STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) -- Stevens Point leaders are close to passing a chronic nuisance ordinance. It’s an effort to get property owners to take responsibility for what happens on their property.
There have been instances where police have been called to rental properties several times, and the new ordinance would allow the city to penalize landlords if their residents are littering, having disruptive activities, or engaging in crimes like drug activity, theft, or robbery.
The proposed ordinance is modelled after a Milwaukee ordinance, and will be voted on next Monday by the full city council. If approved, citations and follow up corrective actions will be required if an address has three or more police visits in 60 days. That means landlords will have to take a more active role in managing their tenant’s behaviour.
City Attorney Logan Beveridge says he has added provisions to the ordinance to protect domestic abuse victims from being punished with possible eviction if there are too many police calls to the home.