After what seems like years of discussion, the City of Norwich Common Council has finally passed an amendment to the city code that calls for the addition of a rental registry.

After last week’s public hearing on the topic, and several others before that, the council passed the ordinance, and I was under the impression that perhaps the topic would die down, at least for a while. I was wrong.

At last night’s meeting, several of the city’s landlords and members of the city council butted heads again about wording in three sections of the ordinance. As an outside, and I hope neutral, onlooker, I think I can understand both sides of the argument. The landlords seem to be afraid their civil liberties will be stomped on, as over eager and uncertified inspectors traipse into their properties searching for problems, at the request of angry tenants. The council is afraid that by changing certain phrases, their ability to enforce the ordinance will be limited, and they will have to get a court order every time they are asked to do an inspection.

There seems to be little room for compromise with stakes so high, and if neither party gives, this same argument could be going on for years to come.