Frederick Housing, Health, and Education Committee Meeting - February 20, 2025
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Frederick Housing, Health, and Education Committee Meeting
The Housing, Health, and Education Committee of the City of Frederick met on February 20, 2025, to discuss the annual rental licensing update and a proposed housing work plan. Key actions included a vote to revise the allocation of rental licensing funds and direction to staff on housing policy priorities.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the February 6, 2025 meeting minutes unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Hugh Gordon, representing the Frederick County Association of Realtors, suggested that tenant protection funds might be used for temporary housing in the event of a disaster (e.g., fire or sinkhole), even if insurance reimbursement was pending.
Discussion Items
Rental Licensing Annual Update
- Brittany (staff) presented the annual report on the rental licensing program, covering calendar year 2024.
- Key data: 957 rental licenses were issued in 2024 (apartments: 364, condos: 114, duplexes: 11, single-family: 92, townhomes: 376). Over the past two years, there are 7,951 total licenses.
- 802 random inspections (15% of registered properties) were conducted. Initial inspections resulted in 70% compliance (522 units), and overall compliance improved with subsequent inspections (256 on second, 19 on third, 1 on fourth).
- Zero units required inspection due to calls/complaints; all inspections were random.
- 280 inspection reports were issued, totaling 519 violations (163 exterior, 356 interior). The most common violations included broken windows, sanitation issues, and non-functioning smoke alarms.
- No licenses were revoked in the first year, but four citations were issued for renting without a license. Two citations were dismissed after the property owners came into compliance; two are pending trial.
- Educational efforts included a dedicated website page, a handout, and discussions about adding information to new resident welcome packets.
- Special Funds (FY24): total $630,536, allocated as 30% to tenant protection ($189,161), 20% to rental assistance ($126,107), and 50% to affordable housing conservation ($315,268). No expenditures were made from these funds in the first year.
- Staff stated no policy changes are currently recommended for the rental licensing program.
Discussion on Housing Policy Work Plan
- Staff presented a housing work plan with priorities in categories such as homeless services, affordable housing, and homeownership.
- Councilmember McShane advocated for: SRO (Single Room Occupancy) ordinance, zoning reform with affordable housing overlays/incentives, local tax credits, and rent stabilization/control.
- Councilmember Shackelford emphasized: rent stabilization, SROs, affordable housing overlay zones, and leveraging city-owned land for affordable housing.
- Councilmember President Nash added: generational wealth through homeownership, incentives for home purchases, revisiting ADU policies, and considering creative housing types like tiny homes.
Key Outcomes
- The committee voted unanimously (by voice vote) to revise the rental licensing fund allocation: eliminate the tenant protection bucket (currently 30%) and split the fund equally (50% affordable housing, 50% rental assistance). The vote was moved by Councilmember Shackelford and seconded by Councilmember McShane.
- Staff was directed to draft ordinance language that: (1) removes the tenant protection bucket, (2) allocates 50% to affordable housing and 50% to rental assistance, and (3) includes language clarifying that rental assistance funds can be used broadly for city residents, including but not limited to those displaced by the rental inspection program.
- Councilmembers expressed consensus that the rental assistance funds should be available to all city residents, not just those displaced by the inspection program. Legal staff (Rachel) noted that the body’s interpretation would guide implementation.
- Staff will prepare a draft ordinance revision for review at a future committee meeting.
- For the housing work plan, staff will take specific next steps: prepare an SRO ordinance, compile tax credit and funding opportunities (including a joint county-city legislative meeting agenda item), develop a presentation on rent stabilization models from other jurisdictions, revisit overlay zoning, review ADU program benchmarks, and coordinate with partners like Beyond Shelter.
- The committee agreed to continue discussions on fund dispersal guidelines at a future meeting.
Meeting adjourned after approximately two hours.
Meeting Transcript
Councilmember Shackelford has gone to his office to grab his iPad. So quick until he gets here, we'll go ahead and get started. Thank you, everybody, for coming to the meeting of the Housing Health and Education Committee. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Okay, so our first item of business is approval of the February sixth minutes. Councilmember McShain, are you okay with them? Uh yes, move for approval. Second. Those in favor. And then the first presentation is gonna be on the rental licensing annual update. We're gonna go ahead and get you up to the table, take a couple minutes to get set. Um Councilmember Shackelford should be here by then. So if you could please, if you're having a difficult time hearing anything, just kind of go like that. Doesn't have to be anything else, just make sure I see your hand because then I'll stop and note for um the the text to get us fixed somehow. Thank you. Further, the ordinance requires the director to provide an annual report to the city council with certain information buyer before March first of each year. So in the executive summary kind of lays out the number of rental licenses per year. So if you look at the executive summary, um, number one, the number and type of rental housing units issued, um, a new or renewed license was uh a total of 957, 364, which were apartments, 114 condos, 11 duplexes, 92 single family, and 376 townhomes. Could you tell me of those numbers? I don't see anything that's kind of separated out into like the Airbnb category or you know the the short-term rentals. Do we separate them or they're just part of the duplex single family town home? It is actually all part of the same. The ordinance requested that we subdivide it by the type of unit. Um, so it's apartments, condos, single families, townhomes, and duplexes only. Um, and then we took 15 percent of the total properties registered, and that's the numbers that you're seeing up there that 957 new licenses. Great, thank you. And and just for your reference, we since it's a biannual registration, we put the total number so you have a clear picture of how many you know licenses are there, and if if you look at the backup, it's 7,951 total rental licenses that have been issued in the past two years per se. Sure, but what I'm understanding you to say is that there are 957 total licenses. So supposedly there are only 957 units in the city? No, no, ma'am. Um 957 were just for calendar year 24. So all the ones that occurred before, that's your total of 7,951. Okay. Moving forward when the renewal kicks in, which will start as of January 1st of 25. Uh no, sorry, 26. You'll get a total picture of the the renewed license, you'll have renewed and new licenses. Okay, I I just I think that would be nice to have all the time, like total licenses, new licenses, and then separated out, however. Correct, yep, not a not a problem. Thank you. Uh number two of the report, the number of random inspections conducted and a summary of those inspections. There was a total of 802 random inspections conducted. Those random inspections were part of the 15% that is required to be inspected. So we take the total number, you know, do the 15% and break it down. Um of those 802 random inspections. 522 units complied on the initial inspection. 252 complied on the second inspection. 19 complied on the third, and then one complied on the fourth inspection. And I do have a few updated numbers on that because we were waiting on reinspections to occur.
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