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Council overrides mayoral veto, adopts revised apartment registration and inspection ordinance
Summary
Council voted unanimously to override Mayor Brennan's veto and adopt Ordinance 2025‑02, which revises apartment registration fees and moves to inspect one‑third of multiunit apartments annually (full rotation every three years); the override followed an extended exchange on inspection capacity and fee equity.
Council on Tuesday overrode Mayor Michael D. Brennan's March 10 veto and adopted Ordinance 2025‑02, which amends Chapter 1493 to revise apartment registration fees and create a staggered inspection schedule for multiunit rental properties.
The mayor had vetoed the ordinance, arguing it created an inequitable fee structure that favored large commercial apartment owners and would delay full inspections at properties where complaints had been reported. "Only 148 of 429 units at Huntington Green have ever been inspected," he wrote in his veto letter and urged immediate, full inspections at troubled properties rather than a staggered schedule.
Councilmembers on the Building and Housing Committee, including Chair Winifred Weizer, countered that the revisions respond to inspector capacity and registration compliance. Weizer said the ordinance separates registration fees from inspection scheduling and reduces the registration burden on owners of small apartment buildings who formerly paid the same flat fee as much larger complexes. She argued the one‑third annual inspection approach allows inspectors to cover apartments thoroughly while maintaining other inspections (point‑of‑sale, commercial, exterior and complaint responses).
Vice Mayor Michele Weiss moved to override the veto; Winifred Weizer seconded. The override passed on a unanimous roll call.
Council members emphasized the department's limited inspection staffing and noted that many larger owners had been slow to register before the ordinance changes. Several council members said they would revisit fee schedules and staffing levels in future budgets to ensure inspections keep pace with the city's public‑health and safety obligations.
The ordinance now takes effect per the city's ordinance-adoption procedures; Building and Housing staff will implement the staggered inspection schedule and report back to Council on registration compliance and any need for additional inspector positions.
