Landlord exemptions stand, despite outrage from neighbourhood

OSHAWA -- Landlords in north Oshawa celebrated a small victory Monday night after council voted narrowly to leave intact two exemptions to the city's new licensing bylaw, granted last month.

The issue has gripped neighbourhood residents, landlords and politicians for the past few weeks and dozens of stakeholders attended the council meeting to watch the outcome.

For Jeff Gauthier, one of the two landlords at the centre of the debate, council's decision meant a huge sigh of relief.

"Council made the right decision in the first place and this was the right thing to do," he said. "I don't think an extra student or two in my house is going to be detrimental to the neighbourhood."

On April 8, Mr. Gauthier and fellow landlord Danny Karakolis asked council's finance and administration committee for an exemption from the four-bedroom limit in the new rental housing bylaw, which aims to control student housing near Durham College and UOIT.

Both landlords obtained permits and legally added extra bedrooms to their properties before the bylaw was approved and complained they were stuck with rooms they couldn't rent out.

The committee voted in favour of the exemptions and on April 21 council approved them too.

Councillors were then bombarded with complaints from those who live in the affected neighbourhood. Some felt proper process wasn't followed because residents weren't consulted, while others said any exemptions destroy the integrity of the bylaw.

Monday night's council agenda contained more than 40 letters from neighbourhood residents, urging politicians to reconsider the exemptions. That was the intention of councillors John Neal and Brian Nicholson, who planned to introduce a motion that would see the exemptions rescinded and referred to the director of municipal law enforcement.

But council stopped the issue in its tracks, voting down a motion to reopen the matter for debate.

They voted 5-4 on the reconsideration but it lost because matters like that require support from two thirds of the group.

Councillor April Cullen was absent and Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri declared a conflict. Councillors Maryanne Sholdra, Robert Lutczyk, Joe Kolodzie and Mayor John Gray voted against reconsidering the matter, while councillors John Neal, Brian Nicholson, Louise Parkes, John Henry and Nester Pidwerbecki were in favour.

Neighbourhood residents converging in the hall afterwards were both surprised and angry.

"We're very disappointed," said David Bray, president of the Windfields Farm Community Association. "Tonight should have been about going back and saying we didn't have a clear, open process and recognizing that the residents should have been heard."

The rental licensing bylaw takes affect on May 30. After that point, any landlords seeking exemptions or variances will have to first obtain a license, then go through a structured process that involves notification of nearby neighbours.

Since the first two were granted last month, at least 10 other landlords have indicated they too will be seeking exemptions.