HUD Secretary’s Awards for Healthy Homes: 2024 Call for Entries

The Municipality of Norristown in Pennsylvania is the recipient of the 2024 HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Healthy Homes. The Award recognizes continued success and sustainability and provides the opportunity to encourage the development of innovative solutions for reducing lead and other healthy homes hazards, especially those in disadvantaged communities who are at higher risk of being affected by housing-related health and safety hazards.

The Municipality of Norristown, located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, faced a severe public health crisis due to elevated levels of lead exposure, particularly among its vulnerable populations, notably children. Montgomery County—the third-largest county in Pennsylvania, with Norristown as its county seat—grappled with alarming statistics indicating one out of every three children in the county who tested for blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter (a level determined by the CDC to be higher than most other children's levels) resided within the Municipality. Additionally, according to Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY), the Municipality exhibited four times as many children with blood lead levels exceeding 5 micrograms per deciliter compared to Flint, Michigan, in 2014 (11.8% vs. 3.2%), surpassing the percentages observed in Pittsburgh (8.32%), Philadelphia (10.19%), and Lancaster (11.03%).

In response, the Municipality of Norristown developed and implemented the Norristown Lead Poisoning Prevention and Lead Hazard Control Ordinance, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at reducing lead exposure risks and enhancing community health and safety. The program, enacted through Ordinance No. 21-14 on November 16, 2021, mandated lead paint inspections and remediation measures for rental properties, daycare facilities, and structures subject to real estate transfers, including the transfer of residential owner-occupied properties. The program is administered and enforced by the Norristown Department of Buildings & Code Compliance, led by Mr. Amrinder Singh, CCEA, MCP, CBO. Mr. Singh is the Department Head and the Building Code Official for the Municipality. Mr. Singh reports directly to Mr. Crandall O. Jones, ICMA-CM, who is the Municipal Administrator / CAO. Program implementation involved extensive stakeholder engagement and collaboration with Municipal Council, Municipal officials, the Montgomery County Department of Health, property owners, business owners, realtors, and community organizations. Initial investments were made in staff training, public outreach, and enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with lead safety standards.

As a result, nearly two and half years after ordinance adoption, over 60% of all rental properties in Norristown are now certified as either lead-free or lead-safe, which means more than 5,000 housing units in Norristown are following the ordinance and program requirements.