MARSHALL — The city of Marshall is thinking about regulating rental properties with new city ordinances. But first, city staff say they want to hear what property owners think.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Marshall City Council, council members got a look at proposed rental ordinances. They also directed city staff to get feedback from rental property owners in Marshall before the council starts the process to introduce the ordinances. Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson said the city will be notifying property owners about the proposal.

Over the past few years, Marshall property owners made it clear that they wanted to have a voice with the city, Hanson said.

“Tonight’s request gets down to, can we advance this to get input?” Hanson said. “We’re not sure it’s all going to be highly supportive.”

“We’re looking at things that are basic, you know, safety issues,” city council member John DeCramer said of the proposed ordinances. “There’s nothing really I would call outlandish, but on the other hand I’m not a landlord. I think getting that input from the landlords is good.”

The city originally started looking at the possibility of rental ordinances several months ago, when the neighbors of a VRBO rental property in Marshall raised concerns about traffic and other issues at the property.

“Currently we have nothing in ordinance that would regulate or license that particular issue,” Hanson said.

Hanson said city staff started out by drafting ordinances that would help regulate short-term rentals like VRBO and AirBnB houses. However, the council’s Legislative and Ordinance Committee suggested that short-term rentals could be part of a broader rental ordinance, similar to what other cities have. Marshall doesn’t currently have a rental ordinance.

The proposed ordinances include requirements for licensing rental units as well as requirements to maintain rental properties in compliance with the housing code and state fire code. The proposal also includes conditions for short-term rentals, like limiting the amount of on-street parking by guests.

Council members voted unanimously to have city staff gather feedback on the proposed ordinances from rental property owners.

With 44% of Marshall’s population renting their homes, it was important to have guidelines for rental housing, DeCramer said.

“I think we need to do this to protect the citizens and residents that are using those (rentals), and also if we do this right, it should also give some leverage to the landlords to do the things that they need to do,” said council member Craig Schafer. “But I’m really concerned, and I’m glad to see that we’re doing it right because if we start off wrong on this, we do damage and not good.”

Council member James Lozinski said some cities with rental ordinances have more restrictive rules than others. Marshall city staff have been clear about not wanting a rental ordinance to overstep its bounds, he said.

“I think this is a good start, and this is a spot for landlords to let us hear what you have to say,” said Lozinski.