Code changes come under fire in Brockport

Close to two dozen people voiced their opinions on a proposed amendment in the Village of Brockport that would ban rooming houses and limit the number of unrelated individuals who could reside in an apartment.

The overwhelming majority of speakers at the May 9 public hearing urged village lawmakers to not pass the proposed legislation.

According to village leaders, the proposed amendments are necessary for the safety and well-being of those who reside in rental dwellings

Landlord and real estate agent Rich Miller said he "disagreed with the amendments on a lot of levels" because, he said, landlords are already inspected with a microscope every three years so he felt the health and safety arguments that were raised were not an issue.

"This forces landlords to put an undue amount of discrimination on the tenants," he said.

Many of the other speakers - from landlords to residents, students and attorneys for landlords, focused on the questionable legalities of the proposals and vowed to "fight it tooth and nail."

David Cook, an attorney representing the Sweden-Brockport Landlords Association, said that everyone agrees with the need to provide a healthy, safe residence for tenants but said that those who would be potentially impacted by the legislation have been excluded from the process.

"I don't honestly believe this legislation would survive a legal challenge," he said. "Also, I don't see anything to show what the economic impact of these amendments would be. There is no analysis to show impact on the property values or the tax base."

Of the speakers who took to the podium, only two, John Bruegger and Carol Hannan, were in favor of the proposals.

"The village needs to do what's right," Breugger said. "We need to regain control of the (rental) situation. There is no intention of kicking students out of the village and the businesses won't dry up if these amendments are passed. All the ruckus is about the idea that the landlords might lose some money but after taxes many of them still make a tidy sum."

Hannan said she lives next door to two rental properties and has had to endure many unpleasant situations in the neighborhood.

"Living here has been hell on earth and none of us in this village escapes the effects," she said. "The best tenants I've seen are the squirrels that live in the attic."

Matthew Hendricks has been a student at SUNY Brockport since 2001 and has lived in rental property since 2003 and he said the proposed laws would "violate his, and every students' rights to live where they choose." He presented the board with a petition he said was signed by 900 students.

At the close of the more than two hour long meeting, Mayor Josephine Matela said she didn't have any time frame on when the board would be voting on the proposed amendments.