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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023.09.19 HCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Enger at 7:42 p.m. MEETINGATTENDEES Chair Gretchen Enger Vice Chair Michael Donnelly (Absent) Commissioner Lori Best-Deyoe Commissioner Laura Freund Commissioner Jerry Gayflor Commissioner Elizabeth Riel (Excused) Commissioner Florence Williams (Absent) City Staff present: Community Development Director and Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson and Associate Planner Krystin Eldrige. Also present: Brian Bosire, ACER; Samuel Spaid, HOME Line; Jessica Szuminski, Housing Justice Center; Pastor Paul Bushey; Trent Grammer, ACER; Crest Resident Khadija Hardin; New Crest Resident; WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION The Commissioners and Staff introduced themselves. APPROVAL OFAGENDA Chair Enger suggested amending the agenda to reflect the accurate date of the October Housing Commission meeting. There was no objection by the rest of the Commission. There was a motion by Commissioner Freund and seconded by Commissioner Gayflor to approve the agenda as amended. The motion passed. APPROVAL OFMINUTES There was a motion by Commissioner Freund and seconded by Commissioner Best-Deyoe to approve the minutes for the July 18, 2023 Housing Commission meeting as submitted. The motion passed. PRESENTATION ON TENANT PROTECTION HISTORY AND FEEDBACIC FROM TENANTSAND ADVOCACY GROUPS 9/19/23 -1- Community Development Director and Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson gave an overview of the history of tenant protection in the City. The most recent ordinances require a just cause for non - renewal of a lease and create a 30-day notification requirement for eviction. Mr. Anderson stated the City first considered tenant protection ordinances in 2018 with a 90-day notice of lease changes. In 2021, a Fair Housing Policy was adopted. Following the eviction moratorium and a legal case in St. Paul regarding tenant protection rights, the City began working on the just cause non -renewal and eviction notification timeline. The Housing Commission submitted the proposals for the two items in November 2021. Following that, there were some public hearings and discussions where the Council heard from tenants and landlords. There was some discussion regarding alternative timelines to the 30-day eviction notification and other compromise attempts. Mr. Anderson noted there has been some changes in State legislation that impact tenant protection rights, so the Council requested the Housing Commission review the tenant protection ordinances. BRIAN BOSIRE —ACER INC Brian Bosire thanked the Commission for their service to the City. He introduced himself as an organizer and Brooklyn Center resident. He explained social justice includes housing justice. The process for eviction and just cause non -renewals need to include equitable outcomes for both parties. Mr. Bosire pointed out many tenants and landlords are still unaware of the new regulations surrounding non -renewals. The City could be doing more in terms of community education on housing rights. As he has educated residents about the ordinances, the tenants are consistently excited. Mr. Bosire noted some people have concerns about differences in regulations between various cities. However, Brooklyn Center has the opportunity to continue to lead in the Twin Cities. Tenants still cite lack of accountability for landlords. He encouraged the Housing Commission to uphold the tenant protection rights previously based by the Commission. Chair Enger asked which method Mr. Bosire recommends to connect with more people in the community. Mr. Bosire stated the communication channels have to include multiple strategies to meet people where they are at. Some examples include social media, radio, and television. Communication can also be a collaboration with local community organizations, such as ACER. SAMUEL SPAID — HOME LINE Samuel Spaid introduced himself as an attorney with HOME Line, which is a statewide organization that provides free legal advice to tenants among other things. It has been a little over a year since the ordinances were passed, and HOME Line continues to support them. The ordinances allow people to stay in their homes and promote stability. The eviction timeline requirements allow tenants to seek out legal advice or learn about their options. The protection offered in the just cause requirement for non -renewals is vital to protecting tenants from retaliation or other biased non -renewals. 