Council 'Back to Drawing Board' on Rental Ordinance

A City Council bill to impose new restrictions on rental property owners in Havre de Grace has been delayed for further study after more than a dozen people testified against the proposed legislation.

The proposed new rental property code was introduced as a replacement for the previous code, which the council  18. The council had set a Dec. 18 deadline for passing a new code—if not, the old code would be reinstituted unless council took further action to give itself more time. But on Monday the council decided to take the proposed legislation——off the upcoming Dec. 5 City Council meeting agenda.

"We’re back at the drawing board here," Council President Bill Martin said near the end of the one-hour, 20-minute meeting Monday.

The proposed code calls for requiring landlords to apply for a license each year, register detailed information about each rental unit and pay a $12 annual fee for each unit.

Landlords at the meeting were upset by the proposal's licensing requirements and by a process that many believed did not incorporate their opinions.

Charles Hiner, who owns BCH Real Estate, said he feels the city is rushing to meet the Dec. 18 deadline rather than to create a useful ordinance. He was one of 14 residents, property owners and tenants who spoke after Martin allowed for the majority of the work session to be dedicated to public comment.

"I’m one of the largest landlords in Havre de Grace," Hiner said. "Nobody has ever asked my opinion. I was waiting for someone to come to me. Obviously you didn’t care. But now I’m coming to you because nobody did care."

Councilman Fred Cullum suggested the city find "three or four landlords" interested in giving regular input on the proposed ordinance. Mayor Wayne Dougherty asked those interested to give their information to executive assistant Shyla Glassman at the meeting's end. Five landlords signed up, Glassman said.

Many of the property owners in attendance Monday requested more explanation for the basis of the new ordinance.

After comments from 14 of the approximately 30 people in attendance, Martin offered some explanation.

"My biggest goal would be for every landlord to maintain that property as if it was their own, and to rent that property to people they wouldn’t mind having as neighbors," Martin said, adding later that he hoped to have all landlords registered and in the city's records.

Martin maintained the previous ordinance wasn't working, raising more questions from the residents and property owners in attendance.

Candace Bossoli said that motels and bed and breakfast businesses should be held accountable to the same ordinance as apartment rentals.

"I think the definition of rental dwelling needs to be explored," she said before explaining that one family she knew stayed in one of the city's bed and breakfast homes while their new home was being finished.

Bart Brandon said that the processing of the $12 registration would cost the city more than it brings in from the fee.

Alex Hathaway, the former executive director of Somerset Manor, agreed with Brandon, said the baseline cost for an invoice or application to be processed is $50.

Hathway's son, Alex, who has returned to the city as a resident after living out of town, said he would leave if new fees forced his landlord to raise rent.

Paul Lawder asked the city to consider a code violation tracking system to crack down on property owners who own buildings that are consistently reported to the city for problems. Lawder asked for less government regulation.

"It's like an HOA (homeowners association). Havre de Grace is not an HOA. Havre de Grace is a unique city that can be a great place," Lawder said. "Let's give people an incentive to make it a great place, not tie their hands."

Cooperation from city staff is an issue, too, property owner Sandra Mosely said.

"I know that I called the city one time to request a [new tenant] form for the latest tenant, and no reply. I said, 'Well, the devil with it. I wont do anything with it,'" Mosley said.

Property owner George Wagner repeated his concern from previous meetings: "All we have to do is enforce the codes that are already on the books." He added that an ordinance Perryville—which was used as a model for the Havre de Grace ordinance—does not exempt bed and breakfasts or places that rent for 30 days or more.

Mary Lynn Snyder questioned the motives for the ordinance altogether.

"The City Council represents all of the citizens. A lot of them feel, and I feel, we were not consulted on this. We were not asked for input. You all are elected to represent all of the citizens, and that means the tenants. I wish you would have asked for some input from the landlords and tenants," Snyder said.

Councilman Fred Cullum revealed statistics he was given by Director of Planning Neal Mills. Over a two-year period, there were a reported 242 code violations in 163 rental units. He added that about 50 percent of code violations stem from rental units.

Cullum was concerned about licensing the rental industry, as the city doesn't register all other businesses.

In response to a statement by Martin about emails from residents in support of the legislation, Councilwoman Barbara Wagner wondered if the goal was to increase the amount of home ownership and decrease the volume of rental properties in the city.

Councilman Jim Miller said the goal for the city in the past five years has been to create a searchable database of landlords. He commended those property owners in attendance, in contrast to those who didn't attend the meeting.

"[The landlords in question] don’t ever show up. They don’t care," he said. "Some of them don’t even know they have a problem with their property."

Councilman John Correri agreed with Martin's decision to pull the ordinance from the upcoming meeting agenda and added that he's optimistic the property owners can help.

"If I heard their complaints, I also heard they’re willing to work with you," he said to Martin.

Martin said he's willing to reconsider the $12 annual fee per rental unit and consider alternatives like an early registration period.

The ordinance requires a second reading before adoption.

"We’ll take all your comments, we’ll go back to the administrative committee where this ordinance came from," Martin said. "I’ll temporarily delay this second vote until we’ve had a better chance to look at it."