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Protesters are expected at hearing on livability code

Controversy continues to simmer over changes to Harford County's livability code, which is set to be brought before the county council Tuesday.

Some residents involved in real estate continue to strongly oppose the idea of all landlords registering with the county, and Councilman Dion Guthrie said Wednesday he expects a police presence at Tuesday's meeting. The hearing will start at 6:30 p.m.

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Guthrie said the code has also become a target for the Tea Party, which he said is "against government."

"We are going to have a bunch of demonstrators at the council meeting next week from the Tea Party and from people who rent and manage facilities to people. They don't want the livability code to be brought up to date," he said.

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Council President Billy Boniface has asked the Harford County Sheriff's Office to have extra police at the meeting because he has already received threats, Guthrie said.

"We expect that kind of reception, with pickets outside," Guthrie said. "The Tea party can go completely overboard, and you have seen them on TV enough times, and I expect something like that. To what extent, I have no idea."

Guthrie noted he has a rental property and the bill would not affect him at all because he does not plan to let his property deteriorate.

He said the bill would have property owners pay $20 once every two years to register, and would give them a two-year bonus if they do not do anything wrong.

The bill is very reasonable considering other jurisdictions, such as Baltimore County, have much steeper registration fees, Guthrie said.

"I don't want to sit back and do nothing and watch my county fall and all the houses around it collapse," he said.

Joan Ryder, a Realtor who is not on the task force, and Pasquetta "Pat" McGrady, an Aberdeen rental owner who represents landlords on the task force, have both opposed the changes.

Ryder said in an e-mail Thursday she thinks Guthrie is making things up.

"I have not heard anything about threats to anyone. I think that must be in Dion's own mind," Ryder wrote. "We do not plan to be violent. We are planning a rally at 4:30 [p.m.] in front of the Black Box to protest this bill."

Ryder sent out a flier urging real estate or rental property owners to get involved, and also e-mailed Harford County Executive David Craig criticizing the reasons for the changes.

The flier calls the bill "a desperate solution in search of a problem."

In the letter to Craig, Ryder said landlords' real addresses are readily available from tax records, there is a mechanism in place to fine offenders which is obviously not being used and the Housing Agency only gets about six complaints a month.

"The severity of this new livability code doesn't match and make better living conditions," Ryder wrote. "This bill is discriminatory[;] it will also engender discrimination against present and future tenants."

The flier also says the bill will give the Housing Agency director sole discretion over renewing registrations, establish a fine of $1,000 per day for not registering and a fine of $500 for a code violation, allow any agency to search residential rental properties without a warrant, establish landlord liability to control mold even when caused by tenants and empower the Housing Agency director to condemn properties.

Ryder said Thursday Craig responded to her saying he does not sit at his computer all day and that he wants to answer every e-mail personally.

"However, he avoided all my questions and said that it would be in the hands of the County Council. Sounds like he is throwing them under the bus," she wrote.

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