Illegal rentals could lead to 'disaster,' mayor says BRICK TOWNSHIP- Plans are in the works for a massive crackdown on illegal rentals, Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said. The problem surfaced recently when a township code enforcer decided to take a closer look at why garbage cans on some properties were never put away after collection day, the mayor said. The employee found one home with beds lined against the wall in a large open room, and a ladder propped up on a hole in the ceiling that led to the attic, Acropolis said. "They would sleep in the attic," he said. "It's a disaster waiting to happen. If you have 10 people living a house [illegally] and there's a fire there, people are going to die. We need tomake sure everyone is adhering to the rules on the books. Make sure they are up to code." Township ordinances require that each person living in a house has to have a certain amount of living space, he said. "We've uncovered many houses that do not have that," he said. "We are going to be targeting those houses. There's a safety factor here." Acropolis emphasized that the crackdown would not target any particular group of people. "We are going to crack down on property owners who rent illegally," he said. "It's not necessarily the people who rent. The people that rent are renting for a reason. It's the [owners] who are renting those houses. They are renting to people who have no place else to go." The mayor did not name any specific area where the illegal rentals are taking place. Butmany are winter rentals, he said. Township code enforcement, which is currently part of the administration department, will soon be under the newly created Department of Community Development and Land Use, which will have a department head, Acropolis said. "Now it will be where it should be," he said. The code enforcement officer issued violation notices to the property owners in question, he said. "We are going to fine you to the max to make sure you are not putting anybody at risk," Acropolis said. - Patricia A. Miller