Citizen asks Paris to address rental housing

PARIS — At the request of a Paris citizen, the Board of Selectmen will take up the issue of substandard rental housing in the town.

The Reverend Anne Stanley raised the issue during a meeting of the board on Monday.

"In the town of Paris, I don't know how many low-rent units there are. I don't know anything about how they're inspected," said Stanley.  "I do know, or I'm quite sure that this town doesn't have a housing ordinance to set some sort of benchmarks and guidelines."

Stanley noted that the town of Norway recently tackled the issue by hosting a public meeting to discuss rental housing units that have been found to be unsafe. State inspectors recently documented 96 violations in 10 rental units in Norway and Paris.

"It was a large gathering of ... the town manager, landlords, tenants, interested citizens. It was a wonderful meeting," said Stanley, who was one of a handful of Paris citizens that attended the meeting in Norway.

"We've spent so much time talking about roads, I wondered if you could give some thought to this particular issue in our town," said Stanley.

Board Chair Ted Kurtz responded that the town had not yet addressed the matter.

Selectwoman Jean Smart asked whether Stanley wanted the matter to be placed on the board's agenda for an upcoming meeting.

Stanley responded that she was indeed making that request.

A series of fire hazards have been documented in rental unit buildings on High Street and Main Street by the State Fire Marshal's office.

Paris Code Enforcement Officer Gerald Samson has said that he is not currently able to enforce safety standards in rental units in the town, because the town lacks a housing ordinance.

Fire Chief Brad Frost has advocated the adoption of Life Safety Codes, which would allow the town to perform regular inspections on buildings for various hazardous conditions.

The board's next scheduled meeting is November 28.