Ambler Borough Proposed Residential Resale Requirement

On April 30, 2021, the memorandum below was sent to Ambler Borough Council from Glenn Kucher, our Borough Code Enforcement Officer.  

As a Borough Resident and Realtor who works primarily in the Borough, I found this memo to be very concerning. Admittedly, I had not been keeping current with the Ambler Borough Council meetings and minutes, so when I learned about this matter on June 1, 2021, I immediately reached out to all members of Council. I received a prompt reply from Borough Council President, Frank Deruosi, stating that “the inspection certificate is still in the developmental stages. Council has had some discussion regarding the pros and cons, as well as what aspects will be part of the inspection process. I trust that there will be a few more conversations before a decision is made, and ordinance is drafted, and a final vote is levied. You can email your comments/questions to me or any council member.”

The next (virtual) meeting was scheduled for June 15, 2021, which I could not attend, so I sent my questions and comments to Council in advance (detailed in the document below). You can view the June 15th meeting here, discussion on this topic is from 0.21:00 – 0.36:00. 

I did not receive a reply from any member of Council, so I was eager to hear discussion on the topic at the next scheduled meeting, held on July 20th. The proposed requirement was not on the agenda, which I found curious, but I was able to ascertain during pubic comment that Council is not planning to have a draft ordinance available by the August or September meeting, as originally stated, as they are taking their time to carefully consider the details of the proposed requirement. Personally, I was very pleased to hear this, as I think this matter deserves much more discussion than I have heard, and input from the community.

As proposed, I find the inspection requirements to be incredibly onerous for the homeowner and completely out of line with what our neighboring municipalities require (or do not require, for that matter). If you also find this matter to be of import, now is the time to reach out to your Councilperson and make them aware of your thoughts and concerns. Contact information for all members of Council can be found here. If you’re not sure which ward you live in, you can view the ward map here.