“Honestly, we don’t really find any; we go out and investigate and we do not see that activity,” the city manager said.
Since the fall when it started tracking complaints, the city has received 12 reports of overcrowding, Steve Thompson, deputy community development director, said. He said the city investigates every complaint received, and when they send out code compliance officers to see if overcrowding is a concern, they don’t find anything.
More common code violations are home exterior issues and junk and trash, Thompson said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue in September announced the establishment of the Immigration Accountability Response Team to monitor issues related to immigrant employment, housing, crime and driver’s education. The group reports regularly to commission members and the public on immigration-related concerns to allow leaders to be proactive in addressing concerns raised by residents.
Chelsea Harris of the Clark County Department of Jobs and Family Services said at a Haitian Coalition meeting some homes have anywhere from 10 to 30 people living there. She said at one point, DJFS had 27 active cases in one address.
Johnson Salomon, patient advocate and interpreter at Rocking Horse Community Health Center, said at a Haitian Coalition meeting large numbers of Haitian immigrants are living in crowded single houses because the alternative is living on the street.
“Everybody wants to be close to their family, but sometimes here in Springfield, that one house have a lot of people, it’s not because we want to be with different people, like 27 together,” Salomon said. “It’s because some of them are not able to rent on their own, and they should rent a room from a third party. So that’s why you will see some addresses have 20,15 people.”
Springfield St. Vincent de Paul director Casey Rollins said in December the nonprofit learned large numbers of Haitian immigrants are living in too-small apartments with no water, electricity, heating or other poor conditions. Because the majority of Haitian immigrants in apartments are subleasing, there isn’t much nonprofits and officials can do.
Thompson said if the city found an overcrowding case, it would work with the Springfield Fire Rescue Division and the city’s legal department in order to “gain compliance” in the best and quickest way. He said the city has heard concerns about people living in substandard conditions, and in these cases, residents should go through the city’s tenant complaint process.
Overcrowding can lead to safety issues, Thompson said.
“Concerns about their safety and wellbeing ... not only all kinds of sanitation issues, but then if there is some kind of fire of building collapse, it jeopardizes the chances of everyone getting out safely,” Thompson said. “That’s our top concern, is making sure everyone who’s in a house has the ability to get out safely if there is some kind of emergency.”
Residents or landlords typically have 30 days to resolve exterior housing issues, and a week to address junk and trash violations.
To report concerns to the city, go to: springfieldohio.gov/report-a-concern/
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