Northwest District 13 Initiative

Parts of Northwest Districts 13 and 6 west of Webb Chapel face problems stemming from the rental of a number of single-family houses. 

I am working with neighborhood leaders, code enforcement, senior city staff and police to tackle a number of issues:

• Code enforcement  
  Junk cars, too-frequent garage sales, structural issues, overgrown lawns, illegal outdoor furniture and bulk trash are all problems.  The Code Compliance department is working to identify violations, work with owners and renters to correct these and issue citations if corrections are not made. 

• Single Family Rental Registration
  An ordinance has been proposed that would have rent houses registered with the city just as multi-family housing must register.  I would not support the ordinance that has been presented but am working with staff to see if it could be changed in a number of ways.  I want to make sure it would have a genuine impact on improving rental housing and not just be window dressing to allow us to say “we did something.”

• Dennis Road north of Royal Lane has become a de facto day labor center
  This area creates a nuisance for nearby homeowners and has become a safety hazard for cars attempting to navigate the area.  I am working with the  police and city attorney to find a solution.

• DART to open stations at Royal/Denton and Walnut Hill/Denton in Fall, 2010
  I believe that residents east of Dennis/Brockbank should be able to walk the half mile to the stations.  These stretches of street are unsightly and perceived to be dangerous.  It will take some time, but I intend to find a way to make these streets safe and comfortable for walking.

I will periodically report to you on the progress of this initiative.

This encompasses the area between LBJ Freeway and Northwest Highway / Webb Chapel and Brockbank/Dennis.  Some of this is in District 6 and Councilmember Salazar is also involved.