RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has experienced a significant growth over the last decade in the number of community associations, including condominiums, co-ops, and homeowners associations, with new associations, developments and condo conversions being added steadily in nearly every Chicago neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, the Office of the City Clerk makes available to the public a Landlord Tenant Rights pamphlet that has increasingly been requested with the rise in apartment complexes being converted to condominiums and with the increase in condominium developments allowing renters; and
WHEREAS, constituents often convey a confusion as to their rights and resources available to them as landlords, tenants, or Board of Directors with renters in their condominium developments; and
WHEREAS, coordinating services to community associations and condominium developers can be a challenge for the city, which regulates and interacts with these associations through any v., number of city departments; and
WHEREAS, community associations are regulated by a complex series of laws and individual building governing documents that can result in redundancies and inefficiencies when the city coordinates services for these associations; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the city to have well-trained community associations and for the city to collect timely and accurate information concerning the needs of these associations as they interact with and oversee portions of the work of community associations in the City; and
WHEREAS, there is no central database of community associations in the city to ensure associations are kept apprised of changes in the Municipal Code and other city policies that impact their associations on a daily basis; and
WHEREAS, increasingly many associations are self-managed, with nearly all management authority vested in a volunteer Board of Directors who act in the best interest of their buildings, are financially prudent, and are responsive to the needs of the unit owners, but significant problems arise for residents when this is not the case; and
WHEREAS, additional problems arise when Boards are not able to successfully navigate city services available to them or kept updated of legal issues that impact their operations; and
WHEREAS, the city would benefit from an audit of city departments providing services to community associations and condominium developers to ensure these services are coordinated and provided in the most efficient manner and to identify any necessary services not currently offered by the city; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the Members of the City Council of Chicago assembled this thirteenth day of January, 2011, do hereby call for the Department of Buildings, Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, Department of Family and Support Services, Department of Housing and Economic Development, the City of Chicago Law Department, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and the Department of Senior Services to produce a written report by July 2011 of the services each respective department provides community associations and condominium developers, including referral services with input from delegate agencies, and provide this report to a joint Committee of Buildings and Housing and Real Estate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a Joint Committee of Buildings and Housing and Real Estate review these reports and determine if there should be a consolidation of services or whether more services are needed to assist community associations and condominium developers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution be provided to the chairman of the Committee on Buildings and the chairman of the Committee on Housing and Real Estate.
Miguel del Valle City Clerk of Chicago