Monroe Village Board approves code changes with the goal of reducing illegal boarding houses

The village of Monroe has approved two code changes with the goal of reducing illegal boarding houses.

During the April 1 meeting, the Monroe Village Board held a public hearing for a proposed local law to amend the zoning definition of the term “family” and another law to amend rental definitions to allow for stricter code enforcement of safe home occupancy.

Alyse Terhune, attorney for the village, said the definition of “family” was too broad under the current zoning law and that, along with amending the rental code, the village was seeking to address the issues of single-family homes being used to house multiple residents beyond the occupancy limit. She noted that if a property owner is wrongly accused of operating an unlawful boarding house, they can challenge that allegation.

Regarding the rental law, Terhune said the modifications made it more comparable to other municipalities and provide clearer parameters for prosecuting violations of acceptable housing standards.

“We’ve found multiple dangerous situations going on in this village where people’s lives are at risk and it’s because it’s not a bunch of people who are friends and family living together,” Terhune said. ”It’s unlawful converted boarding houses and that’s what we’re looking at.”

One Monroe resident challenged the attorney and the village on how the code enforcement officers are going to determine what’s considered family and wondered if the building inspector would be asking occupants of a home for identification proving they’re related to one another.

He also speculated that disgruntled residents might use this law as an opportunity to call code enforcement officers on their neighbors, leading to families being questioned and harassed.

‘You have to follow the law’

Responding to the resident, Mayor Neil Dwyer, said the code change was not about preventing residents from having family and friends stay over, but rather to address such abuses as landlords illegally converting garages into rental units and other situations where people are living in unsafe conditions.

“It’s not acceptable; it’s not reasonable,” Dwyer said. “This is a very diverse community, as you know, and everybody’s welcome in this community, but you have to follow the law.”

The resident agreed that safety issues should be a concern for the village and wondered why such issues couldn’t be handled by the police and other existing methods of enforcement. Dwyer responded saying that this was a code issue and not a police matter.

‘The more code enforcement, the better’

Village resident Bonnie Franson spoke in favor of the code changes. She said there were various properties in her neighborhood being used as multi-dwelling buildings. She cited an example of one property being used inappropriately and how code enforcement worked to clear out the building.

“From my perspective the more code enforcement, the better,” Franson said. “If I’m going to spend my village taxes on something, I find that the code enforcement is particularly worthwhile because we have to preserve our community character and our neighborhoods, and where I live I just feel particularly vulnerable.”

Franson added that while she doesn’t mind that her neighborhood is changing, she is unhappy that people are not living in accordance with the law.