Published: February 06, 2008 11:39 am         

Uncertain future

Rental registration task force put on hold

San Marcos — The future is uncertain for a controversial draft ordinance requiring San Marcos rental property owners to be held more accountable for their tenants' actions.

The City Council decided Tuesday to halt all further actions taken by the rental registration task force, saying the group was lacking direction and that it needed input from city staff, particularly the city attorney.

“What's missing is city staff answering the tough legal questions,” said City Councilman John Thomaides.

Though City Council members had varying opinions on what the exact charge was they gave the task force and why the group was created, the overall objective was to study rental permitting in coordination with the Fire Marshal's Office, which is in charge of code enforcement. Fire Marshal Ken Bell and the task force were to then present their findings to the council.

For more than a month, the seven-member task force has been revising a draft ordinance that would require rental property owners to register for a permit with the city, follow a series of rules and guidelines and pay an annual fee.

City officials had previously said the purpose of the draft ordinance was to regulate single family homes and duplexes and make the rental market equitable.

But the draft ordinance sparked heated opposition from landlords and property owners, who said it places an undue and potentially unconstitutional burden on them.

Both the San Marcos Area Board of Realtors and the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce issued statements expressing its disapproval of the draft ordinance.

The statements said the two organizations don't take issue with any specific part of the draft ordinance - they are against the entire rental registration concept.

Another common complaint lobbied against rental registration is that it is unnecessary - that ordinances are already in place to take care of issues such as unkempt property and overflowing trash.

The opposition reached a pinnacle last week, where City Hall's council chambers were overrun with irate property owners who lambasted Fire Marshal Bell during the rental registration task force meeting.

“Bell did what we asked him to do, it just evolved where the city attorney hasn't been involved in these discussions,” Mayor Susan Narvaiz said.

The rental registration task force was formed in October, around the same time some San Marcos residents were complaining about Sagewood Circle, a street lined with duplexes mostly inhabited by college students.

Narvaiz, however, said it was a blanket solution, not just over Sagewood.

“The behavior of some shouldn't penalize everyone,” she said.

City Councilwoman Kim Porterfield also noted the task force was formed close to the elections.

All the council members expressed concern over the absenteeism among task force members. Narvaiz said a lot of the work was being done through e-mail.

“That wasn't what I had in mind,” she said.

She said most of it should have been done during the sessions in public view.

Each council member carried with them a different idea on what next step they should take.

Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Guerrero said the council needs to step outside the box and find a true solution, while Councilman Chris Jones said he is opposed to the task force continuing and is concerned with how the issue has been approached.

“Let's drop this and deal with the issue,” Jones said.

Thomaides, on the other hand, said it would be unfair to pull the rug from underneath the group and not finish the job it started.

“I asked we get a product that seemed to have a consensus,” he said.

In the end, City Council decided to hear what Assistant Police Chief Lisa Dvorak and her noise abatement task force, which is addressing behavioral issues, has to say to the council Feb. 19. Narvaiz said there will be a panel discussion following Dvorak's presentation to decide what direction to take with the rental registration task force.

     

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