[College Hill Topeka] Fwd: Abandoned Housing legislation
Katrina Shaw
katkake1 at gmail.com
Wed Jan 25 16:24:30 EST 2017
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Sasha Haehn <sstiles at topeka.org>
Date: Wed, Jan 25, 2017 at 2:19 PM
Subject: RE: Abandoned Housing legislation
To:
Good afternoon,
I wanted to share the answer to a really good question I got from two of
our neighborhood leaders. The question was asked regarding the 90 days
vacant language that is included in the definition of ‘abandoned’, which
also included language about 15 months vacant – why the conflict in the
definition, and which is it – 90 days vacant or 15 months vacant?
I’ve spoken to our lobbyist about this conflict and he explains that this
language came from the original law, KSA 12-1750, which I have attached for
you. As versions of this bill have evolved over the years, it seems that
the original 90 day language was never removed, even after the 15 month
language was added. The City of Topeka’s stance has been (since my
involvement) that we are interested in this tool for truly abandoned
properties that have been sitting vacant for years with no one maintaining
them, not property that has been vacant for only 90 days.
Mr. Damron will be presenting testimony on behalf of the City tomorrow
morning at 9:30a, and he will be suggesting to the Committee that the 90
day language be removed due to the conflict & confusion that it creates,
leaving the definition of abandoned as vacant for at least 15 months.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Best regards,
Sasha Haehn
Director of Neighborhood Relations
City of Topeka, KS
(785)368-3711
www.topeka.org/hnd
*From:* Sasha Haehn
*Sent:* Friday, January 20, 2017 4:55 PM
*To:* 'Amy Johnston'; 'Bennie Davis'; 'Bette Allen'; 'Betty Phillips'; 'Bev
Law'; 'Bev Schneider'; 'Bill Gomez'; 'Brad Sloan'; 'Brandon Barnett';
'Brendan Jensen'; 'Cheryl Dechand'; 'Cheyenne Manspeaker'; 'Cindy
Bradshaw'; 'Connie DeHart'; 'Dala Jones'; 'Danetta Stevens-Miller'; 'Dave
Jackson'; 'David Bawden'; 'Deb Dunkin'; 'Debra Glenn'; 'Delores Smith';
'Dennis Bachman'; 'Don Perkins'; 'Don Taylor'; 'Doug Glenn'; 'Erika
Toomey'; 'frank hoge (frankhoge at att.net)'; 'Fred Martinez'; 'Heather Edge';
'Howard Blackmon'; 'Janet Rice'; 'Jean Barton'; 'Jim Schermerhorn'; 'Joe
Ledbetter'; 'John Moyer'; 'John Nave'; 'Judy Wilson'; 'Karen Ridder';
'Kathryn Hosfelt'; 'Katrina Bayless'; 'Ken Mc Gill'; 'Kim Swain'; 'L.J.
Polly'; 'Lazone Grays'; 'Lester Efird'; 'Linda Finch'; 'Loren Albright';
'Marc Galbraith'; 'Marilyn McPherson'; 'Michael Bell'; 'Mike Larkin'; 'Mike
Redmon'; 'Nellie Hogan'; 'Nikki Daniels'; 'Pat Delapp'; 'Paul Post'; 'Peggy
Lewis'; 'Phillip Gonzales'; 'Robert Lewis'; 'Ron Andrick'; 'Ron Cathey';
'Ron Moss'; 'Rosalie Ridgeway'; 'RoseMary Medrano'; 'Roy Shrock'; 'Russell
Nittler'; 'Sandra Lassiter'; 'Sarah Velasquez'; 'Sharon Warman'; 'Sheli
Sweeney'; 'Sheree Smith'; 'Sherry Tyree'; 'Stephanie Hall'; 'Steve Henry';
'Steve Page'; 'T.J. Brown'; 'Tam Vincent'; 'Ta'Nia Gibbs'; 'Teresal
Miller'; 'Tom Benaka'; 'Toni Beck'; 'Virgil and Joyce Funk (vfunk at cox.net)';
'William Shay Foley'
*Cc:* Larry Wolgast; 'Whitney Damron'; Douglas Gerber
*Subject:* RE: Abandoned Housing legislation
*Importance:* High
Apologies for not including this in the first email.
