Commissioners table rental-registration ordinance after landlords and commissioners raise enforcement concerns

The Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners on March 3 agreed to table Ordinance 25-03, a proposal to establish a rental-registration program, after a prolonged discussion about enforcement standards and the potential impact on long-standing rental properties.

Chair (presiding) opened the item and recommended tabling the ordinance, saying the draft’s requirement that inspected properties meet current Frederick County building-code standards could sweep in many existing units that would be difficult for the town to bring into full compliance. “I just want… before we enforce that as a town ordinance… the town would be required to then enforce the new current code on those,” the Chair said, urging more precise language to avoid an impractical enforcement burden.

Commissioners echoed concerns about overreach and unintended consequences. Commissioner Hagan said he supported tabling to gather more input and called for written comments to be submitted to staff and the mayor so the ordinance could be redrafted. Another commissioner warned the measure, as written, might produce evictions and suggested the board consider tenant-protection alternatives and a clearer, narrower standard focused on life-safety issues.

Town Attorney advised the board that referring wholesale to the county building code would be overinclusive and recommended the creation of a specific, readily applied standard for town staff to use — for example, focusing on life-safety items rather than full contemporary code compliance.

During public comment, Susie Glass, owner-operator of Ott Rentals, told the board her buildings are very old and inspected irregularly by the fire marshal. She said the town’s garbage bills already identify unit counts and urged the board to consider practical limits on inspection access and privacy. "Our building's 200 years old," Glass said, arguing that age and past investments complicate applying today's code across all units.

Action and next steps: Commissioners asked staff to collect written questions and concerns via email and to prepare revised language for the ordinance. The board indicated it expects to revisit the item after receiving feedback; commissioners suggested the earliest practical reappearance would be in May.

Why it matters: The ordinance would set town-wide requirements for rental housing and create a local enforcement mechanism. Commissioners and landlords framed the debate as one between protecting tenant and public-safety standards and avoiding unrealistic retroactive requirements that could displace renters or overwhelm town staff.

Provenance: Discussion introduced at SEG 554; discussion and tabling concluded by SEG 739.