Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com
Middletown Township officials authorized advertisement of potential ordinance changes on Monday evening which could have an effect on municipal recovery homes, labeled “transient properties” by the township.
According to officials, the approval was only for advertisement of potential changes, not for approval of actual changes made to the township code. Middletown expects to either approve or deny the ordinance changes at an upcoming supervisors meeting in the coming months.
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Township Solicitor Joseph Pizzo noted that the proposed changes would amend the zoning, fire safety inspection and rental property ordinances within the township code to promote a better relationship between the municipality and owners of transient properties. Pizzo noted the changes were inspired by the amendments recently made to township code in neighboring Falls Township.
According to Pizzo, the changes are to promote better safety, health and welfare for the community and first responders, giving the township easier access inside homes renting between six and 16 people that are not considered a family and all share a singular cooking facility.
As many know, Middletown and neighboring Bristol Township has grappled with the epidemic of recovery homes, which often can go unregulated, for many years.
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Potential changes to the zoning code would disallow transient properties to be located throughout the entire township and instead regulate them to the apartment office district, the commercial district, the mobile home park district and the professional district. Pizzo noted Monday evening that those were the areas within the municipality that township administration thought best suited the need for transient properties.
Changes to the rental property ordinance would require transient property owners to register within the township, notifying Middletown of where they are located, if they being occupied and how many renters currently occupy the space.
While potential changes to the fire safety inspection ordinance would make transient property owners participate in annual fire safety inspections, providing proof that no more than the max occupancy persons are residing inside and that the property is up to all legislative fire safety code.
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According to Pizzo, the potential changes “seek to close the loopholes” that have been created by the Federal Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
