Taking NIMBY To A New Level

NIMBY: Not In My Backyard. In a lot of apartment complexes, that's the philosophy of the managers and owners, who are there every day to try to improve their complexes and to deter crime around them. City officials, however, may not think that's good enough, reports KHOU. They may soon propose an ordinance that will make apartment owners more responsible for crime committed on their property. Houston's murder stats have shown a marked increase this year, and over 75 percent of the increase has been crimes that take place on apartment properties, explained an employee of the mayor's office. Despite the increasing patrols, the problem isn't going away, but apartment complex owners don't like the new plan.

“Not needed. What they have on the books now is more than ample,” said Larry Hill, president of the Houston Apartment Association. He and a large group of owners told city council members that they should focus on using laws already on the books to combat the problem instead of creating new ones that might create a bigger problem for the overloaded justice system, and might just plain not work.

The proposed ordinance is likely to go before the council, and if it passes may be in effect as early as January 1, 2007.