Eastern Shore News

Mondo Times editors    Boulder Colorado USA

Posted at 10:36am on Monday, July 5, 2010

All Rentals Are Not Created Equal

From an editorial that appeared in the Eastern Shore News on July 5, 2010:

"A Salisbury homeowner who is attempting to renovate a garage apartment and rent it out has been caught in a widely cast net. Virginia Campioni was heavily invested in such a remodeling project at her Camden Avenue home when she received a letter from the city indicating that her apartment was a nonconforming use and illegal under the city's zoning ordinance. She was in danger of losing thousands of dollars as well as access to her contractor, who would likely move on to another job while she challenged the city's ruling.

There is a world of difference between the conversion of a single-family dwelling into a boarding house for students or dividing a large house into several smaller apartments, and a homeowner renting out a garage apartment to someone while continuing to live on the property. And that does not even begin to address the circumstance of renting a house to a single-family occupant.

All of these situations exist in Salisbury's single-family neighborhoods and all are examples of living arrangements that do not constitute a homeowner-occupied residence. But the similarity ends there. It is important to note that "single-family" and "homeowner-occupied" are not synonymous terms.

While addressing crime and blight is crucial, it would make sense for the city to more thoroughly investigate before delivering the letter to owners, who are then forced to defend their rentals when they have done nothing wrong."

The full story:
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100705/OPINION01/7050336/1014/OPINION