The city's new boarding home ordinance is now in place and has been well publicized, but code enforcement officers like Jenny Ramirez are making the rounds to neighborhood associations to make sure everyone knows the rules.
"Today what I really, really wanted to do is focus on giving you a really good concise definition of what we adopted as far as our boarding home ordinance," she said.
Owners who registered before the March 1 deadline have until January 1 next year to install new fire sprinklers to meet the requirement. Ramirez said so far the city has 31 boarding homes on file.
Those homes that did not meet the deadline have 30 days after registration to complete the task.
There are also other rules under the new guidelines to make boarding homes safer for residents of the homes, who are often elderly or disabled.
"Once we permit a location for a boarding home, there cannot be another one permitted within a half mile of each other," Ramirez said.
Registration is $1,000 for each boarding home every year and employees and operators have to pass background checks.
People are encouraged to report illegal boarding homes to the city through first-hand knowledge or through a neighborhood association.
- To report an illegal boarding home, call the Boarding Home Hotline at 207-8511.
