Rural residents speak out against proposed Johnson property code

IOWA CITY – What was initially focused on addressing longstanding issues at a downtrodden mobile home park has now become a concern to seemingly every farmer in Johnson County.

A crowd of a few hundred people attended Thursday night's Johnson County Board of Supervisors meeting, nearly all of them rural residents opposed to a proposed property maintenance code.

“I am vehemently against it and I want my privacy,” said Morrie Pitlick, who lives near Oxford.

The code is aimed at giving the county the power to require repairs to nuisance properties. Rural residents, particularly farmers, are worried it will be used to make them fix everything from windows to the plumbing on farm buildings that in many cases are at least several decades old.

The county started talking about the ordinance in March and the issue picked up steam this summer after the problems at Regency Mobile Home Park were again in the news. Residents of the park, just south of Iowa City, have complained for years about poor conditions there, but the county has been unable to do much because of its lack of property and housing codes.

The supervisors have repeatedly said they want a code that focuses on life-safety issues like having proper electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling systems and not one as strict as is often found in cities.

The supervisors did not vote on the measure Thursday and instead asked staff to tighten up the language so that it affects only the most unsafe owner-occupied structures. They also are interested in exempting accessory buildings on farms, like barns.

Supervisor Rod Sullivan said he thought only a handful of farm houses that are in extremely poor condition would be affected.

“I really don't think this is going to be that big of a deal,” he said.

Supervisor Pat Harney favors exempting all farm buildings except rentals.

That received support from many people in the crowd. It was an impassioned group, sometimes too much so for the taste of board Chairwoman Sally Stutsman, who threatened to close the public hearing after repeated outbursts, including when a man booed a woman who spoke in favor the ordinance.

Only two people out of about 40 speakers voiced support for the ordinance during the nearly four-hour long meeting.

For the majority, the concerns included the amount of discretion given to inspectors, the possibility of having to pay for repairs they believe unnecessary and a general objection to the government having say over what they do with their property.

“You are infringing on the basic freedom to choose, to live as we please,” said George Wagner, who lives in the northwest corner of the county.

Inspections would be done only when complaints are received and the county would be more focused on rentals and dealing with life-safety issues, said Rick Dvorak, the county's planning and zoning administrator.

Also, an inspector would need permission from a land owner, or a search warrant, to enter a structure, said Assistant County Attorney Susie Nehring.

Other people said they felt like farmers were being punished for the problems at Regency. Nehring said state law does not allow for a code to apply only to a mobile home park and not other owner-occupied housing.

The fine for a violation would be up to $750, with repeat offenses up to $1,000.

Linn County has a property maintenance ordinance for unincorporated areas that does not exempt agricultural property. Ruby Perin, healthy homes branch manager for the county's Public Health Department, said she's not aware of there ever being any widespread dissatisfaction among farmers.