A. The city council finds that prompt, effective administration of the city's substandard housing, dangerous buildings, and neighborhood nuisance codes is necessary to safeguard the city's housing stock and its neighborhoods and provides a service to and benefits all owners of residential rental property by protecting and enhancing property values and maintaining neighborhoods as desirable places to live.
B. There is imposed upon every owner of residential rental property a neighborhood conservation fee to fund administration of the substandard housing, dangerous buildings, and neighborhood nuisance codes necessitated by the existence of residential rental property. The fee shall be ten dollars ($10.00) per rental unit per year. All fees shall be used exclusively for administration and enforcement of this chapter and Chapters 8.96 and 8.100 of this title.
C. This section shall be repealed as of January 1, 1997. If the city council chooses to extend the fee, a four-fifths vote of the council shall be required.
D. Prior to January 1, 1997, the city council shall cause a study to be conducted to determine whether fees and penalties paid by property owners subjected to substandard housing, dangerous buildings, and neighborhood nuisance code proceedings are adequate to fund continuing enforcement of the codes and shall not consider extending the neighborhood conservation fee if those fees and penalties are adequate.
E. The fees imposed pursuant to this section shall be used to increase the number of staff working on administration and enforcement of Chapters 8.96 and 8.100 of this title, and shall not be used to replace the funding for fee-funded or general fund funded staff presently working on these matters. (Prior code § 61.16.1628)