via social media to elected officials so that they can see what’s happening in their districts and to let them know that Fresno residents can’t afford to wait.
The city of Fresno has a history of inadequately handling this issue and letting housing issues run rampant. A vote for a similar measure was recently delayed by the city council in early December.
Community advocates and residents are expected to gather and demonstrate their support for the ordinance when the vote takes place.
The Fresno Bee also ran a #LivingInMisery series that chronicled the living conditions that dozens of Fresno residents were trapped in.
The kNOw will be at City Hall on Thursday, so make sure to stay tuned for more updates as the story develops. You can follow us on Twitter to see live updates from the vote.
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