NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced on Friday the beginning of a comprehensive review of the Livable City Initiative (LCI), according to a release from his office.
Elicker hopes it will lead to the development of new recommendations and proposals to improve and strengthen the city’s housing code-related processes, services and engagement with tenants and landlords.
After issuing a public request for qualifications seeking a consulting partner in February, the city has selected Liam Brennan, who will begin leading the effort on April 22, the release said.
LCI is the city department responsible for ensuring affordable, safe, high-quality housing for residents by enforcing the city’s housing code, addressing blight in the community, facilitating the development of more affordable housing units, and administering innovative programs such as the security deposit assistance program for renters and down payment and closing cost assistance program for homebuyers.
Currently, there are 9,400 single-family homes and also 9,400 multi-family homes and buildings in the city, including approximately 43,000 rental units, according the release, which noted that 70% of New Haven residents are renters.
“Ensuring our residents have affordable, safe, and high-quality housing is a top priority,” Elicker said in the release. “While LCI has taken significant steps to improve and expand its services in recent years, there is a lot more we can and must do to ensure the department is operating as innovatively, effectively, and efficiently as possible so that we’re meeting the increasing demands of our city’s growing population and expanding housing stock.”
Brennan will lead the review and identify recommendations throughout a six-month consultancy with the city. In the release, Brennan said Elicker and the city are bringing a sense of urgency and innovation to the work of housing code enforcement, anti-blight efforts and landlord licensing.
“The significant investments and initiatives made over the last year, as well as those proposed in the new budget, demonstrate a genuine commitment to transforming LCI into a more highly effective agency that ensures all New Haven residents have access to safe, affordable, and high-quality housing,” Brennan said, thanking the city for the opportunity.
Elicker acknowledged that he and Brennan were short-term political opponents in the last primary election but described themselves as being long-term allies when it comes to making sure city residents have affordable, safe, and high-quality housing. He hopes all residents in New Haven can thrive.
Describing Brennan as a “innovative thinker, thoughtful problem solver and dedicated public servant with a proven track record of developing systems, policies and procedures that strengthen the organizations and institutions he has led,” Elicker said Brennan is among the city’s most passionate advocates for more affordable housing.
Brennan has most recently served as the first permanent Inspector General for the City of Hartford, where he conducted and oversaw investigations into allegations of police misconduct by the Civilian Review Board. Prior to that, he served as executive director for the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, as a staff attorney for the New Haven Legal Assistance Association and as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, according to the release.
Over the past 12 months, LCI has increased the number of housing inspections by 66% year-over-year, developed a Below Market Rental Registry to assist residents with identifying deeply affordable housing units in the city, and launched a new mobile office initiative to help meet with residents, provide information, and answer questions in locations convenient for them, according to the release.
Elicker has previously proposed deepening the city’s investment in housing; he proposed hiring seven new housing positions to complement LCI’s 13 existing code inspectors to ensure all units are inspected in a timely manner.
He also proposed moving LCI’s housing development work to a newly created Office of Housing and Community Development within the Economic Development Administration to “better integrate the city’s development and affordable housing initiatives,” the release said.
Elicker also hopes that the proposals enable LCI to focus exclusively on the work of housing inspections, landlord accountability and eliminating neighborhood blight.
The budget proposals are being considered by the Board of Alders, and a final budget must be approved by the board by June 3.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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