Ruling will ease process

Dave Brooks

The conversion of condominiums sold before June 1 will be

fast-tracked, but owners will have to pay an affordable housing fee,

council members decided Monday night.

In a 4-0 vote, with council members Gil Coerper, Jill Hardy and

Pam Julien Houchen absent, the council approved the final reading of

a ordinance allowing a special process to clear up the property

titles of residents who bought condominiums that were converted from

apartments without proper permits.

The ordinance only applies to condo owners who bought their homes

before June 1, 2004, and allows them to go through an expedited

permitting process. Those who cannot meet strict landscaping and

parking requirements will have to pay into an affordable housing fund

that will be used to replenish the city’s residential stock.

Approval of the law marks a major step for the ordinance, which

went through four separate public hearings because of amendments. The

ordinance has drawn the scorn of condo owners who feel the affordable

housing fee is excessive.

Houchen, whose involvement in the controversy has come under

increased scrutiny, has missed three City Council meetings and left

another one early, avoiding recusing herself from a vote on the

ordinance. Several condos sold by Houchen are being looked at by

police and federal agents to determine whether the condos were

converted from apartments without permits.

But the conversion issue is not over. Now the council has to

approve the affordable housing fee assessment, which could be as high

as $20,000 a household, Councilwoman Debbie Cook said. An exact

figure will be available sometime later this year when a consulting

firm hired by the city releases a report outlining the impact of the

conversions on the city’s affordable housing stock.

In the meantime, owners are stuck in legal limbo, unable to sell

or refinance their condos because of title problems, but forced to

pay hefty fees when they are eventually allowed to move forward.

“What the council is concerned about right now is helping these

people get on with their lives,” Boardman said.

Approving the fees will not be the end of the council’s dealing

with the conversion issue, Cook said, because many new issues that

the council never anticipated are beginning to pop up.

“One thing we have to look at is what if we have a four-plex with

three people who want to convert right away and one doesn’t,” she

said.

A federal investigation of the condo conversion controversy is

also moving ahead. Members of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office

are investigating the matter, and a federal grand jury has been

convened to look into the matter.

“This is really far from over,” Boardman said. “Nobody feels like

we’re done yet.”