However well-intentioned the recent revisions made to the Condominium/Cooperative Conversion Ordinance by the Somerville City Council may be, there are those that are affected by it who are left scratching their heads and wondering if certain measures included in the final version have gone too far in their regulatory reach.

To their credit, the councilors who fashioned and promoted the revisions in question clearly intended them to serve as protections for – as one councilor put it – “those tenants who are vulnerable, elderly, disabled, low-income.” And yet, many “small landlords” who, for example, may have invested in their owner occupied homes and worked hard to increase their properties’ value over the years, feel that they are being hit the hardest and that the larger, more legally astute investors will find ways to get around the regulations.

Still, others applaud the new rules, saying that the protections built into them are necessary to assure renters and lessees that they will be afforded due time to relocate in cases where a property owner chooses to go for a condo conversion. The ordinance also addresses matters concerning unchecked overdevelopment in the city in general, which many consider to be an extremely important issue.

While some are considering challenging the ordinance, others are celebrating its passage. Only time will tell how fair and effective it will be one way or the other.