Norwich ― The newly-formed Fair Rent Commission is seeking residents who want to join the commission and is urging renters with questions or concerns about rental situations to contact members.

At the same time, several well-established city agencies desperately need new members to conduct business.

The Fair Rent Commission was established June 25 under a new state law that requires municipalities with populations over 25,000 to establish a commission to prevent excessive rent charges in residential housing. Three regular members were appointed, former Norwich Human Services Director Lee-Ann Gomes, tenant Rebecca Melucci and local landlord Ed Belli.

The commission is still seeking two alternate members, a tenant and a landlord.

The commission is also is looking for issues to handle after it canceled its first two meetings due to lack of business to conduct. The commission is accepting applications from tenants who feel their rent is being increased at an unfair rate. For information about the commission, send an email to FRC@cityofnorwich.org.

“It’s very hard for someone to find an apartment now, especially if you have a blemish in your record,” Gomes said. “We’re trying to protect the housing that people have and moderate between landlords and tenants.”

Gomes said sometimes landlords are justified in raising rents. The commission, however, can make comparisons with other rents in the nearby neighborhoods and similar housing units.

Once a tenant completes an application, the commission will schedule a hearing to review the issue. Tenants and landlords will be invited to the hearing. The tenants may present evidence as to why they feel the rent increase is unjustified, and landlords may present evidence as to why they feel the increase is needed.

As the new Fair Rent Commission is getting started, several Norwich commissions face critical membership shortages to conduct business. The Inland Wetlands, Watercourses and Conservation Commission was forced to postpone a public hearing Nov. 16 on a proposed development in the Norwich business park due to lack of a quorum.

The inland wetlands commission has seven regular seats and three alternate seats. The commission currently has only five regular members and no alternates. The Commission on the City Plan has two vacant alternate seats. The Ethics Commission has one vacant seat, but all six sitting members’ terms are expired, according to the city ordinance that created the commission.

The Zoning Board of Appeals needs five regular members and three alternates, but now has four regular members and one alternate. The Senior Affairs Commission also needs five regular members and three alternates. It has vacancies for one regular member and two alternates.

Some city boards do not have enough members to hold meetings, said Jacquie Barbarossa, executive assistant to City Manager John Salomone. These include the Board of Review of Dangerous Buildings, Redevelopment Agency and the Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

Applicants for volunteer city boards and commissions must be Norwich residents, registered voters and be current on city property taxes. Applications also be found online in the Forms Center on the city website at www.norwichct.org. or in person in the city clerk’s office at City Hall, second floor at 100 Broadway, Norwich.

c.bessette@theday.com