Neighborhood Development Position Paper

As mayor of Fall River, Cathy Ann Viveiros will implement a comprehensive, Five Point Plan which defends our neighborhoods, addressestheir health and safety, shapes and provides for the future of each individual neighborhood, revitalizes neighborhood business centers as needed, and works with landlords to provide quality housing for quality tenants.Outreach to residents, local businesses and neighborhood associations will take multiple routes to insure a comprehensive Work Plan is developed for neighborhoods throughout the City.

I) Defending Our Neighborhoods

Our City is a collection of neighborhoods; each with its own style, composition and culture. Even our central business district has residential dwellings and the possibility for expanded residential use which could support our Downtown’s commercial activity-if done correctly.Local government should be partnering with neighborhood residents and groups to protect the character and integrity of our City’s residential areas.

Each of these neighborhoods has its own set of challenges.Someresidents of our City have formed neighborhood associations to address their issues. These noteworthy organizations demonstrate what is best about our City as volunteers promote their neighborhoods and bring their concerns to the attention of city officials and the public. These groups should never feel compelled to defend themselves against influences that seek to intrude on their environmentor threaten their neighborhoods’ health and wellbeing.

Local government’s role is to provide the municipal services which will strengthen these areas and provide the residents and businesses with an environment in which they can live in harmony and complement each other. The character of these neighborhoods must be protected and enhanced in a way that residents envision. Resources are available to property owners and businesses whether they are elderly tax abatements, lead paint abatement programs or low interest, small business loans.

Outreach efforts will be educational, multifaceted and beneficial to qualified individuals and their respective neighborhoods.

As a member of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee, Cathy has already determined from residents and neighborhood and tenant association members that public health and safety services arebadlyneeded in our City’s neighborhoods. As a candidate for Mayor, she has also been hearing from many citizens and businesses regarding other issues including zoning, neighborhood infrastructure and economic development.

Within the first 90 days of her administration, Cathy Ann Viveiros will conduct a variety of outreach activities. These initiatives will all serve as Assessment Tools. They will

Include:

  1. ASatisfaction Survey to be mailed to property owners, with either a realestate tax or utility bill, posted online and available at GovernmentCenter. This Survey will seek service ratings, suggestions for improvement, and provide opportunity for residents to request corrective actions. The Survey will also give residents the dates for upcoming neighborhood meetings scheduled in their area.
  2. Aseries of neighborhood meetings will be conducted and will include representatives from Police, Fire, Public Works, Minimum Housing, Public Utilities, Education and Economic Development. This will allow Mayor Viveiros to discuss with residents and businesses what services are needed in their respective neighborhoods. Residents will also be briefed on planned infrastructure projects within their neighborhoods.
  3. Local businesses willalso be visitedto insure their voice is heard regarding local governmentservices and supportive efforts. These businesses provide a large number of jobs to our residents and job retention must be a part of Fall River’s economic development strategy.

Neighborhood Work Plans

Once the outreach activities have been completed, a unique Neighborhood Work Plan, with a timeline, will be developed to address each neighborhood’s concerns and requests. All residents will be given a list of important telephone numbers to facilitate reporting and tracking of Work Plan activities. Progress meetings will be scheduled on a regular basis.

Board and Commission Member Appointments Training

As neighborhoods are directly impacted by the actions of municipal boards and commissions, training will be required for all existing and newly appointed Municipal Board and Commission members. The training will be provided by skilled professionals and staff members to assure that all board members fully understand the rules, regulations and procedures under which they operate.

New appointments to these boards will reflect the community. As work plans are developed, these local Boards will be briefed on the goals and objectives in these work plans and, wherever legally possible, decisions should promote the achievement of these goals.

II) Neighborhood Health and Safety

Working with police and health officials, Councilor Viveiros developed an informational video which speaks to the Broken Windows theory and related criminal activities. Blighted structuressend the wrong message to the criminal element. The theory is that if a neighborhood doesn’t care about its properties, then it doesn’t care about criminal activity on its streets. Both private landlords and State government must take responsibility for their “broken windows” and deplorable conditions in our neighborhoods.

The following strategies would be beneficial to both neighborhoods and the community overall:

  1. The Police Department hascompiled a list of addresses and streets with habitual criminal activities. These properties/areas will be targeted for enforcement of minimum housing, health and safety regulations. Residents will also be encouraged to report violations for enforcement actions.
  2. All municipal healthy and safety departments will be required to compile a comprehensive list of local and state ordinances and statutes that are available to insure that residents, businesses and property owners conduct themselves in the best interests of their neighbors. Diligent enforcement action is essential to the success of our compliance efforts.
  3. Outreach and educational resources will be used to assure that residents fully understand these laws and how they will be applied and enforced. The Public Safety Presentation that Councilor Viveiros and the City Council’s Public Safety Committee developed in 2008 will be made available to neighborhood and community groups.
  4. A renewed, Tips Line campaign will be launched to encourage residents to use this anonymous means of reporting suspicious activities.
  5. Working in conjunction with the City Council, procedures will be developed to assure that adequate warnings are given for first offenses and extenuating circumstances. Enforcement action is intended to rid our neighborhoods of habitual offenders and those with little or no regard for their neighbors, tenants or the community at large.Discretion is necessary to assure that law abiding citizens are not unduly harassed.
  6. Adequate enforcement resources will be put in place, including full utilization of a central, computerized database for tracking offenses and corrective actions.
  7. Customer service training will be provided to all municipal employees who are interacting with the public. Residents who are working cooperatively with local government should be encouraged to provide their input and feedback and should be treated respectfully for their efforts.

