(6/25) The Town Council has spent many hours debating the future of student rentals in the village zone (a section of housing primarily along Main Street, North and South Seton Avenues). June’s meeting finally saw a vote to approve student housing, however, concerns still confounded the Council; resulting in a 3-2 vote.

The original complaint was made by David Ott, owner of a rental property on West Main Street. Last October, Ott’s property received multiple complaints about excessive trash, parking concerns and noise issues. These complaints made the Town aware that he was renting his property to students, which is not allowed under the Town’s Code. Ott was not present at the June public hearing.

In response, the Town Council has been diligently working to create an amendment to the Code for allowing student rentals in the Village Zone. Staff presented two options: one was to permit housing with specific parking requirements and the second would designate student housing as a special exception with conditions related to parking, trash removal, maximum occupancy and the International Building Code (IBC).

Town staff recommended the first option because it streamlines the approval process and reduces the uncertainty for property owners, as to whether they can have student renters or not. "This whole process started a while ago," said Town Attorney Leslie Powell. "This was precipitated by a request for a text amendment for units within the Village Zone and those units had more than nine bedrooms which is why it did not fall into the definition [of a boarding house]."

Already written in the Code is the definition of a boarding house, which allows up to five renters meaning if a home is already being rented to five students or less it is legally allowed to do so in the Village Zone. Ott’s two rentals can accommodate seven in one and four in the second.

Resident Gail Fowler asked the Council not to codify student housing. "Amending the Village Zone to include student housing would allow a higher volume of transient seasonal residents to occupy homes and buildings potentially hampering the Village’s sense of neighborhood and community, discouraging business growth and negatively impacting future grants," she said. She asked the Council to consider who they want to attract to the downtown area. Another resident, Melinda Sweeney pointed out that the Mount had over 100 beds available for student use last year.

Mount Saint Mary's President Jerry Joyce was present at the meeting and confirmed that there is no shortage of housing at the Mount, in fact there were over 100 open beds currently. He shared a desire to build a solid relationship between the Town and Mount students. "I would prefer to really build up Emmitsburg and the relationship between the University and the Town." He apologized for any issues Mount students may have caused in the past and assured the Town that the Mount is and will be responsible for their students.

Commissioner Jim Hoover favored the second option; however, he pointed out that any home in the Village Zone that meets the required items in the amendment would then be able to rent to students regardless of the potential that a string of student rentals could occur side by side. This concerned the Council, so they added a restriction of 500 feet between student rentals. Powell pointed out that apartment buildings (multi-dwelling units) are exempt from this restriction, meaning a home could legally have student renters right beside an apartment building.

Commissioner Amy Boehman-Pollitt questioned how the Town would police the off-street parking requirement as that one restriction is going to be one of the toughest to accommodate. Powell responded by pointing out that Code enforcement in most small municipalities, such as Emmitsburg, is complaint driven. If someone complains, the Code Enforcement Officer has to visit the location to determine if it’s a legitimate issue. If found to be in violation, warnings and fines follow. "There’s nothing wrong with it, that's just the way it is," she said.

Another concern voiced by Hoover is the current status of the International Building Code requirements. He asked if the Town was set up to deal with this requirement if the amendment is approved. Town Planner Najila Ahsan confirmed that, currently, the Town does not have the IBC mechanism fully set up; however, when a building is renovated, the County requires a permit which brings in County involvement. For those houses who do not need renovation, Mayor Frank Davis said the Fire Marshall would need to get involved with the inspection.

The Council passed the second option with a vote of 3-2; Commissioner Valerie Turnquist and Pollitt against. The amendment would allow student housing as a special exemption with conditions related to parking, trash removal, maximum occupancy and the IBC with the limitation where student housing can't be within 500 feet of an existing boarding house or other student rental.