The Greenbelt City Council met on September 28. A major item on council’s agenda was the second reading and adoption of a resolution creating a Tenant Advisory Board. (Other discussions and actions at the meeting will be reported in a separate article.) As the resolution’s title states, the purpose of the board is to “provide advice, recommendations and other needed advisory services to council on matters affecting tenants and rental housing within the City of Greenbelt.”
Mayor Emmett Jordan introduced the resolution by stating that “renters make up a foundational part of Greenbelt’s population, yet until now we have had no dedicated municipal board actively focusing on tenant policy. This measure proposes to create a seven-member advisory board appointed by council to serve as a bridge to those residents.”
Councilmember Jenni Pompi, who had led a council committee in developing the resolution and had introduced it for first reading at an earlier meeting, moved to adopt the resolution. After seconding the motion, Councilmember Frankie Fritz noted that a majority of the city’s population are renters.
During the ensuing discussion, Pompi stated that the Tenant Advisory Board would operate much like other council advisory boards with, for example, two-year terms for its members, monthly meetings and liaisons to city staff and council.
In response to a resident’s question about the term “tenant,” Pompi clarified that the proposed resolution addresses only individual residential renters, not business renters.
Board Responsibilities
The resolution states eight responsibilities of the new volunteer Tenant Advisory Board: (1) advise council on matters related to tenant issues, rental housing policies and programs affecting Greenbelt residents; (2) provide recommendations regarding initiatives, ordinances, programs and community resources designed to improve rental housing conditions and tenant experiences; (3) serve as a liaison between the city and Greenbelt’s tenant community by encouraging communication, outreach and civic participation; (4) identify and discuss issues affecting tenants, including housing maintenance, affordability, accessibility, safety, displacement concerns and access to information and services; (5) review and provide input on housing-related matters referred to the board by council; (6) promote awareness of tenant rights, responsibilities and available community resources through education and outreach efforts; (7) encourage constructive dialogue and collaboration among tenants, property owners, property managers, community organizations and the city; and (8) prepare reports, recommendations and other advisory materials for consideration by council.
What Would Not Be Allowed
The board would not be empowered to accept, mediate or adjudicate individual tenant complaints that are under the purview of the city’s Code and Code Enforcement Department. It could not advocate directly to city staff or council on behalf of individual residents. It could not provide any specific direction or guidance to city staff other than policy or related guidance to council. Neither the new board nor council can require landlords to appear at council on a regular basis. However, if a landlord violates a city, county or state law, the landlord could be required to appear before council.
City Manager Josué Salmerón noted that he and Pompi have been considering possible early policy tasks for the board: developing a Greenbelt-specific tenant “bill of rights” (in addition to the state’s current renter’s bill of rights) and creating a policy that gives renters the right to make simple repairs in their units and be reimbursed for them by their landlords, which would be more timely and cost-efficient than having their landlords make the repairs.
Adoption of the Resolution
Council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution. The next steps will be to clarify any operational issues for the Tenant Advisory Board and recruit its seven members.