The Cedar Rapids City Council last night, unfortunately, passed a so-called "nuisance ordinance" that could encourage landlords to evict domestic violence victims.
The ACLU of Iowa and the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence urged the council to vote against the proposed new "nuisance properties" ordinance. The organizations point out that rather than help the city fight crime, the ordinance will punish and discourage victims from seeking necessary police assistance when assaulted and abused or when they need police assistance to enforce a restraining order.
Like most cities, Cedar Rapids already has a nuisance ordinance that addresses problems with the use or conditions of property that unreasonably interfere with the public, such as houses with repeated code violations. This proposed ordinance is different because it classifies properties with multiple law enforcement visits within a given period of time also as "nuisance properties."
Under this proposed ordinance, once a property is classified as a nuisance, the landlord will be charged the costs of the police calls, including future calls, unless the nuisance is "abated." In the vast majority of cases, the only way to "abate" is to evict. And faced with a fine for every call to police, landlords are implicitly encouraged to evict all parties involved in an abusive relationship, including the victim.
"Knowing that multiple calls to the police could lead to eviction, a domestic violence victim may feel forced to remain silent to avoid homelessness," said Rita Bettis, ACLU of Iowa legislative director and staff attorney. "We urge Cedar Rapids and cities across the state to focus on providing services to victims of abuse, rather than doubling down on their victimization with the threat of eviction."
Although there is an exemption in the ordinance covering domestic violence situations, it is misleading and fails to adequately protect victims and innocent parties, Bettis says.
"This ordinance will make it harder for victims of domestic violence to stay safe in their own homes. Forcing victims of domestic violence to choose between a police call and a possible eviction isn't in anyone's best interest," said Zebulon Beilke-McCallum Housing and Economic Justice Coordinator for the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The ordinance has a number of legal problems, including conflicting with the City’s fair housing obligations and the federal Violence Against Women Act, the advocacy groups say.
At the meeting, the ACLU of Iowa and the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence presented a joint letter to Mayor Corbett and members of the city council explaining the legal problems they see with the proposal.
Just under one in three Iowa women will experience an instance of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in her lifetime. In just the past three months, there were 549 incidents in which Cedar Rapids residents requested police assistance for domestic disturbance violence.
For further information about how nuisance ordinances undermine effective law enforcement responses to domestic violence, see our fact sheet.