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Despite strong protests from landlords, Johnstown City Council on Wednesday declined to repeal a controversial new law regulating rental properties.
Officials tried to assuage angry rental owners by noting that the ordinance will not take effect until Jan. 1, adding that they are reviewing concerns submitted by Greater Johnstown Landlord Association.
But City Manager Kristen Denne pointedly did not promise any overhaul of a statute that a majority of council members approved last month.
“We are reviewing (complaints) and are trying to find ways to accommodate those requests,” Denne said.
The ordinance, which is nearly identical to measures approved by Westmont and Dale boroughs, mandates that landlords register rental units at City Hall. They also must open those properties to regular governmental inspections.
It is aimed at addressing blight and other issues.
But some say the law goes too far. Bernie Krcha, an Osborne Street resident and a city landlord, said there are “glaring problems” in the law and compared the inspection requirement to “home invasion.”
“I suggest to you, in the strongest terms possible, that you scrap this ordinance,” Krcha said, while also warning council members of an impending court battle.
Krcha said vacant, dilapidated buildings – not occupied rentals – are the city’s biggest problem.
He added that officials have failed to enforce existing property-maintenance laws.
Gary Tokar, who is running for council as an independent, drew a round of applause from the audience after he decried the rental ordinance as “bad ideas wrapped in vague language.”
The Fairfield Avenue resident argued that mandatory inspections violate Fourth Amendment rights. Tokar also said some landlords will attempt to pass on to their tenants the ordinance’s still-undetermined fees for registration and inspections.
“Where are we supposed to get this extra money from?” he asked.
Also registering her displeasure was Lucie Whittle, a Johnstown-based real-estate agent who said she has heard from property managers looking to unload their city rentals.
“I ask you to reconsider this ordinance and work cooperatively with your constituents,” Whittle said.
Krcha said many of those present for Wednesday’s meeting are not affiliated with Greater Johnstown Landlord Association. But Denne said she is working with that association and has received a list of requests from its president.
“We’re internally trying to work through those,” she said, adding that city administrators are developing a “user-friendly guide” explaining how the ordinance will work.
Jack Williams, the only council member to vote against the rental statute in September, did not attend Wednesday’s meeting.
Williams had written an ordinance that would have repealed the new rental law “due to errors and ommissions.”
But there was no motion to consider that repeal, meaning there could be no vote.
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