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.
Meeting adjourned after approximately two hours.
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.