Credit: Middletown Township
Owners of transient dwellings within Middletown have until May 1 to certify their presence to township officials.
The township’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the zoning amendment changes regarding policies and the usage of transient properties back in June 2016.
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The amendments, according to officials, were passed to promote better safety, health and welfare to the community and first responders; giving the township easier access inside transient homes – which the township defined as housing between six and 16 people, who are not considered family members, all of whom also share one singular cooking facility.
The changes, which went into effect officially on June 11, amended the zoning, fire safety inspection and rental property ordinances.
Specifically, the changes required transient properties to be located in special zones, to register with the township, and to participate in annual fire safety inspections.
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Registration with the township requires owners that they notify Middletown of where they are located, if they are being occupied, and how many renters currently occupy the space.
According to Township Manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls, some transient property owners have responded to the township’s requests, while some have not. She noted that the township’s plan is to let the May 1 registration deadline expire and then send out letters to property owners which have not complied, giving them 14 days to comply before issuing violations which will go through the district justice process.
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Middletown, which has about 35 group homes, not all of which are considered recovery homes, has grappled with the unregulated epidemic for years. According to township officials, the changes “seek to close the loopholes” that have been created by the Federal Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
It is important to note, that any property which has been operating under permits as a rental property prior to the advertisement of the ordinance, will be grandfathered in under zoning law prior to the June 11 change.
