4-to-3
ordinance to get second hearing
Daily Times -12 sep 2005
...SALISBURY, MD - The second reading to extend the public hearing
for a revised 4-to-2 law to this fall is scheduled for tonight's City
Council meeting.
The council agreed on a 4-to-3 ordinance in August
and the new formula must be approved by the Planning and Zoning
Commission in October.
The present legislation -- crafted by a group of
concerned residents -- states that no more than two unrelated persons
may live together in zoned single-family neighborhoods.
If the council adopts 4-to-3 in November, all homes
converted to rentals before 4-to-2 passed in December 2002 would
reduce from four permitted residents to three.
However, those owners could petition for exemption
and continue to allow four tenants after the city's Building, Housing
and Zoning officials inspected the unit.
New units converted after the law passed would
fall under the 4-to-2 mandate. The council reached consensus on
the change at a work session Aug. 15...
4-to-3
rental law change advocated Daily Times - 16 Aug 2005
...SALISBURY, MD - Years of debate are drawing to an end with the
City Council conceding to a 4-to-3 middle ground solution Monday to
the single-family housing dilemma.
At a work session, the council agreed on the 4-to-3
compromise with the exception of Councilwoman Debbie Campbell, who
said it still keeps families from being able to afford homes.
The present legislation -- crafted by a group of
concerned residents -- states that no more than two unrelated persons
may abide together in zoned single-family neighborhoods.
The law would affect neighborhoods zoned R-5, R-8
and R-10 such as Church Street, Delaware Avenue, Truitt Street, Camden
Avenue and more.
If the council adopts 4-to-3 in October, all homes
converted to rentals before 4-to-2 passed in December 2002 would reduce
from four permitted residents to three. However, those owners could
petition exemption and continue to allow four tenants after Building,
Housing and Zoning inspected the unit...
At a work session Tuesday, council president Mike
Dunn ordered the city attorney to draft a "4-to-3" ordinance
for consideration by city Housing and Zoning officials.
The current 4-to-2 law caps at two the number of
unrelated residents in homes located in single family neighborhoods
and seeks to have the city's landlords in full compliance after five
years.
Some city council members consider it too restrictive.
"For people who bought in to these neighborhoods
thinking they were buying into family residential districts according
to the city code, the use that has happened to a lot of these houses
is a violation of truth in zoning for those people," said Terry
Cohen, part of the Salisbury Independent Neighborhood Alliance.
Cohen says SINA is working out its own draft of an
amendment to 4-to-2 to present to Housing and Zoning officials...
Re-examining
4 to 2 WMDT - 3 Aug 2005
...SALISBURY, MD - A two and a half year old law that regulates how
many people can live in one house is being reexamined.
Salisbury officials are considering changing the
law, but first they're seeking input from residents before making
any decision.
Councilman Mike Dunn is satisfied with the slowdown
in the conversion of homes in single family neighborhoods to rental
properties.
In that respect, the controversial city ordinance
known as "4 to 2" has worked.
Dunn says, "That aspect of the law has been
successful, and we've been in support of that all along. It's this
other side of the law we're calling for compromise for."
Full implementation of "4 to 2" was to
have started July 1st.
The city was to begin the process of getting landlords
in compliance with the law, no more than two unrelated residents per
property in neighborhoods zoned for it...
County:
4-2 makes it easier to define a family Daily Times - 30 Oct 2003
..."The county just doesn't have the resources to go in and observe
how each person in a house lives and how they live together,"
Baker said. "We can't send someone out to find out where meals
are eaten or how many phone lines are in the house."...
Full
text of the Wicomico County 4-2 legislation Daily Times - 30 Oct 2003
...An Act to amend Chapter 225 of the Wicomico County Code, titled
"Zoning," Article XIV, titled "Special Districts,"
to add Section 225-75, titled "Neighborhood Preservation District,"
to establish an overlay district for the protection and preservation
of single family residences by the reduction of the number of unrelated
individuals comprising a family and the restriction of other uses...
Q&A
on Wicomico County
4-to-2 Daily Times - 30 Oct 2003
...Salisbury's four-to-two legislation was adopted with a three-year
sunset provision, meaning all properties renting to more than two
unrelated people will have to make the reduction in three years. The
county is grandfathering its existing legal nonconforming properties
for life unless that property should change uses for at least one
year, at which time it would then be subject to the most current law...
With
4-2 passed, what does it mean? Daily Times - 29 Oct 2003
...Wicomico County Administrative Director Theodore Shea said the
legislation prevents future rental homes from having four unrelated
tenants living in them together. The law limits rentals to two unrelated
roommates...
Any rental property now occupied by four unrelated
tenants will have to make the reduction when the law takes effect
in 60 days, said county attorney Edgar Baker. The city of Salisbury's
four-to-two legislation was adopted with a five-year transition
period...
Rental
housing key issue for new council Daily Times - 22 Oct 2003
...SALISBURY -- Neighbors say Pinehurst Avenue used to be a nice
place. Less than a decade ago, families owned most of the quaint
homes near Salisbury University, and life was peaceful. Today, few
families remain. As residents died or moved away, landlords bought
the houses, paying more than first-time homeowners could afford.
The landlords began renting the houses to the growing market of
college students, paving over gardens and back yards to make parking
spaces for college cars...
Wicomico
introduces 4-to-2 bill; seeks to extend moratorium Daily Times - 8 Oct 2003
...SALISBURY -- The Wicomico County Council on Tuesday introduced
legislation to reduce the number of tenants allowed to live in a rental
home from four to two, while also voting to introduce an extension
of its rental housing moratorium another six months...
County
Council split on 4-to-2 Daily Times - 1 Oct 2003
...Three council members voted for legislation to be drafted that
would restrict the number of unrelated people who can live in a home
together from four to two. The legislation would apply to the unincorporated
part of Wicomico around Salisbury University, where a county-enforced
moratorium on rentals has been in place for about year...
Student
rentals debated in Salisbury News Journal - 12 Sep 2003
...SALISBURY, Md. -- A divided crowd of residents and landlords made
their final appeals to zoning officials Wednesday night on two plans
to deal with college rental homes between Fruitland and Salisbury.
Nearly half of the 75-person crowd signed up to
testify at a special public hearing before the Salisbury-Wicomico
Planning and Zoning Commission, which may decide next week on how
to deal with student rental problems near Salisbury University...
