Klein Announces Hotel/Motel Licensing Law
City Councilmember Zach
Klein, chair of the Public Safety committee, was joined by Columbus police
officers, prosecutors, business owners and Northland area residents for the
unveiling of legislation that will better regulate hotel and motel properties in
Columbus. Klein’s plan, modeled after best practices from around
the country, will allow the City to revoke the license of an owner who refuses
to take responsibility for their property.
“Criminals have been using
poorly managed properties as a home base for their illegal behavior,” said
Councilmember Klein. “We believe the ability to revoke a license will
allow the City to better hold accountable business owners who do not operate as
good neighborhoods in Columbus. This legislation will promote safety and
economic development in our community.”
The City Attorney’s office
has been successful in closing a number of problem hotels along the State Route
161/I-71 corridor of Columbus. But the legal system and abatement
process can sometimes take years before the buildings are closed. This
legislation will allow the City to move faster to clean problem sites while
still affording the property owner an appeals process before the license is revoked.
“Our police officers and investigators have done a
tremendous job and made great strides in reducing persistent criminal behavior
in and around these problem hotels and motels,” said George Speaks, Director of
Public Safety. “However, without going after the source facilitating
criminal behavior, our officers are forced to act on the same crimes and
criminals over and over again. Councilmember Klein’s legislation will lead to
even greater success by giving the City of Columbus additional tools to eliminate
the criminal behavior at its core.”
Permits may be denied or
revoked if the hotel is not in compliance with the fire code, has demonstrated
a pattern of drug related activity, prostitution, human trafficking, or gang
activity. Columbus will also be utilizing a calls for service ratio
of 1.0 or higher to determine the extent of problems at a site. Calls for
service are calls for police assistance in a calendar year divided by the
number of rooms on the property. This has proven to be a good
ratio to determine a poorly run business and will not include calls to police
from special duty officers.
“There have been good
businesses in this area who have suffered because of some very bad actors,”
said Emmanuel Remy, Northland Community Council President. “It is great
to see the City moving in and really taking a lead on cleaning these sites so
we can return them to productive uses once again.”
"Councilmember Klein and the City of Columbus used a
collaborative approach to crafting this legislation that incorporated many
suggestions from the hotel industry," Joe Savarise, Executive Director of
the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association, said. "We appreciate their
willingness to address the concerns of responsible hotel operators, and we believe
we have a better ordinance as a result."