A Baltimore County administrative law judge is deciding whether a house in the Knollwood-Donnybrook community is operating as an illegal rooming house.
But neighbors say there's a larger issue — they don't want to become overrun with renters, especially college students, whom they say don't have as much investment in the community and have been known to disturb neighbors with parties.
Chief Administrative Law Judge Lawrence Stahl heard testimony at a hearing Wednesday that the house at 7515 Knollwood Road, off Burke Avenue, has more unrelated people living there than allowed under county law, which says no more than two unrelated people can live in a single-family dwelling. After the 45-minute hearing, Stahl took the case under advisement and said he would rule by the end of the week.
County Code Enforcement Inspector Kimberly Wood testified that she has investigated the house at the request of complaining neighbors, and found that it was operating as a rooming house, partly based on evidence that six cars were parked in front of the house on a regular basis. Wood said she issued a correction notice Sept. 30, and issued a citation Nov. 5 for "failure to cease the illegal operation of a rooming/boarding house," because, "There was still no change."
The citation carries a fine of $1,000.
The owners of the house are listed in the citation as Natanel and Abraham Shwartz.
Abraham Shwartz, his wife, Marina, and their daughter, Natalia, testified that only one renter is currently living in the five-bedroom house and that the cars parked outside might belong to Towson University students, who often park on the street. The Shwartzes have owned the house for less than two years, they said.
Wood said she has so far not been able to match license plates on the cars to specific residents in the house. Stahl gave the Shwartzes 24 hours to submit the names of residents who live there, along with the make, model and license tag numbers of their cars.
Wood also testified that she corresponded by email with one member of the Shwartz family, who told her in one email Oct. 28, "There are less than six residents at that property and three are related."
Even if that is true, it would more unrelated residents than the two allowed by law, Wood said.
Wood also showed an Aug. 10, 2013 advertisement on the website Craigslist.com, seeking a renter for a room in the house. Marina Shwartz, who testified on behalf of the family for most of the hearing, said the Shwartzes did not submit the ad. She said a student living at the house at the time posted the ad because she wanted to leave the house and was looking for someone to lease her room.
Eight residents who live in the area attended the hearing, including Pat France, co-director of the Towson-Area Citizens on Patrol and a resident who lives across the street and three blocks south of the house that was cited. Some residents also submitted letters opposing what resident Erik Cloyd in his letter called "irresponsible over-renting of properties in our neighborhood."
France, who has kept a daily log of activity at the house since Oct. 31, testified that previous owners of the house have rented it to students, too, but were not cited.
"It just seems to be something the owners do, and they don't have to pay any consequences, so they keep doing it," France said. "I'd like to put a stop to it."
France said students and other renters aren't as invested in the neighborhood.
"The fact is, this is a family neighborhood and we don't want that changed," she told Stahl.
After the hearing, the Shwartzes had harsh words for France and other neighbors as they waited for an elevator in the Jefferson Building in downtown Towson, where the hearing was held.
"It's not over," Marina Shwartz shouted. "Now, it's just starting."
"We should be friends, not enemies," said Natalia Shwartz, who at the hearing had complained of harassment by neighbors.
France and other neighbors waiting for the elevator did not respond.
"The hearing is over," France said.
Out on the street, Carolyn Williams, treasurer of the Knollwood-Donnybrook Community Association, reflected on the larger issue of rentals, exacerbated by students parking in the area because a Towson University shuttle bus stop is located in the neighborhood.
"We have continuing issues as more rental units encroach on the neighborhood," Williams said. "We don't want to become a community of boarding houses."