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Emotions ran high during last night’s two hour public hearing on a rent control ordinance the Neptune Township Committee passed 5-0, with one committee member using an expletive on the record.

Under the ordinance, rent increases in Ocean Grove and Neptune will be capped by the regional consumer price index. A rent leveling board will be established to administer the rent control regulations. Click here for a prior Sun story on the details of the ordinance.

Discussion on developing a rent control ordinance began about two and a half months ago, prompted by complaints from tenants living in various apartment complexes in Neptune, Committeeman J. Randy Bishop said at the hearing.

Among the complaints were those from residents of the Neptune Apartments, who said they experienced a 45 percent increase in their rents when new owners purchased the property in the past year.

“I think when the Neptune Apartments were sold and re-bought it was the first time I ever heard the word ‘unconscionable.’ We had people complaining about rent increases over 35 and 45 percent,” said Mayor Eric Houghtaling.

“If someone increased my mortgage 45 percent I know I would be raising holy hell, too,” said Committeeman Kevin B. McMillan.

Most vocally in favor of the measure was Bishop, who was critical of “those who have called me saying ‘oh don’t worry those people will vote for you anyway.'”

“What a freaking insult that is,” he said.

“For those of you who don’t know me, I don’t vote for what is politically right. I vote for what I believe in,” Bishop said. “And for those who say my political career is dead, let it read on my tombstone that I f—–g care about people.”

Bishop’s statement received a cheer from members of the audience who came out in favor of the ordinance. Later in the meeting, Bishop apologized for his use of strong language.

Opponents of the ordinance asked that the committee table its vote for two weeks until the next meeting so further discussion could be held.

A representative from the New Jersey Apartment Association said the association was not aware of the township’s rent control ordinance until that day, “You haven’t had rent control here for 250 years, you can wait another two weeks,” he said.

George Cannon, a 65 year Neptune resident and former fire chief, said this meeting was the first committee meeting he had ever attended, because previously he has trusted the leadership of the town.

“I’m here today because rent control is bad,” he said. “Even the tenant suffers under rent control. When rent control is imposed, builders will not come into a town and build.”

Cannon also implored the council to table the motion and wait two weeks to decide on the issue.

Charles Wegman, a resident of Ocean Grove, was not aware of the rent control issue until he showed up with his grandson to help him cover a public meeting for his Eagle Scout project.

“You ought to consider what you are doing,” Wegman said. Rent control “invites in dishonorable landlords and drains property values.”

Wegman is also a landlord and said his rent values are controlled by his competitors. “You are going to drive away good investors,” he said.

Rosemarie Villanova, an Ocean Grove resident and realtor, argued that rent control is not the answer to problems concerning the upkeep of rentals, “code enforcements [is],” she said. “Rent control does not cure the problem, we cure the problem.”

But comments from tenants who have experienced hardship also weighed heavily on the decision of members of the committee.

Dawn Graham, a resident of the Monroe Garden apartments, said her landlord was not from New Jersey, and she was forced to call the police over the winter because her landlord did not provide controls to the heat in her apartment.

“If I am paying rent, I should have heat,” she said. “Rent control will hold them responsible for what they need to do.”

Before the vote, Bishop expressed his criticism for those who accused the committee of not giving ample consideration to the decision.

“Through this whole thing, I can tell you the thing that pisses me off the most is people saying how we tried to slip this through. We’ve been talking about this here for over two and a half months,” he said.

Bishop said he has spent weeks researching and reading studies on the rent control from organizations both for and against the issue.

“Landlords, investors and realtors all say this is the kiss of death, and as I said to somebody earlier, this is Christ on the cross,” he said. “The ones from affordable housing have said it is Christ rising on the third day. Well, let me tell you something — it is somewhere in the middle.”

“We’ve been working on this for two months and I’ve been hearing about it for more than a year. We can’t wait any longer,” Committeeman Michael Brantley said.

“There are people doing a good job with their properties and I don’t want to see [those landlords] suffer. If this ordinance does not protect them, I will be looking for an amendment,” said Brantley. “But the people that I see that are hurting, for their rent to go up 45 percent, I mean, that is ridiculous. I am ready to vote on this now and I’m ready to review it on an ongoing basis.”

Before her vote in favor of the ordinance, Committeewoman Mary Beth Jahn expressed concern for both tenants and “small” landlords.

“On a township level, we have failed a lot of people living in crap apartments,” Jahn said. “I worry tonight in that protecting one group, and they are a group that needs protection, I worry we are going to catch a lot of small fish up in a net that is meant for bigger people.”

Jahn vowed to make amendments to the ordinance if it harmed any of the landlords that own smaller properties, not large apartment complexes.

“I know for sure this is not going to be the final version of this. We’ve got to get the small owners out of this,” she said.

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