Orono approves landlord measure Habitual problems ordinance’s focus

ORONO – An ordinance designed to hold landlords responsible for the actions of their tenants was passed at Monday night’s Town Council meeting.

The ordinance is meant to address properties that prove to be habitually problematic. It was created as yet another attempt to improve the relationship between tenants, landlords and the community.

More than a year after Michael Curtis was attacked across the street from his Pond Street home while trying to quiet a 3 a.m. party, the town is still working to prevent future difficulties.

“We made some changes [to the ordinance] and put it before the council, and it went through very uneventfully,” Town Manager Cathy Conlow said Tuesday.

Conlow said she is pleased with the disorderly-property ordinance, which is meant to “protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the town of Orono by eliminating the proliferation of properties harboring occupants who disturb the peace and tranquility of their neighborhoods.”

Changes to the document were made after a public hearing on the draft in January. At that time, some residents and local landlords voiced concern with wording in the document. Town officials took those comments into consideration and reworked wording in portions of the ordinance.

The mandate is intended to address properties that pose chronic problems in a neighborhood, town officials previously stressed. It is not meant to punish landlords whose tenants cause an occasional disturbance.

“It does what it was intended to do,” Conlow said. The document is based on similar statutes that have been successful in Bar Harbor and Portland.