South suburban Olympia Fields, with its stately homes and sprawling lawns, is much like other affluent communities to the north and west.
But Olympia Fields has something few of those other towns share: a new ordinance that requires a homeowner to schedule a $50 village inspection of the interior of any home put up for sale. Then, the homeowner must see to it that repairs are made.
Olympia Fields is the latest and most affluent in a cluster of racially diverse towns in the south suburbs to adopt such a law, which is rare elsewhere in the six-county region. Inspection laws, officials believe, give assurances to present homeowners as well as prospective ones that the village’s housing stock will remain solid. But some argue that such laws also are designed to fight a perception that people of color neglect their properties and cannot afford the upkeep.
The exact impact of housing inspection laws is impossible to measure. But the laws are examples of the hurdles racially mixed communities must clear to remain attractive to middle- and upper-middle class home buyers.
“The nature of the society that we live in puts an unequal burden on racially diverse communities,” said Larry McClellan, director of the South Metropolitan Regional Leadership Center at Governors State University in University Park.
The ordinances “become affirmations for their . . . constituency that we are in fact a fine community and there’s nothing to be uptight about,” he said.
Inspection laws have become a trend and a tool in racially diverse communities nationwide because they help combat stereotypes that property upkeep is less of a priority in those areas, according to George Galster, an urban affairs professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.
“(Home buyers) are not fleeing from diverse neighborhoods; they are avoiding shopping for homes there,” Galster said. “If communities don’t struggle very hard to shatter that stereotype, they run into a self-fulfilling prophecy” of higher crime rates, lower property values and substandard schools.
Even a community such as Olympia Fields, whose median home values exceeds $185,000, far above nearby communities with similar ordinances, finds reassurances are necessary.
Olympia Fields officials say their ordinance, approved earlier this year, was drawn up in response to residents’ concerns that its housing stock was aging and that some properties needed minor repairs that weren’t being addressed quickly.
Inspectors look for such violations as peeling paint, debris-filled window wells, cracks in exterior concrete surfaces, improper electrical outlets, among other items. Barring any health or safety violations, the buyer could move into the home but must make repairs within 90 days.
“It’s not simply a question of race but a question of economics,” said Village President Linzey Jones, who is African-American. “We want to attract middle- and upper middle-class residents, regardless of race. That’s the main driver for the inspections ordinance.”
Though home buyers typically pay a private company to perform an inspection, Olympia Fields requires its own to ensure that repairs are made. The law, however, does not seek to delay the sale of the home until repairs are made. If the seller doesn’t make them, the village will hold the buyer responsible.
One example of a community that has used such measures and has maintained stable property values is Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a racially and economically diverse suburb with housing values ranging from $60,000 to $500,000.
Officials there passed an inspection ordinance in the early 1970s that includes a provision by which lower income homeowners whose properties are cited for housing code violations can apply for grants through the city to make repairs.
But while municipal leaders say inspection laws help maintain high home values, they are short on evidence to support that.
In the Chicago area, the only other town similar to Olympia Fields with an inspection ordinance is west suburban Oak Park. Like Olympia Fields, Oak Park is a racially diverse community, 25 percent minority, with an aging housing stock, whose median home value is about $233,000.
Village President Barbara Furlong lauds the housing guidelines there, but she added that inspection laws, by themselves, are not enough.
“We realize that in order to continue to attract a universal market of tenants and home buyers, we must have a community that’s attractive, well-run, with good services and schools,” she said. “Everything in the community plays a role in terms of maintaining the ability to having the housing stock continue to go up.”
Towns that have remained predominantly white or black have not had the challenges of defending diversity.
But in towns surrounding Olympia Fields, a region that is 25 to 30 percent minority, such laws predominate. Park Forest, Country Club Hills, Richton Park, Chicago Heights, Glenwood, University Park and Hazel Crest have passed inspection ordinances within the last decade. Matteson passed its law in 1976.
“A lot of communities feel we have to make the extra effort, because people have these stereotypes,” said Robin Kelly, a spokeswoman for Matteson. “It’s a shame people need extra assurances that things are going to be OK, even though they (already) are.”
George Patt, executive director of the South/Southwest Association of Realtors, said in the south suburbs, it’s partly an image problem.
“The south suburbs primarily have been viewed as blue-collar,” he said. “We’ve been trying to change that for years.”
Beverly Sokol, a member of the Enhancement Organization of Olympia Fields and a 35-year resident of the village, said communities like Olympia Fields must take the lead and be proactive to maintain a high quality of life.
“There are people that will look for anything that’s going to mean the village is going down,” said Sokol, who is white. “If everything looks good, there will be nothing to find fault with.”
But Olympia Fields trustees Anita Healy and Michael Monteleone voted against the ordinance. Healy said the fact the law exists suggests an inferior climate that already has hurt the village’s reputation.
“I just think we’ve lost some prestige by this ordinance,” she said. “The whole community has lost with this.”
Olympia Fields residents Mary and Eric Benson are so against the ordinance that they recently sent out a mailing seeking financial support for a proposed class-action lawsuit, saying the measure is costly and unnecessary.
The law went into effect just as the Bensons were finalizing the sale of their house at 20460 Doria Lane. Mary Benson said the couple had negotiated a price $20,000 below market value.
“We didn’t anticipate going back to invest in the property so it would pass an inspection,” Mary Benson said.
The village’s inspector identified eight violations, including a driveway that needed to be repaved. Mary Benson estimated that would cost between $1,200 and $3,000.
