Landlords push back on Montrose rental-inspection ordinance; council schedules workshop and pauses enforcement

Landlords and property managers packed the public-comment period at the City of Montrose council meeting on Feb. 9 to protest a newly adopted rental-licensing and inspection ordinance and its associated fees, saying they received inadequate notice and worried the costs will be passed to tenants.

The dispute centered on timing, expense and inspection scope. Jonathan Danielson, a landlord and owner of JR Real Estate, told the council "this is kind of just kind of shoved down our throats" and urged the city to have held workshops before implementing the ordinance. Several speakers, including Sue Fallon Donic, president of the Country View Estates association, said mailed notices did not reach many owners and that owners with multiple units face large one-time bills: "We had to come up with thousands of dollars in order to pay for the fees all at one time," she said.

City staff responded to specific concerns in the meeting. When a property owner asked whether inspections would be performed by city employees or an outside firm, staff said, "we've hired Metro West to do all inspections," and confirmed manufactured-home parks are included in the inspection program. Staff acknowledged communication problems and said the paperwork had been prepared months earlier but mailing and incomplete owner contact lists limited delivery to some owners.

Speakers raised other questions: whether inspectors will require retrofits (one landlord said inspectors appeared to be asking for GFCI upgrades in bathrooms that he believed state law does not require for grandfathered installations), how occupancy limits interact with federal anti-discrimination rules, whether utilities registration should be the tenant's responsibility, and how often units will be reinspected. Kevin Gtle, a local condo owner and property manager, asked for clarity on inspection frequency and said the paperwork he received appeared internally inconsistent.

Faced with repeated concerns about notice and cost, the council agreed to set a workshop to review the ordinance text and implementation, ask landlords to supply email addresses for direct contact, and "put a pause on that right now" regarding enforcement while the city and landlords meet to resolve operational questions. The mayor and council said they would follow up with a group email and a scheduled workshop to "hash everything out and come up with something that works for all involved." The council did not rescind the ordinance on the spot; instead, it paused near-term enforcement actions pending the workshop.

What happens next: the city asked landlords and managers to email a designated city staff contact to confirm they are on the notification list; the council committed to scheduling a workshop and clarifying who pays for inspections, inspection frequency and how exemptions (HOAs, utility arrangements) will be handled.