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Hearing postponed
(by Megan Burrow - September 10, 2008)
Two weeks after first being postponed, the public hearing and adoption of four ordinances regarding illegal rental units have been once again delayed.
The ordinances were first scheduled for adoption Aug. 15, but were pushed back to Sept. 16, due to what the governing body felt was an insufficient amount of time to review the ordinances with housing officials.
They were designed to crack down on illegal rental units in the borough and increase the penalties for landlords who do not abide by the laws.
At the Sept. 2 borough mayor and council meeting, Mayor John Birkner announced the ordinances had once again been postponed and explained as of now there is no date set for the hearing. The borough is revisiting the ordinances after listening to concerns from members of the public.
Birkner elaborated in a phone interview. “We will be revisiting and revising the ordinance in accordance with some of the recommendations made by our residents.
Borough Administrator Bob Hoffmann said the changes made to the ordinances will not be drastic, but will clarify some of the wording.
When the ordinances were first introduced some housing officials and members of the governing body were on vacation and did not have enough time to review them. “We had some concerns that residents brought to our attention and asked us to consider,” he said. “We wrote some changes into the ordinances and need to review them with the changes.”
Many of the issues residents had raised during borough council meeting pubic sessions concern privacy issues and issues of fairness. Several members of the public have expressed concerns about whether the privacy of landlords and tenants would be properly respected.
The borough has maintained the ordinances’ purpose is to ensure the safety of residents.
Birkner said issues the public raised have made the governing body reconsider some of the ordinances’ details. “One of the things I want to make sure of [in the ordinances] is the right to privacy for homeowners.
“These are good ordinances. They offer protections for the most vulnerable members of our community and probably the most exploited,” Birkner said.
He added, “This is not an attack on low income individuals, it’s a protection.”
Megan Burrow's e-mail address is burrow@northjersey.com.
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