BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance updating the city’s property inspection and certificate of occupancy requirements.

The changes include adding definitions for violations and occupancy certificates, requiring city inspections before property transfers, establishing temporary certificates for properties with code violations, setting deadlines for correcting violations, updating inspection and reinspection fees, and revising certificate of occupancy requirements for residential, commercial and rental properties.

The measure also amends sellers’ responsibilities under the city’s real estate transfer ordinance, requiring that inspection reports and notices of violations be provided to buyers before closing.

Officials said the inspections provide an additional layer of safety by identifying issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The updates align the requirements with Pennsylvania’s Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act, officials said.

Councilmember Bryan Callahan raised concerns about the additional fees.

He said that, as a landlord, he has to pass the costs on to tenants through higher rents. Fees ultimately affect housing affordability, he said.

“Rental rates keep going up and up and up,” Callahan said.

“Every time that we add another fee or another charge, the rents get higher in the city,” he said.

Callahan voted against the measure, which passed 5-1.

Federal housing, community development funding

Also Tuesday, Bethlehem City Council held a hearing on the 2026 Annual Action Plan, authorizing the submission of approximately $1.76 million in federal housing and community development funding to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Following the hearing, council voted unanimously at its regular meeting to approve the plan.

The 2026 Annual Action Plan includes $1.3 million in Community Development Block Grant funding and $388,308 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding.

Each amount decreased over 2025 funding, with CDBG grants showing a 3% decrease and the HOME program award decreased roughly 7% over 2025, said Robert Vidoni, housing and community development administrator for the city in the city’s Community and Economic Development Department

According to a memo from the Department of Community and Economic Development, allocations are based on federal formulas that consider factors including poverty, population, overcrowded housing, the age of housing and population growth.

The department’s evaluation committee reviewed and scored funding applications before forwarding recommendations to Mayor J. William Reynolds for inclusion in the proposed spending plan, according to city documents.

The proposed CDBG budget includes $229,061 for program administration, $200,000 for housing rehabilitation program delivery, $215,781 for design and engineering work on an emergency homeless shelter rehabilitation project, $168,919 for vocational training workshop upgrades, including a generator and sump pump replacement, supplemented by $130,081 from other funding sources, $100,000 for owner-occupied housing rehabilitation, supplemented by $50,000 from other funding sources, $80,000 for improvements to Heather House, including a facility expansion, roof replacement and bathroom addition, $66,000 for exterior housing rehabilitation and weatherization, and $50,000 for renovations to Wyandotte Apartments, including improvements to Section 8 units and installation of a safety fence.

Funding includes $50,546.35 for emergency homeless shelter operations, $50,000 for a representative payee program serving people with disabilities, $25,000 for administration of the Bethlehem Homebuyer Assistance Program, $20,000 each for food pantry services, housing-related legal services and substance abuse treatment, $15,000 each for tenant advocacy and housing counseling for older adults and people with disabilities, and $10,000 for volunteer caregiving services.

The HOME funding proposal allocates $291,231 toward the Gateway on Fourth mixed-income housing development, a 60-unit apartment project that would leverage nearly $1.2 million in additional funding. Another $58,246 would satisfy the required Community Housing Development Organization set-aside for affordable housing activities, while $38,830 would support HOME program administration.

Brian Sweeney, director of the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter, spoke on behalf of his organization and urged council to adopt the plan.

He said that last season, BES saw 223 unique individuals and offered 11,671 bed nights.

“These are times when someone slept in a safe bed instead of out on the streets of Bethlehem,” Sweeney explained.

Of the individuals seen at BES, 28% were fleeing domestic violence; 46% had a mental health diagnosis; 34% had a disability; and 21 were 60 or older.

Also, Sweeney said 59% of those individuals served had a monthly income of $500 or less;

Eighty percent had an income of $1,000 or less; and 8% had a monthly income of $ 2,000 or more. Further, 80% of those seen at the shelter were from Northampton or Lehigh counties and 96% were from Pennsylvania.

“These are our neighbors. These people have been from Lehigh Valley, grew up here, and are under some tough times. Please consider that when you’re going over your fundings,” he urged council.