I do not personally know all of Mr. Satterwhite’s clients but I do know Mike Satterwhite.
He and I both believe in the dignity of the individual. I know he believes as I do that home is the starting point for shaping lives, and creating neighborhoods. Your home is the solid foundation that builds and nurtures families. Mike and I believe that Henderson wants to provide a prosperous future for all. He and I believe we all deserve a peaceful, clean, safe place to live.
Here are some things on which we obviously disagree. I believe one of the best places to start providing this to all our citizens is by improving our poor housing stock. I also disagree with many of his positions on the rental permit that five council people voted to adopt. Below, in bold, is what I noted as Mr. Satterwhite’s position and my response to his positions.
1) The rental permit is unconstitutional
Mr. Satterwhite refers to a letter from City Attorney Zollicoffer where he states that he has not found a decision “regarding whether these ordinances are constitutional.” The most important point here is that Zollicoffer has not found where a rental permit is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Migrant housing, Section 8 housing, rest homes, group homes, daycare facilities and even barber shops are inspected and have much stricter regulations than those posed in Henderson’s rental permit.
2) The city cannot meet its obligations
Mr. Satterwhite argued that the city had failed for the last 30 years to enforce housing standards. He is exactly correct. Under the past administration, the city did not even have a code enforcement department. It is time to rectify 30 years of neglect. There is no better time than the present to begin to correct errors of the past that have led to our blighted housing problem. Most cities in North Carolina are far, far ahead of Henderson on this.
3) The city did not know they could enforce minimum housing
Mr. Satterwhite surely knows this is not an accurate statement. Five citizens asked for an inspection on a property on Burwell Ave. four years ago and Mr. Satterwhite represented the owner who fought having this inspection done. There was even a proposal floated to our legislators at that time to lower Henderson’s minimum housing standard.
4) You don’t need to change the rules, just enforce the ones you have
Mr. Satterwhite argued that if a school is out of control, they don’t change their rules, they just enforce them. Wrong. There is no end to the changes that have been made in school rules. Everything from smoking to weapons to graduation standards have changed. There is an overwhelming problem of poor housing in Henderson. We have to change our way of doing business if we are going to correct these problems. I cannot imagine having a smoking area for students now like we had when I first started teaching. Soon, I hope that I cannot imagine a neighborhood that is being rundown and losing value because of poor housing stock.
5) It is an invasion of privacy
The city originally wanted the inspection to occur prior to a tenant moving into a rental property. This was changed at the behest of Mr. Satterwhite. Now he argues that this is inappropriate search and invasion of privacy. The city can correct this quite simply by going back to the original plan to inspect prior to a property being occupied.
6) Other cities don’t have or have dropped this law
Mr. Satterwhite is correct but he fails to tell the rest of the story. Two years ago I called cities to inquire about their rental policies. Two cities, Raleigh and Chapel Hill, have a great demand for quality housing because they are college towns so the market was already assuring high standards for property. Three towns I called did not have a great deal of rental property so there was no need for an ordinance. Three towns had the county to do all inspections of housing so they did not need a city ordinance. Two cities had great success with a rental permit crediting it with improving economic development.
7) Big brother does not need to regulate us
Sometimes my big brother does know best even though I may resent it. Seat belt violations, littering, car insurance, traffic laws, burning permits, land clearing, polluting the land and water, subdivision laws, septic tank installation–and I could go on and on. Big Brother has had to make sure that the rest of us are not impacted by the negligence of those who share our space and place. Protecting those who may live in the vicinity of poor quality housing is as important as protecting renters.
8) Fire inspections are necessary for businesses only
Mr. Satterwhite does not resent or challenge the constitutionality of inspecting a business. I offer that renting houses is a business and it is a business that holds many advantages- everything from tax credits, to income tax deductions, to government subsidies. Many progressive cities already control rental standards by making each rental property have a business license.
9) The city lacks the moral authority
If not the city, who? This statement was frankly reprehensible to me. When we allow people to live in substandard houses, we are sending them the clear message that they are not as good as the rest of us. We also send them the message that they deserve no better. We also send them the message that our city is a city of have and have nots. Frankly, when we allow people to live the way some do in Henderson, we are robbing them of hope. Now that is truly immoral.
10) This has become a political issue
I agree. And, it is an appropriate political issue. We all want a prosperous city. The American Planning Association clearly states that “Employers will be less likely to stay in or relocate to communities that cannot supply adequate housing.” Your city council knows this, but we are being attacked from every angle as we work to get this component of economic development in place. I would suggest to Mr. Satterwhite that he and his clients get behind improving housing in Henderson and work with the City Council to bring about a vision of our future that is good for everyone. If we converge our efforts, we will have Henderson on a road that will bring us all progress and stability and prosperity.
Elissa Yount