Palmerton may take a page out of its contemporaries’ book and consider regulating rental units.

Resident Bruce Morrison asked if there is a way to enforce the issue of keeping sidewalks clean in the borough.

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield said anytime the borough gets a complaint, they send it to the code enforcement officer or building code officer depending on the nature of the complaint.

“We do not have a rental ordinance,” Canfield said.

Council President Terry Costenbader hinted that could soon change.

“Not yet,” Costenbader said. “We’re working on something.”

Later on in the meeting, Councilwoman Holly Hausman Sell asked Morrison if he had a specific concern on a rental property.

Morrison said that there’s been a lot of troubles in other municipalities, and that he doesn’t want to see that happen in the borough.

In October 2021, council discussed joining other local municipalities in an attempt to regulate rental units.

Then borough Manager Donna McGarry told council at that time that the matter pertained to property maintenance.

Then Councilman Michael Ballard said at that time that it was time for the borough to act on the matter because the borough had 700 units.

McGarry said at that time it was to protect the tenants, as police had indicated quite a few of their phone calls had come from rental units.

She said at that time that it would not include short-term rentals, as the borough’s current zoning ordinance regulates them.

After that meeting, McGarry said the rental unit registration and inspection program would pertain to property maintenance as dictated by the International Property Maintenance Code.

She added the goal was to promote safe and sanitary conditions of rental housing, and that the borough believed this will increase property values, as well as encourage landlord and tenant responsibility for the condition of properties.

McGarry said at that time the borough had been made aware that an increasing number of calls to the police come from rental units, and added that the revenue from the registrations may be used to fund additional police staffing and training to meet the demand.