MARSHALL — The Marshall City Council will be holding a public hearing on a proposed residential rental code in January. This week, council members voted to formally introduce the proposal, which would require residential rental buildings to be registered with the city, among other requirements.

A hearing was set for Jan. 24.

The possibility of a rental code is something the city has been talking about since last year, when the council received complaints about a VRBO rental property in Marshall. The council’s Legislation and Ordinance Committee started out discussing a short-term rental code to address some of the complaints, but then suggested that short-term rentals be regulated under a broader city rental code.

The city held two meetings in March to get feedback from rental property owners, and two more in October.

“I think we heard loud and clear from our landlords that they opposed any kind of a fee, and they would cooperate with registering their properties,” said council member Russ Labat.

The proposed rental code changed to act like a registration program, city staff said. A summary of the proposed code includes requirements that all residential rental buildings be registered with the city, and that owners sign a statement certifying the building meets the minimum requirements of the city housing code.

Under the proposed code, residential rental properties would also be required to have a person responsible for maintenance and responding to emergencies within an hour. Other complaints would need to be responded to within 48 hours, and generally addressed within five working days, the proposal said.

The proposed rental code also has special conditions for short-term rentals, including that no more than two guests would be allowed to park on the street outside the rental property.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, city staff recommended that the city council introduce the proposed rental code and call for a public hearing. However, Labat said he thought the proposal should go back to the council Ways and Means Committee, and that the city should form a small committee with local landlords to get more input before moving forward.

“I think we need to focus on having good community relations,” Labat said. Labat said he had heard questions from property owners about the proposal’s $50 initial registration fee for rental buildings, as well as the time requirements for responding to complaints.

“I think we need to take a step back before we get this again, and get their input,” Labat said.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said the action before the council was to call for a public hearing on the proposal. Both landlords and renters could attend the hearing and give their input on the proposal, Byrnes said.

Labat also asked how the city intended to notify landlords of the public hearing. Marshall public works director Jason Anderson said they city could directly notify landlords, if that was the council’s direction.

“I feel like city staff and the city as a whole has really tried our best to try to accommodate the voices of the landlords,” Anderson said of the proposal. “I think we’ve arrived at a mutually beneficial program, one that the city can administrate better, one that the landlords can tolerate better.”

Council members voted 6-1 to introduce the proposed rental code and call for a Jan. 24 public hearing. Labat cast the vote against.