OCEAN CITY — Resort officials this week got a report on the new rental license and occupancy policies put in place last year, and while progress was made, it appears there is still much work to be done.
In the wake of growing complaints about vacation rentals in some of Ocean City’s traditional single-family home neighborhoods, the Mayor and Council over two years ago began a debate about creating an R-1A zoning designation that would somewhat insulate the year-round residential communities. After considerable discussion, it was determined the issue would be better resolved during the ongoing comprehensive plan update and a decision on an R-1A zone was tabled.
To that end, the council approved a series of stopgap measures including more stringent rental license requirements, maximum occupancy calculations and other policies. On Tuesday, Planning and Community Development Director Bill Neville reported to the council on the effectiveness of the new rental license and occupancy policies after reviewing the summer season with the Property Review and Enforcement Strategies for Safe Housing (PRESS) Committee last month. Neville said the new policies achieved the desired goals for the most part but the process still needed more tweaking.
“I think all agreed this was a positive year,” he said. “We had better compliance thanks to public outreach. We increased the emphasis on performing inspections, especially in the R-1 zones.”
Neville said part of the problem was many rental property owners submitted rental applications earlier last year before the new and improved forms were sent out.
“One form went out in January but it was replaced by a later one,” he said. “We completed inspections on 118 of the 164, which is about 72 percent. We put the remaining ones on a list to make sure we get a 100-percent inspection rate going forward.”
Neville said there were a considerable number of citations issued throughout the summer for occupancy violations and other infractions.
“There was around $21,000 worth of citations written, but we haven’t collected all of that,” he said. “Some are challenged and are just now rolling through the judicial system. There is an appeal process and a grace period that goes along with that.”
During an earlier debate, the question was raised if all of the rental properties can’t be inspected, and if a property owner found to be renting without a license was given a 10-day grace period to get a license, then the ordinance really had no teeth. Back in the spring, Councilman Wayne Hartman said some rental property owners would simply wait until they were found out before forking over the rental license fee. On Tuesday, Building Inspector Mike Sherman said that situation exists in some cases.
“If they are found to be renting without a license, then they have two weeks to get the license,” he said. “Then, they have a right to take it to court.”
Councilmember Mary Knight agreed the ordinance needed a bigger hammer.
“I see it as a black and white issue,” she said. “You either have the license or you don’t, but if they don’t, they still have two weeks to continue collecting rent at a $1,000 a week until the process runs its course.”
Hartman pointed out the new requirements apply across the board.
“The occupancy policy applies to all rentals,” he said. “I think when the licenses go out next year, you need to make that clearer.”
Hartman also questioned the plan for gaining more compliance with inspections. He asked if the city could deny a rental license in the R-1 district, or anywhere else for that matter, if the property had not been inspected. City Solicitor Guy Ayres explained it would depend on the circumstances.
“How can we withhold a rental license if we don’t have the resources to do the inspections?” he said. “It depends on why it hasn’t been inspected. If it hasn’t been inspected because we don’t have enough inspectors, that’s one thing. If they are keeping our inspectors out, that’s another whole thing.”
When asked if there was still overcrowding despite the changes, Neville said there will always be those who skirt around the law.
“I heard of one that was identified and alterations were made,” he said. “It was inspected on a Monday, but when they went back on Tuesday, it was overcrowded again. How do we fix that problem? It’s not only a life-safety issue, but decreases the livability in those neighborhoods.”
Mayor Rick Meehan said the new policies were a step in the right direction, but there was an opportunity to improve on them.
“I think we accomplished a lot last year and we saw fewer complaints,” he said. “We need to make any changes now so we don’t have any timetable issues again. We want to make sure we follow up and let everybody know these are serious issues.”
