The Crime-free multi-housing initiative has been the wish and encouragement of the city of Highland; now it will be law, if the City Council approves an implementation plan.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, the Public Safety Subcommittee, composed of Mayor Pro Tem Penny Lilburn and City Councilman Sam Racadio, approved and sent to the full City Council the proposal.
The issue is scheduled to come before the Highland City Council Tuesday, Aug. 25.
As outlined by Community Development Director Larry Mainez, the plan would be implemented in stages.
City Manager Joe Hughes said restricted manpower made it impossible to implement and enforce the program citywide all at once.
Even with full implementation, it will only cover multi-housing rentals, from fourplexes on up.
As outlined by Mainez, it will start at the Mountain Breeze Apartments, which agreed to put the program into effect with its reconditioning and reopening a year ago.
“We want to meet with them and find out the lessons learned,” said Mainez. That will help the city go forward with other rentals.
It will start with complexes of more than 200 units, which will cover about 600 units.
Next will come those buildings with 100-199 units, equaling 424 units.
Then will come the largest share of rentals, those with 4 to 99 units, a total of 1,130 units.
Lt. Todd Cole, second in command at the Highland Police Department, said he will assign one officer to the program, Deputy Adam Griswold.
“Mostly it’s a matter of relationship,” Cole said. Most owners and managers will be cooperative, but there will still be a few uncooperative complexes that will require additional enforcement.
The issue is scheduled to come before the Highland City Council Tuesday, Aug. 25.