Below please find a link to the webpage for the Senate Committee on Ethics,
Elections and Local Government. If you would like to email the committee
members directly, you can find their email address and other contact
information by clicking on their name. Please let me know if you have
questions.
http://kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/committees/ctte_s_ethics_elections_and_local_government_1/
Best regards,
Sasha Haehn
Director of Neighborhood Relations
City of Topeka, KS
(785)368-3711
www.topeka.org/hnd
*From:* Sasha Haehn
*Sent:* Friday, January 20, 2017 4:34 PM
*To:* 'Amy Johnston'; 'Bennie Davis'; 'Bette Allen'; 'Betty Phillips'; 'Bev
Law'; 'Bev Schneider'; 'Bill Gomez'; 'Brad Sloan'; 'Brandon Barnett';
'Brendan Jensen'; 'Cheryl Dechand'; 'Cheyenne Manspeaker'; 'Cindy
Bradshaw'; 'Connie DeHart'; 'Dala Jones'; 'Danetta Stevens-Miller'; 'Dave
Jackson'; 'David Bawden'; 'Deb Dunkin'; 'Debra Glenn'; 'Delores Smith';
'Dennis Bachman'; 'Don Perkins'; 'Don Taylor'; 'Doug Glenn'; 'Erika
Toomey'; 'frank hoge (frankhoge at att.net)'; 'Fred Martinez'; 'Heather Edge';
'Howard Blackmon'; 'Janet Rice'; 'Jean Barton'; 'Jim Schermerhorn'; 'Joe
Ledbetter'; 'John Moyer'; 'John Nave'; 'Judy Wilson'; 'Karen Ridder';
'Kathryn Hosfelt'; 'Katrina Bayless'; 'Ken Mc Gill'; 'Kim Swain'; 'L.J.
Polly'; 'Lazone Grays'; 'Lester Efird'; 'Linda Finch'; 'Loren Albright';
'Marc Galbraith'; 'Marilyn McPherson'; 'Michael Bell'; 'Mike Larkin'; 'Mike
Redmon'; 'Nellie Hogan'; 'Nikki Daniels'; 'Pat Delapp'; 'Paul Post'; 'Peggy
Lewis'; 'Phillip Gonzales'; 'Robert Lewis'; 'Ron Andrick'; 'Ron Cathey';
'Ron Moss'; 'Rosalie Ridgeway'; 'RoseMary Medrano'; 'Roy Shrock'; 'Russell
Nittler'; 'Sandra Lassiter'; 'Sarah Velasquez'; 'Sharon Warman'; 'Sheli
Sweeney'; 'Sheree Smith'; 'Sherry Tyree'; 'Stephanie Hall'; 'Steve Henry';
'Steve Page'; 'T.J. Brown'; 'Tam Vincent'; 'Ta'Nia Gibbs'; 'Teresal
Miller'; 'Tom Benaka'; 'Toni Beck'; 'Virgil and Joyce Funk (vfunk at cox.net)';
'William Shay Foley'
*Cc:* Larry Wolgast; 'Whitney Damron'; Douglas Gerber
*Subject:* Abandoned Housing legislation
*Importance:* High
Good Afternoon Neighborhood Leaders,
As you may recall, the abandoned housing legislation we have been working
on was vetoed last year by the Governor. The City of Topeka is working for
this legislation in 2017, in cooperation with many other Kansas cities and
stakeholders. I have attached this year’s bill for you and the hearings on
the bill will begin next Thursday, January 26th before the Senate Committee
on Ethics, Elections & Local Government.
The City of Topeka will be testifying next week at the hearing and I wanted
to extend the invitation for our neighborhoods to submit testimony for the
Committee or attend the hearing if possible. I have attached the
Committee’s agenda for next week and the hearing on this bill is shown for
Thursday; the Committee meeting begins at 9:30am and is held in room
159-S.
