State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Playing Monopoly With The Neighborhood: Impact Of Series Limited Liability Companies On Nuisance Abatement Actions And Housing Code Enforcement, Lauren Williams

Cleveland State Law Review

The City of Cleveland has been one of the most active cities in combating the negative effects of the 2008 financial crisis, utilizing nuisance abatement actions in combination with municipal programs aimed at assisting homeowners and renters. However, the Ohio Revised Limited Liability Company Act ("ORLLCA"), passed in 2021, may reverse the progress made in cities like Cleveland by enabling real estate investors to conceal assets in several series under the same limited liability company, resulting in rising vacancy rates and unstable communities. This will negatively impact the effectiveness of nuisance abatement actions and traditional housing code enforcement in curbing …

Changing The Rule That Changes Nothing: Protecting Evicted Tenants By Amending Cleveland Housing Court Rule 6.13, James J. Scherer

Cleveland State Law Review

Renting is on the rise, with all households seeing an increase in the prevalence of renting a home versus owning one from 2006 to 2016. As rental rates rise, so too do the rates of eviction. The detrimental effects of eviction are numerous and can be self-reinforcing, with a single eviction decreasing one’s chances of securing decent and affordable housing, escaping disadvantaged neighborhoods, and benefiting from affordable housing programs. All this was before the coronavirus pandemic that devastated jobs and savings accounts across the nation.

One of the biggest impacts that eviction has on renters is a public court record. …

Municipal Predatory Lending Regulation In Ohio: The Disproportionate Impact Of Preemption In Ohio's Cities, Brett Altier

Cleveland State Law Review

Whether in the case of predatory lending or other issues that will differ from location to location, municipalities should continue to protect their cities by exercising their power under the Home Rule Amendment to enforce regulations not in direct conflict with Ohio law. Even though the Framers of the Home Rule Amendment intended to protect municipal power by ensuring that only those ordinances in actual conflict would be voided, Ohio courts have denied municipalities their Home Rule police power by applying a conflict by implication test, contributing to the housing crisis still plaguing Ohio's cities. While Ohio courts have made …

Maintaining Residential Integration: Municipal Practices And Law, Kermit J. Lind

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article focuses on the policies and programs that can be established to sustain racial diversity in housing. It reviews the circumstances that give rise to such policies and programs, describes the legal framework within which they must be fit, and examines some of them in light of the needs and interests of policy makers in communities that are open to minority groups. Since effective housing integration policies and programs can vary significantly from one place to another, each municipality must consider its options in view of its circumstances and the changing conditions in its housing market. In response to …

Conversion Condominium Development: An Issue Of Tenants' Rights, Amy R. Goldstein

Cleveland State Law Review

It is against the backdrop of burgeoning condominium conversion activity, rental housing shortages and diverse legislative controls that this Note will examine the issue of tenant protection as it has developed in Ohio. The consideration given to conversion condominium development in the 1978 amendments to the Ohio Condominium Property Act creates minimal, if any, protection for either tenants or the rental housing market. This Note will critically examine the pertinent provision of the Ohio Act, outline the municipal tenant protection laws which have subsequently been enacted in metropolitan Cleveland communities and consider the issue of whether these local conversion regulations …

Impact Of A Community Association On Integrated Suburban Housing Patterns, Stephen J. Alfred, Charles R. Marcoux

Cleveland State Law Review

Community associations-neighbors who join together in recognition of common interests and sometimes in pursuit of greater political influence-appear and disappear with the ebb and flow of local issues. Home community organizations have concerned themselves with installation of improvements, such as sidewalks and sewers; others, with the quality of municipal services, property maintenance, and compliance with building and zoning laws. More recently, however, such community organizations have sprung into life for the purpose of dealing with the emotionally-charged issue of racial integration in their neighborhoods. This paper will explore the development of The Lomond Association, a community organization committed to a …

State Legislative Response To The Housing Crisis, Richard E. Streeter, David G. Davies, Arthur V. N. Brooks

Cleveland State Law Review

Great public attention has recently been focused on the crisis in housing facing all major urban areas in this country. This article has been prepared to bring close attention to one segment of the hoped for solution-legislative action needed on the state level.

Aesthetics And The Police Power, Robert J. Dicello

Cleveland State Law Review

Under the Ohio Constitution municipalities have the authority to exercise all powers of local self-government. This authority is exercised through police power which is sufficient to support the enactment and enforcement of a wide variety of regulations which serve the public welfare. The police power, then, is the means whereby there is delegated by the state to the municipality effective power to promote and protect the general welfare. The purpose of any enforceable ordinance established under the police power must be directly related to the general welfare of the community wherein it operates.

Housing Code Enforcement - A New Approach, Richard J. Marco, James P. Mancino

Cleveland State Law Review

Recognizing the national housing crises and the inadequate progress toward solutions through the utilization of either present code enforcement techniques or the ponderous urban renewal processes, new methods, techniques and approaches for the enforcement of housing code standards were sought.