JONESBORO -- Proponents of a city ordinance that regulates the maintenance of Jonesboro properties say it provides a guideline for homeowners and tenants to preserve their homes and keep them safe.
Opponents of the ordinance say it is too restrictive and could force low-income families to move out of the city limits.
Voters will decide during a May 10 special election whether they want to keep Jonesboro Property Code 105-2 or repeal it. Early voting begins Tuesday.
Jonesboro aldermen tangled for more than a year with the ordinance, which creates standards for exterior and interior maintenance of buildings and residences, including multifamily dwellings and rental units. The ordinance was enacted Dec. 15 after Mayor Harold Perrin broke a 6-6 deadlock among aldermen.
Two months later, a group calling itself Repeal Jonesboro Property Code 105-2 gathered about 5,000 signatures seeking an election to overturn the ordinance. City officials then called for the May 10 election.
"This code is a door-knocker for gentrification," said Mark Pillow, the group's leader. "[Proponents] say it's a code to reinvigorate older homes and bring them up to their former glory.
"But they are using the code as a mechanism to protect property values, and it's a one-size-fits-all thing," he said. "This should strengthen neighbors, not divide them."
Pillow said he feared that those who could not afford to make any repairs required by the code will be forced to move elsewhere.
He said he worked in an Oklahoma town where he saw a similar code that forced people to move when a land developer wanted to build a shopping mall in a lower-income residential area.
"It was a run-down but loving community," Pillow said. "But that shopping mall wanted to come in, and they changed the game on the residents."
Jonesboro City Attorney Carol Duncan said the code primarily regulates the exterior of properties to ensure that yards are mowed and maintained.
"Nobody can come inside a home unless they are allowed to," she said, referring to code enforcement officers.
According to the code, residents can be fined up to $500 for some offenses if a district judge determines there are code violations that are not corrected. Duncan said that despite its passage in December, the ordinance has yet to be enforced and won't be until after next week's election.
If voters turn down the ordinance, Perrin has said, he will offer another code for aldermen to consider.
Gregory Hansen, an Arkansas State University professor of folklore and English who is leading a group that wants to keep the ordinance, said he thinks such a code is beneficial to Jonesboro.
Hansen said he initially became interested in it because of his love of history and architecture.
"I was looking at contemporary upkeep of buildings related to historic preservation and leaving a long-term legacy," he said. "But it opened up a whole variety of things, and I became aware of the issue of substandard housing."
He said the code could protect residents by requiring, for example, repairs of gas or carbon monoxide leaks.
"This is a mediating structure to keep properties from being condemned," Hansen said. "There are steps and guidelines in place to keep properties in order. If we don't have this, we will continue to have substandard housing."
Pillow said he and others in his group will campaign against the code during the week before the election.
"This code has no sense of equity," he said. "You can't fight it without $4,000 for an attorney. No code is worth waiving the rights of people. This basically says if you can't keep up with what they want, move to the country."
Voters will also choose someone to replace Ward 6 Alderman Tim McCall, who moved out of his ward and resigned his position. Five candidates are vying to complete his four-year term, which expires in 2018.
State Desk on 05/02/2016