1. Home Rule

LWVOR favors Home Rule for Oak Ridge.

2. Federal Financial Assistance to the City

LWVOR supports federal financial assistance programs for Oak Ridge.

3. Land Use

LWVOR:

• Supports preservation and maintenance of city-owned greenbelts and long-range planning for their use, with assigned responsibilities in the city government for implementation; and
• encourages industrial conformity with adequate codes.

4. Council - Manager Form of Government

LWVOR supports the Council-Manager form of government for Oak Ridge. (This position was re-affirmed at a consensus meeting on September 30, 2003, with formal re-adoption by the board on October 14, 2003)

5. Housing

LWVOR agrees that:

1. Since additional moderate-priced housing is important to the future of Oak Ridge, the City should use appropriate means to encourage such construction, as it does industrial development.
2. City code enforcement personnel should be maintained at a level adequate to handle the number of inspections required.
3. The city should require code inspection to take place when occupancy of rental property changes, although not more frequently than once a year.
4. The Housing Code should continue to require owners to provide a safe and adequate heat source.
5. Procedures should be improved that allow the City to require renovation or removal of dangerous or unsafe structures in a timely and cost-effective manner.
6. The city should investigate mechanisms to deal with property that is unsightly and neglected and implement them if feasible.
7. It is desirable to develop and make available a basic rental contract, written in plain language, to protect the rights of landlords and tenants.