LISBON — Dialogue between the Lisbon Village Council and village residents concerning rental regulations continued on Tuesday at a Committee of the Whole meeting where council and the public received a draft version of the proposed legislation that would regulate the income properties.

Landlords continued to push back on the idea of a village-wide registry that would require an inspection and a $60 annual fee to obtain a “certificate of occupancy” that would be needed to rent out residences. They say they can’t force renters to perform maintenance on the property and that the village should. They asked that citations for things like unmowed grass and the build-up of trash be issued to the resident — not the owner of the dwelling.

“I can’t evict someone for not mowing the grass,” said Pastor Brian Brown, who owns rental property in the village. “But I can evict someone for breaking the law, but I need you to issue a ticket saying they are. If the garbage is piling up, ticket and fine them, not us.”

Village landlords say the proposed ordinance punishes all the owners of the village’s 400-plus rental properties and not the problem landlords who own about 30 rundown homes or less than 7% of the income properties within village limits. They see the proposed regulations as unfair and unreasonable.

One resident forced to live next to depilated rental properties stepped forward as a proponent of such an ordinance.

Donna St. Clair said she’s been fighting with the owner of a rental home near her to take responsibility for both the structure’s conditions and the conditions in which its tenants have chosen to live. She said aside from being an eyesore with plumbing weaving its way up the outside of the home, the property attracts vermin. She has exhausted all avenues to find a remedy including numerous complaints made to the Columbiana County Health Department. For years, she has complained and nothing has changed.

“Landlords have to be held accountable,” St. Clair said. “This landlord has never, ever been made to be accountable for her properties and I don’t know where to start, but somebody has to do something.”

As far as the ordinance being unfair to landlords, St. Clair asked council and community members to consider the expensive odyssey she has been through, incurring costs to battle the pests that find their way from the unmaintained property onto her’s.

“This has cost me over $10,000,” St. Clair said. “Is that fair? I know that most landlords in this town are good landlords, but what about the ones who are not? The lady that owns the house by me doesn’t care about anything other than collecting the rent.”

In the most basic of terms, landlords are business owners who generate income from village property. Wilson says that not only allows the village the right to regulate it but a duty to protect consumers — in other words the renters.

“The fact of the matter is, rental properties make money. It’s a business. A rental property is a product,” he said. “All this ordinance does is make sure that that product is safe and sanitary.”

The draft of the ordinance laid out what the inspection will look for, focusing on the following elements:

— Fire safety. Each unit must have functioning smoke detectors and a clear means of escape in the event of a fire.

— General safety conditions. All exterior doors are required to close and lock and handrails must be firmly fastened.

— Plumbing. All units must have working access to public water and sewer or a well and/or approved septic system, hot and cold running water, a working toilet and a functional shower and/or bathtub.

— Drainage. Drains must be properly working in the bathroom and kitchen, pipes must drain into sewer or septic systems and gutters and downspouts must work.

— Additional safety conditions. A functioning heating system is mandated as is electrical and wiring in working order, as is operational kitchen stove, refrigerator and sink. Walls and floors must be free of holes and cracks and the property itself be absent of vermin (rats, termites, bedbugs or other pests).

— Exterior and premises. All exterior property and premises and the interiors of every structure be free of any accumulation of rubbish or garbage.

Landlords pointed out that existing housing ordinances in the village cover many of those things and mandates property maintenance for all property owners — whether those dwellings are lived in by the owners or rented out. They asked the village to enforce the laws already on the books.

Wilson said in order to do so, more manpower is needed. He said the rental registration fee laid out in the proposed ordinance would generate enough money to create a part-time housing position in the village. That position would have both the time and authority to enforce existing codes.

Council president Melissa Hiner wasn’t so sure. She agreed that some action should be taken to address the nuisance rental properties — as well as all of the nuisance properties in the village — but she isn’t convinced the draft legislation is it.

“I just don’t want to start something we can’t sustain,” she said. “Of course, I care about the safety and health of tenants in the village, but I don’t see how this is going to work, the inspector position. I think we should start out small and work our way up to solving the problem. I just don’t know if this is the solution.”

Hiner said it comes down to what the village can afford to do. The registration fee mandated through the proposed ordinance would generate at the high-end $25,000 annually at $60 per unit, and that’s only if all properties were inspected within the year. While the village does have some money to play with, several large potential expenses are looming — the leak at the village pool is the most pressing. There’s also the ongoing Grant Street Bridge replacement project, the pending project to replace the Pritchard Avenue Bridge and the Willow Grove Park project. The last thing Hiner said the village should do is spread itself thin and risk creating a position without a better idea of where the money is going to come from to pay its salary. She cautioned council about rushing into anything just yet.

For Wilson, establishing rental regulations in the village has been anything but hasty. It’s an initiative that he has been working toward for years. He also believes the time to do it is now and that the majority of residents share his vision.

“I talked about this when I was first elected and it is one of the things I talked about when I was running for reelection. Rental regulations were something I made very clear that I supported and was going to fight for,” Wilson said. “Something needs to be done and for seven years, I’ve been fighting for this and I think it’s time to take action.”

Cora Lewis, a village resident, the newest member of the village’s Board of Public Affairs Board and an employee with the housing department in Youngstown, agreed.

“Landlord registries work. I helped put one into place in Youngstown, and I know that they do work,” she said. “I don’t know if this exact ordinance is what is needed here, but we do need something, and this is something. It’s a step and it’s a step in the right direction.”

Council members said they wanted to hear more from the residents and perhaps facilitate a conversation or roundtable between landlords, village tenants and residents to better understand both sides and make sure that the ordinance serves the best interest of the village as a whole. They also said they needed more time to look over the draft ordinance and, once they did, would forward any concerns or suggested revisions or edits to Wilson.

selverd@mojonews.com