Hutchinson might want to add language to its new rental inspection ordinance if it wants to avoid a problem now facing the city of Red Wing.

The quaint-but-bustling city along the Missisissippi River has been denied search warrants to inspect 47 properties of landlords who don’t want to cooperate with that city’s rental inspection program.

The Red Wing Republican Eagle reported Thursday that District Judge Timothy Blakely denied the warrants because tenants’ privacy is not safeguarded.

“Here, the data from inspections is classified as public with no apparent restrictions to deal with legitimate modern privacy concerns,” Blakely said in his ruling. He added that photographs and other information, including the most intimate details of residents’ lives – could be posted on the city’s geographical information system, “available for the world to see on the Internet.”

Hutchinson’s rental inspection program is only weeks old, but it also doesn’t appear to have safeguards that would keep inspection information out of the hands of those who don’t have a legitimate use for it.

It’s rare for the Leader to editorialize in favor of keeping information confidential, but we think the Red Wing case has merit. Under that city’s program, inspectors are authorized to search anywhere, including inside bedroom closets, kitchen drawers, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, according to the testimony by Gene Durand, the city’s assistant building inspector. All of that information then becomes public information.

Dana Berliner, senior attorney from the Institute for Justice, who argued the case against the city, said, “Red Wing doesn’t seem to understand that some people don’t like the idea of strangers looking in every nook and cranny of their homes, taking photographs, and then making that information open to the public. To make matters even worse, the city has no reasonable limits on its intrusion into personal privacy or later use of the information.”

Hutchinson has no such desire to look where it shouldn’t, according to City Attorney Marc Sebora. Sebora said last week that Fire Chief Brad Emans simply wants inspectors to inspect things such as whether a rental unit’s toilets are flushing, if the heat can reach 68 degrees, and whether there are smoke alarms or frayed extension cords. No one should be poking into places where they shouldn’t.

We agree with that approach, but we’d feel better if the Hutchinson ordinance contained restrictions to deal with “legitimate modern privacy concerns.”

Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com, or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com.