NORWAY – A “disorderly house” ordinance that would hold landlords responsible for their tenants’ behavior may appear before voters at the annual town meeting in June.
Members of the Norway Board of Selectmen agreed to discuss a draft of the proposed ordinance with interested landlords at a March 17 meeting. While the meeting would be open to the public, the board also agreed to schedule a regular public hearing at a future time.
“This ordinance is written so that, after a number of police calls, we can hold the owner of the buildings responsible,” Town Manager David Holt said. “If we want to preserve our community, this is something we need to talk about.”
Holt presented the selectmen with a list of police responses to buildings owned by one local landlord. The complaints were filed over a 12-month period, he said. “When I looked at these, I was shocked.”
Police responded to 17 Deering St., 7 Lynn St., 16 Cottage St., 15 Cottage St., 467 Main St., and 256 Main St. a total of 210 times in a year, according to Holt’s handout. The complaints covered everything from noise disturbances to aggravated assaults.
Police Chief Rob Federico was present Thursday because he helped draft the proposed disorderly house ordinance after researching similar documents from other communities. He said responding to complaints such as those on Holt’s list can be dangerous for police officers. “Unfortunately, these types of complaints aren’t what I would consider minor complaints. An awful lot of these are violent in nature.”
The ordinance would define a disorderly house as “a dwelling to which the police have responded three or more times in any 30-day period” due to the conduct of any inhabitants of the dwelling or their guests. Community disturbances cited in the proposal include: loud music, boisterous parties, loud noises, fights or problems with people intoxicated with alcohol or drugs.
After responding to a residence three times in 30 days, the landlord would be notified and required to schedule a hearing with the town manager and Board of Selectmen. According to the proposed ordinance, failure to attend the hearing, violation of a resulting consent agreement or continued problems at the residence could result in civil penalties. Those penalties could range from $100 to $2,500, plus attorney costs.
The selectmen agreed to continue working on the ordinance.
“I don’t think it’s something we ought to sit on until next fall, or something like that,” Chairman Leslie Flanders said.
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