JACKSON — An amendment to an ordinance titled Rent Control and Mobile Home Parks has not been acted on by the Jackson Township Council.
Council members at the April 27 meeting could not come up with a motion to adopt the amendment after a public hearing on the ordinance was held.
The issue or a new piece of legislation may be raised at a future meeting of the council.
The amended paragraph in question states — Vacancy Decontrol — Upon the voluntary, un-coerced vacation or courtordered eviction of any tenant for which rent increases are controlled by Chapter 86 and upon compliance with this section, at the time of re-rental of a unit pursuant to this section, a landlord may negotiate a rental with the proposed new tenant at a level mutually agreeable between the landlord and the proposed tenant. The negotiated rent increase for a mobile home rental space shall not, however, exceed 10 percent of the former base rent.
During the public hearing, resident Gary Black questioned the legislative intent of the act and asked if there were any exceptions to the rule.
“An example,” said Black. “The Rent Control Board recently ruled that if somebody buys a home or leases a mobile home as a rental unit, then rent control does not apply. How does that affect this ordinance or if someone buys a mobile home to rent it out, are they still protected with a cap?”
Councilman Scott Martin said if someone buys or owns a unit, he is not subject to rent control.
Attorney Lori Greenberg, of Marlton, who represents the owners of some mobile home communities, said she met with the Rent Control Board and brought this up and at the time, she said, the members of the board were very upset.
“They expressed extreme concern, because of what was being negotiated, what was worked on, what 15 points were done, including vacancy decontrol and the points that I brought up, the points about hardship and improvement. They have witnessed the fact that there hasn’t been any,” said Greenberg. “They also should have been there and have been consulted, and you also should call off any resolution before you take into any account what the rent leveling board, the people who are knowledgeable about this, have to say.”
Greenberg said vacancy decontrol provides fairness for all renters and everyone pays the same rent. She said when the ordinance was discussed, 15 items, including providing caps and improvements, were discussed.
Martin said the items can be rescinded just as fast as they were made, and without caps there were two mobile home parks that were going haywire with their vacancy decontrol.
Greenberg said she wrote a proposal that some tenants liked and some tenants did not like, and it was given to the board.
She told the council that the ordinance does not deal with certain situations, and she named several. She then read a statement that indicated that renters at different locations were paying different rents.
“We do not want to be involved in litigation,” Greenberg said. “We want to be involved with compromise, and when I say compromise, there were several meetings, all the residents were included, the council was there and everybody was included.”
Greenberg said she came up with something that avoids litigation for Jackson, she gave it to the council and had not receive any response. She asked the council members to reconsider the proposal and to go back to the Rent Control Board and find out how the members of that panel feel.
Donna Hopkins, chairwoman of the Rent Control Board, said the people in Maple Glen and Southwinds cannot afford increases of $150. She asked the council to put the ordinance on hold until an informed decision can be made.
“Meet with the residents and hear their concerns,” said Hopkins. “These people have been under rent control for 25 years, and take into account what the Rent Control Board has to say.”
Hopkins called for a reasonable compromise and to come up with language everyone can live with and that is not going to cost the residents of Jackson money for litigation.
“We made a deal with [the park owners],” said Hopkins. “We said we will decontrol your parks if you don’t come in for a hardship [or capital improvements] every time you turn around. Now they are going to want money for sewage, for roads, for everything. What grounds will I have to stand on when I made a deal with them and the township turns around and says we are not going to hold up to that deal?”
Jackson Mews resident Joseph Brill said that for the first seven years the Rent Control Board was open, he and other residents where he lives were told the board had nothing to do with his community and they could not be helped.
“We have been asking for caps at the Mews for the past seven years and we haven’t had any help from any board, council or anybody,” Brill said.
Brill said his rent has gone from $691 to $867 and said he believes that in two years he will be living in a tent, a homeless disabled veteran.
“Because I won’t be able to afford the rents in my building anymore,” he said. “I live on a set income and my rent is $867. Someone has to put a cap on this.”
Gary Miller said he was the vice president of the Maple Glen Association when the so-called deal was made.
He said he first found out there was going to be a meeting the night before the first meeting, at 10:30 p.m., and no one told him there was going to be any discussion on decontrol.
“We have had testimony from a lawyer, but she [Greenberg] wrote the decontrol [ruling],” said Miller. “We have also had the myth of maintenance being performed, if decontrol went into effect, and we even had one [mobile home] park owner say the increases that she received went to profit. Eighty people or more were there to ask for a cap on decontrol.”
Shari Williams, representing Fountainhead, asked the council members to table the ordinance and allow time for discussion.
When it came time to adopt the ordinance, council members would not second the motion with a 10 percent cap, nor would anyone second a motion by Councilwoman Ann Updegrave to move the ordinance to a May meeting, nor would a second be heard for a motion that allowed the cap at 5 percent as suggested by Councilman Ken Bressi, at which point Township Attorney George Gilmore told the members of the governing body that if they did nothing, the ordinance would die.
Council President Mike Kafton suggested bringing up the issue at the next meeting.
The ordinance was not carried, not adopted and not amended, and it was expected that it may be re-introduced with some possible changes at an upcoming meeting.