New landlords organization to hold first planning meeting

Published Jul 10, 2012 at 9:00 am (Updated Jul 10, 2012)

After being incorporated last fall, when the Metro Council was considering imposing new regulations on landlords via an ordinance that ultimately failed, the Baton Rouge Independent Landlords Organization will begin to take shape next week when its first organizational and planning meeting is held. "Since there is no pressing, emergency issue, we thought this would be a time to begin to gather ideas and issues for the organization, mission and operations … as well as topics of interest and concern which individual landlords suggest," reads an invitation recently sent by the organization's founder, Steve Myers, to his fellow independent landlords, whom he identifies as "individuals who own or manage low-density rental dwellings, including single-family dwellings, duplexes, stand-alone four-plexes, garage apartments and individual townhomes or condominiums." The meeting is set for 8:30 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 19, at the offices of the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, 14101 Perkins Road. Among the agenda items are some of the basics you'd expect: discussion about developing a mission statement, meeting schedule, organizational structure and focal points. But the draft agenda also includes some juicier items, including "support/opposition/recruitment" of candidates for the fall mayoral and council races, and an update on that regulation push that prompted Myers to form the group last year. Myers, who's also a real estate agent/broker and attorney, says he'd eventually like to see the organization's membership number in the hundreds. There are about 50,000 apartment units in the Baton Rouge area, he estimates, and another 12,000 single-family rentals. Read a Daily Report story from November about the organization's formation here. —Steve Sanoski