The proposal by Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness to cap single-family home rentals at 10% per subdivision is drawing increased media attention—and now, there is a potentially game-changing twist at the Statehouse that may or may not happen.
Indiana’s largest newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, posted a story Monday morning diving into the controversy, highlighting both the political stakes and the pushback from real estate interests. Reporter John Tuohy explores how much effort—and money—the industry is pouring into stopping the measure.
It appears the IndyStar story does not have a pay wall and is available at this link.
Meanwhile, a surprising development has emerged in the legislature.
Niki Kelly, editor of Capitol Chronicle, a nonprofit news outlet focused on the Indiana Statehouse, posted Monday morning on social media:
“I read a column this morning about Fishers putting in a rental cap. And just like that they are adding language preempting rental caps to HB1389.”
It’s still unclear exactly how this language would be added or when such a change would take effect, but the move appears to have caught the City of Fishers by surprise.
An update I received from a reliable source late this morning says House leadership has removed the measure on preventing local governments form enacting rental caps. I have no confirmation on that at this time.
Initially, it seemed that the Fishers City Council would need a unanimous vote to suspend the rules in order to pass the rental cap ordinance at tonight’s meeting (April 21). However, it now appears that only a simple majority may be required to approve the measure on second reading.
With the legislature possibly stepping in to override local control, pressure is mounting on Fishers council members to act quickly following tonight’s public hearing. Still, there’s also the chance that the ordinance could be pulled from the agenda altogether.
In short: don’t assume anything. The political landscape surrounding this proposal is shifting rapidly, and tonight’s meeting could be pivotal.