If you are interested in submitting testimony about this bill to the
Committee, here is the process that will need to be followed:
1. Draft and e-mail to the Committee Assistant, Randi Walters at:
randi.walters at senate.ks.gov
2. Deliver 30 copies to her office 24 hours in advance of the hearing.
She is in room no. 223-A and her telephone number is 296-7389
Please contact me with questions or concerns about this process, as staff
may be able to assist in coordinating this effort.
I appreciate the support provided by our neighborhoods as we work together
on solutions that build and empower our neighborhoods.
Best regards,
Sasha Haehn
Director of Neighborhood Relations
City of Topeka, KS
(785)368-3711
www.topeka.org/hnd
*From:* Sasha Haehn
*Sent:* Friday, April 15, 2016 3:59 PM
*To:* 'Amy Johnston'; 'Bennie Davis'; 'Bette Allen'; 'Betty Phillips'; 'Bev
Law'; 'Bev Schneider'; 'Bill Gomez'; 'Brad Sloan'; 'Brandon Barnett';
'Brendan Jensen'; 'Cheryl Dechand'; 'Cheyenne Manspeaker'; 'Cindy
Bradshaw'; 'Connie DeHart'; 'Dala Jones'; 'Danetta Stevens-Miller'; 'Dave
Jackson'; 'David Bawden'; 'Deb Dunkin'; 'Debra Glenn'; 'Delores Smith';
'Dennis Bachman'; 'Don Perkins'; 'Don Taylor'; 'Doug Glenn'; 'Erika
Toomey'; 'frank hoge (frankhoge at att.net)'; 'Fred Martinez'; 'Heather Edge';
'Howard Blackmon'; 'Janet Rice'; 'Jean Barton'; 'Jim Schermerhorn'; 'Joe
Ledbetter'; 'John Moyer'; 'John Nave'; 'Judy Wilson'; 'Karen Ridder';
'Kathryn Hosfelt'; 'Katrina Bayless'; 'Ken Mc Gill'; 'Kim Swain'; 'L.J.
Polly'; 'Lazone Grays'; 'Lester Efird'; 'Linda Finch'; 'Loren Albright';
'Marc Galbraith'; 'Marilyn McPherson'; 'Michael Bell'; 'Mike Larkin'; 'Mike
Redmon'; 'Nellie Hogan'; 'Nikki Daniels'; 'Pat Delapp'; 'Paul Post'; 'Peggy
Lewis'; 'Phillip Gonzales'; 'Robert Lewis'; 'Ron Andrick'; 'Ron Cathey';
'Ron Moss'; 'Rosalie Ridgeway'; 'RoseMary Medrano'; 'Roy Shrock'; 'Russell
Nittler'; 'Sandra Lassiter'; 'Sarah Velasquez'; 'Sharon Warman'; 'Sheli
Sweeney'; 'Sheree Smith'; 'Sherry Tyree'; 'Stephanie Hall'; 'Steve Henry';
'Steve Page'; 'T.J. Brown'; 'Tam Vincent'; 'Ta'Nia Gibbs'; 'Teresal
Miller'; 'Tom Benaka'; 'Toni Beck'; 'Virgil and Joyce Funk (vfunk at cox.net)';
'William Shay Foley'
*Cc:* Jim Colson; Larry Wolgast; 'Whitney Damron'
*Subject:* Letter regarding SB 338 - Abandoned Housing
*Importance:* High
Good Afternoon Neighborhood Leaders;
As you may be aware, Governor Brownback vetoed Senate Bill 338 this week.
This bill would have allowed cities the ability to petition the court for
legal control of abandoned properties and work with non-profit housing
providers to rehabilitate the homes for affordable housing in the
community. Following the completion of rehabilitation, quiet title would
have been sought for the properties that would allow the community housing
providers to own the properties, thereby growing their inventories of
affordable housing for the community and eliminating a abandoned & blighted
property in the process.