III) Shaping Each Neighborhood’s Future

The neighborhood meetings will also address desired amenities such as increased parking, playground areas, meeting space,signage and traffic circulation. Zoning and neighborhood businessregulations will be reviewed to assure they facilitate the implementation of the Neighborhood Work Plans.

  1. The disposition of surplus school buildings must include neighborhood input. Public/private partnerships could offer both development of vacant school properties as well as the attainment of neighborhood amenities included in the Work Plans.
  2. Pending revisions to the Fall River Zoning Regulations should be fully aired at these neighborhood meetings. Allowed uses and exceptions should be discussed on the merits of any proposed changes.
  3. An Adult Entertainment Zone needs to be designated within Fall River. Mayor Viveiros will address this issue by working with neighborhood associations and assembling a volunteer group of residents and businesses which willinvestigate possible locations for this overlay district. Staff resource personnel will be provided. As this use is constitutionally protected, it cannot be kept out of our City. Consequently, the goal will be to find the least disruptive area in an effort to ward off legal challenges, protect our neighborhoods and minimize the adverse impacts whichundesignated; this use could have on our community.
  4. Work Plan implementation will require the recruitment of area residents and businesses. Neighborhood associations have proven to be an effective means of involvement and accomplishment and they will serve as a model for monitoring and implementation.
  5. A Neighborhood Liaison will be appointed to provide ongoing support to each group and facilitate communication between neighborhood groups to share ideas, programs and best practices city wide.
  6. As Mayor, Cathy Ann Viveiros will meet regularly with representatives of the neighborhood groups to assess progress and corrective actions as needed.

IV) Revitalizing Our Neighborhood Business Centers

Our City has numerous clusters of small businesses located in neighborhoods throughout the City. These mini-commercial centers provide important services to residents and, in some cases, have become integral to the character of their neighborhoods. Efforts to beautify our neighborhoods must include these business districts. The commercial businesses along New Boston Road are a good example of the harmony that can exist amongst businesses and residential neighbors.

The following steps will be taken to enhance these business areas:

  1. Façade and Sign improvement programs will be developed to beautify our neighborhood business districts. Trash receptacles and tree plantings will support beautification efforts.
  2. As part of each Neighborhood’s Work Plan, residents will be encouraged to work with their existing businesses to achieve their mutual goals. Needed business services should be identified and supported by area residents.

V)Working with Landlords

Our City’s neighborhoods offeraffordable rental opportunities that are provided by our community’s landlords. In Fall River, 65% of housing is rental property, while the State average is 35% rental. As a result, the health of our community is very dependent upon the activities of these landlords.

Fall River has a history of immigrant migration which has contributed to the cultural diversity that reflects our community. It is important that our City maintain its heritage by continuing to provide equal housing opportunities to people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Our challenge is to welcome those who choose to live in and contribute to Fall River and limit those policies which encourage transient occupants who drain our City’s resources.

Many rental properties are owner occupied while others are owned by absentee landlords. It is in the City’s best interest to support these landlords in their efforts to provide affordable living conditions to productive tenants who want to be part of the fabric of Fall River.

Our local Housing Authority is the City’s largest absentee landlord. The Housing Authority can be both a support and a hindrance to neighborhood stability.

Local government needs to help landlords to utilize the tools available to attract quality tenants. Both landlords and tenants have a responsibility to their neighbors. Failure by either party to remain mindful of the consequences of their actions, or inactions, is certain to have a detrimental effect on the neighborhood.

As Mayor, Cathy Ann Viveiros proposes that the following steps be taken:

  1. Local government should form a supportive working relationship with Fall River’s landlord association. This associationis able to facilitate communication between landlords regarding matters including tenant references, housing code regulations and rental best practices.
  2. City, Police Departmentand Housing Court officials to provide workshops on such topics as tenant screening and the use of CORI checks and references to insure that Landlords are assisted in providing quality rental opportunities to quality tenants. Lease language that allows landlords a swift and efficient means to control tenant behavior will be developed with assistance from the Housing Court.
  3. Certain Lease language in rental documents would enable landlords to legally manage the behavior of their tenants and their guests. This language should be made available to private landlords. Enforceable provisions within rental documents will assure both the landlords and their tenants that healthy living conditions are maintained. These provisions will assure that both landlord and tenant fully understand their rights and responsibilities.
  4. Blighted properties must be dealt with in a legal and expeditious manner. Our local Housing Authority must set an example for others to follow. Buildings such as this Fifth Street property, which is under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, must be restored or demolished.

Conclusion: A comprehensive strategy will allow the community to join with local government in strengthening and stabilizing neighborhoods to the benefit of the entire City. Local government must set a good example for the community and must also insist that State entities do their part as well. Once the channels of communication are open and information begins flowing in two directions, only then can we join forces and accomplishment our objectives. Even those items that require financial resources that are not immediately available, should be documented and tracked so that the public can anticipate these projects and hold government accountable for their implementation. When it comes to local government, there is no greater frustration than the absence of information and the feeling of helplessness that it creates. An inclusive administration will be a great beginning to this process.

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Committee to Elect Cathy Ann Viveiros-Mayor

Telephone: 508-674-5000 E-Mail:

August 12, 2009