The City of Hancock has published its new Residential Property Ordinance following a city council meeting Wednesday. The effect of the law won’t take place immediately, but it is set to be implemented in the coming months.
The meeting left a few remaining issues, so actual enactment has accordingly been deferred.
Over the past three months, the ordinance has been up for debate in the council, but more recently significant headway was made. The council unanimously moved to adopt the ordinance although no effective date yet appears in the letter of the law. Among some items that aren’t yet set in stone is the law’s fee structure for landlords, which is set to go up from the current $5 fee. Also raised were issues of tenant parking and temporary occupancy in the event of a tenant’s taking vacation, for example.
Speaking specifically to those landlord fees, Hancock mayor Paul LaBine said of the coming fee, to be set by another council meeting, will be commensurate to those of the surrounding area.
According to The Daily Mining Gazette, a similar city council action took place last year in Houghton. However, quite dissimilarly, this action featured a processing fee decrease from $750 to $350, speaking to the disparity LaBine mentions with regard to Hancock’s current fees.
In order to allow for more time to discuss the mentioned concerns, finalizing the new ordinance has been set for Feb. 1.