As a community we know that these abandoned properties eventually become
blighted to the point that demolition is the only solution. We also know
the devastating impacts these neglected properties have on your
neighborhoods and our community as a whole. And last, but certainly not
least, we know that there is true need for more affordable housing for our
community. SB 338 had the potential to help with both of these situations,
and we were disappointed that is did not receive final approval from the
Governor.
Below and attached you will find communication to the Governor’s office
regarding SB 338. I have also included the message from Governor
Brownback’s office regarding his veto of the bill. City Officials and
staff have tried to offer up further compromise on the bill’s language that
we pray will help put the concerns regarding property rights abuses to
rest. Our hope is that with this continued effort toward compromise, the
Governor will reconsider the veto of this very important bill during the
upcoming veto session.
I would ask the neighborhoods to voice your support of SB 338 and the very
useful tool kit it could provide the City of Topeka in addressing abandoned
properties in our community. Please share this information with your
families, friends and neighbors and ask for their support of this bill as
well. Finally, I would ask that you consider contacting the Governor’s
office to ask him to support Topeka’s proposed revisions to SB 338, and
approval during the upcoming veto session.
Governor's constituent services:
(785) 296-3232 Office of the Governor
(785) 368-8500 Constituent Services
Either number works, although constituent services is probably the
best. *People
should identify who they are, what organization they represent (if any),
where they live, leave contact information (telephone number) and ask for
the Governor to reconsider his veto of SB 338, the abandoned housing bill
and request that he work with the proponents on a reasonable compromise.*
Please be kind and courteous in your requests.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, and thank
you for your continued support of our efforts to make Topeka the very best
place to live, work and play in Kansas!
Best regards,
Sasha Haehn
Director of Neighborhood Relations
City of Topeka, KS
(785)368-3711
www.topeka.org/hnd
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: *Whitney Damron* <wbdamron at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 3:12 PM
Subject: Letter in re SB 338 - Abandoned Housing
To: Jon Hummell <jon.hummell at ks.gov>, "Smith, Brandon [GO]" <
Brandon.Smith at ks.gov>
Jon and Brandon:
Following up on our exchange on April 12, I have had several meetings
with representatives of the City of Topeka in regard to SB 338 in efforts
to come up with revisions to make the legislation more acceptable to those
who have expressed concerns with the potential for abuse of personal
property rights and to give consideration to the Governor's veto message.
We looked at other possible options to deal with abandoned property
separate and apart from temporary possession and a quiet title action, but
for reasons outlined in the attached letter, we eventually returned to
trying to revise SB 338.
Attached is a letter that outlines five proposed revisions to SB 338 that
we believe would both tighten the scope of a city's authority to work with
a nonprofit to rehabilitate abandoned property and also enhance personal
property rights and public review of this authority, if exercised by a city.
We welcome additional thoughts and suggestions from the Administration
and would very much like to see if we could rework SB 338 and bring forth
an amended proposal for consideration during the Veto Session. Since the
governor's veto, we have heard from a number of parties of interest, both
within the City of Topeka (e.g., neighborhood improvement associations,
nonprofits, Habitat for Humanity, Cornerstone, etc.) and in other areas of
the state that are interested in seeing this issue reconsidered. We have
made a lot of progress this session and would be disappointed to lose our
momentum if an agreement is possible.
I am out of state all next week and returning late Friday, April 22. I
will have all of my files with me and am available to visit with either of
you as well as share information with my client and other stakeholders if
there is room to discuss.
Thank you in advance for your review of the attachment. The letter is
two pages long, but I have also attached a copy of SB 338 as it passed the
Legislature to facilitate your review of our suggested changes.
Thank you.
Whitney
--
Whitney Damron
Whitney B. Damron, P.A.
919 South Kansas Avenue
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1210
(785) 354-1354 (O) - (785) 224-6666 (M)
www.wbdpa.com
--
Whitney Damron
Whitney B. Damron, P.A.
919 South Kansas Avenue
Topeka, Kansas 66612-1210
(785) 354-1354 (O) - (785) 224-6666 (M)
www.wbdpa.com
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