A proposed rental unit registration and licensing program for the city is likely headed for approval, possibly as soon as later this month, following a Meadville City Council discussion Wednesday of the proposal’s details.
By the end of the evening, which featured nearly 40 minutes of public input, a brief review of the proposal and a nearly hour-long discussion of the program by council, four of the five members had come to a consensus on a series of questions posed by City Manager Maryann Menanno. At that point, Councilwoman Autumn Vogel, the staunchest supporter of the proposed program, asked if a draft version of the ordinance could be expected when council meets Sept. 21.
“We will try,” Menanno replied.
Menanno has previously stated that if such an ordinance were approved, the resulting registration and licensing program would likely be put into effect in 2024.
The discussion drew a standing-room-only audience of about 30 people, many of them landlords and tenants opposed to the proposal. It was the first time all of City Council had discussed the program in depth. Since February, a subcommittee made up of Mayor Jaime Kinder and Deputy Mayor Larry McKnight has reviewed comparable programs in the region, heard from a rental program inspector and received input from city residents. Two weeks ago, all of council attended a town hall meeting designed to solicit input specifically from landlords who would be affected if the program is approved.
On Wednesday, council members again heard many of the same concerns from landlords and rental property managers, including several of those who addressed them at the town hall and at a subsequent Aug. 31 subcommittee meeting.
Bob Muth, for instance, who manages the 205-unit Hillcrest development, reiterated two particular concerns: inflation and privacy. Muth told council that 94 tenants of the development had signed a petition opposing the inspection program; four Hillcrest tenants spoke at the meeting in opposition.
Muth’s top concern, he said, is the current inflation rate that is so high tenants are “struggling to put food on the table, put gas in their cars and to pay their rent.”
Tenants are also concerned about privacy, Muth argued. “They’re concerned about outsiders coming into their unit,” he said.
Supporters of the inspection program who spoke at the meeting, including two owners of rental units and two tenants, reiterated arguments in favor of the program, pointing to an expected annual registration fee of $76 — an amount that would be cut in half after a unit passes two of the inspections, which would be required every other year at first and only every four years after two successful inspections.
Cassandra Gonzalez, who described herself as a 30-year renter in the city, said she had seen both responsible and irresponsible landlords. The responsible ones, she noted, won’t incur expenses to pass the basic safety inspections being proposed. But at the same time, those landlords shouldn’t be exempt from municipal oversight.
“Self-policing does not work, not when business and the bottom line are a factor in decision making,” Gonzalez told council.
Landlord Michael Wood suggested, as a number of other people have, that a system already exists to handle health and safety issues in rental units.
“If some of the tenants are living in bad conditions, that’s not good. That’s not good for anybody,” Wood said before adding, “but the system is in place and has worked for all this time. I don’t think we need another thing to pile on top of everything that’s already here.”
Comments from city officials, however, suggested that the current system might not be working to protect the basic health and safety of all renters.
Chief Patrick Wiley of Meadville Central Fire Department, for instance, described the current system as complaint-driven and reactive in nature. Without a complaint from either a tenant or a landlord, interior inspections of residences are typically not performed by city officials. One exception, Wiley noted, is when firefighters spot an obvious issue, such as smoke alarms that aren’t functioning or unsafe electric cords, when responding to calls. In fact, he said, firefighters commonly encounter such concerns when responding to calls in both owner-occupied residences and rental units.
After negotiations over such details as the specific fines associated with occupied but unregistered units, which out-of-town landlords would be required to have local representatives available, and whether delinquent property taxes or municipal fees would prevent landlords from registering their properties, council was ready to move forward with only Councilman Jim Roha expressing an objection to the proposed program. The other four members of council all made implementation of a rental inspection program a central element of their campaigns when they were elected.
“I’m glad that we’re taking a step forward on ensuring safe and healthy housing in Meadville,” Vogel said. “I think it’s important and it’s a promise that’s been made by many members of this council to our community.”
