Officials to meet with state on rental housing

PARIS — Local fire officials and state housing authorities will meet to discuss how to best address unsafe housing conditions within the town, the Paris Board of Selectmen heard during a meeting on Monday.

Paris Town Manager Phil Tarr said that citizen interest in the issue had led to the action.

"There's been some interest in the quality of housing, the extent of enforcement of housing regulations, and also quality of life," said Tarr.

At a previous meeting, the Reverend Anne Stanley had asked the town to address substandard housing, particularly low-income units that have been found to have fire and safety issues.

In the past, Code Enforcement Officer Gerald Samson has said that the town cannot enforce safety regulations, because it does not have a housing ordinance on the books.

Because of this, Samson reported, the town does not inspect any rental units.

Fire Chief Brad Frost has advocated for the adoption of a set of fire codes that would hold building owners accountable for life-threatening conditions in buildings that they rent to tenants.

Tarr said that Frost and Norway Fire Chief Dennis Yates would have a meeting to discuss enforcement strategies.

"[Frost and Yates] have been successful in setting up a meeting with Avesta Housing and the state in regards to enforcement of existing laws and ordinances," said Tarr.

Avesta Housing administers the Section 8 housing program, which provides housing vouchers to low-income residents in need, in Oxford County.

Tarr said that the meeting would take place sometime in January.

"If there is some interest [among the] people who have brought this up, I'll see that the date will be posted. If you'd like to attend, you will be able to," said Tarr.

Kirchherr clarified that the public would be allowed to attend, but not necessarily participate in, the meeting.

The board also received a report on housing units in the town of Paris prepared by Samson, in response to a request from Stanley.

"The Town of Paris has 554 [apartments in multi-family buildings], as well as mobile homes and single family houses, all of which a person with a Section 8 voucher could conceivably rent," reported Samson.

He included a breakdown with his report, which showed that 196 rental units are in two-family homes. There are also five buildings that house a total of 145 units. The remaining 213 units are in buildings that house between three and nine apartments apiece.