9/19/23 -2- Mr. Spaid noted several landlords cited Brooklyn Center as having the most severe tenant protection ordinances in the State. The landlords with that belief don't seem to support tenant protections or promoting safe and stable housing. Brooklyn Center should continue to promote safe and stable housing. Mr. Spaid added Brooklyn Center's ordinances are more detailed than the State's upcoming legislation. The legislation also allows for cities to pass their own ordinances to further protect tenants. OTHER GROUPS Trent Grammer, graduate student in public policy partnering with ACER, explained he has been looking at statewide eviction data. There are significant health and educational impacts on people who have experienced evictions. Some research has been done on just cause non -renewals in California, which has shown positive impacts of such policies. Mr. Grammer provided a handout to the Commissioners. The handout showed a summary of eviction trends over time. Causal inference is difficult, but the information is still descriptive of the experiences in Brooklyn Center. Mr. Grammer explained Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park are very similar demographically. The two cities had very similar eviction rates up until the end of February 2022. Since then, the Brooklyn Park eviction rates increased while Brooklyn Center's remained flat. Since the time the tenant protection ordinances were adopted, there was a decrease of 2.9 weekly evictions per 10,000 renter -occupied housing units. Mr. Grammer noted the Statewide context for the timing was following the cessation of the eviction moratorium. Most places have had an increase in evictions after the moratorium, but Brooklyn Center's flat statistic is a good indicator that the tenant protection ordinances have been successful. Pastor Paul Bushey agreed a number of local organizations are more than willing to provide educational information regarding tenant protections. He explained he lived in The Crest Apartments for more than a decade. The building's long-term renovation during that time had dire impacts on residents, particularly for disabled tenants. For 35 days, one tenant was told he was unable to use the kitchen nor unpack his things during his apartment's renovation. Brooklyn Center should consider additional tenant protection ordinances. Kadija Hardin noted her agreement with the comments made by Pastor Bushey. In her eight years living at The Crest, there have been eight different managers. She experienced similar issues during apartment renovations as cited by Pastor Bushey. After 7.5 years in one unit, she was forced to move to a new unit. She stayed in her unit for six weeks unable to use her kitchen. Ms. Hardin explained she was the last of the tenants who received reimbursement for food reimbursements, but all tenants were made the same promises. Hotels were provided for two of the 13 floors of the building, and two floors of the building along with five or so residents on her floor received any financial compensation. Later on, management claimed the check recipients where committing a form of fraud. 9/19/23 -3 Ms. Hardin stated The Crest Apartment recently had an afternoon shooting in the parking lot. Nothing was done by management. She stated she doesn't feel safe in her apartment anymore, and management is not doing anything to respond to safety concerns. Ms. Hardin added many tenants are receiving notices that their rent is unpaid, although that is not the case. She has approached management multiple times regarding the issue. She has been fined for random things without explanation or just cause. Jessica Szuminski, attorney with the Housing Justice Center, explained her organization provides advocacy and legal support all over the State. They are attempting to promote similar ordinances in other jurisdictions. The ordinances make the rental process more predictable and creates time for tenants to seek out assistance when faced with an eviction. The ordinances also empower tenants to advocate for better living environments without fear of retaliation. Additionally, long- term housing stability is made available to minority groups by addressing long-standing systemic issues. Since tenants are unable to negotiate leases, it is vital that entities such as Housing Commissions and City Councils advocate for renters in their communities. Ms. Szuminski pointed out the statistics related to decreased evictions are compelling. However, they don't begin to address undocumented forms of evictions. There is a low vacancy rate in the City, so when tenants are displaced, it makes it even harder for them to stay in their home communities. There is also a lack of affordable housing available throughout the Metro. The 30- day eviction notice requirement allows the tenant to look into legal options, financial support opportunities, or find another place to live. Plus, alternatives to evictions save the time and money for both tenants and landlords. On behalf of the Housing Justice Center, she urged the Commission to preserve the ordinances. New Crest Resident explained she is newer to the Brooklyn Center community and lives in the new Crest Apartments. The advertisements and promises made about the building and its amenities are false. Even though the building was new, the elevator was broken the day she moved in and has since been broken multiple times. New Crest Resident noted she is disabled, and it is not physically possible for her to use stairs. Management never shows up to work on time, and some days no one shows up. The fobs are inconsistent, and she has yet to be able to access the promised heated garage. Also, the exercise room is used for nothing but storage. New Crest Resident noted the main manager is difficult to work with and not a people -person. She doesn't answer questions asked by tenants. New Crest Resident explained she needs a help bar near the toilet and in the shower. Her disability advocate did the paperwork with the main manager in July 2023. The manager claimed this never happened. New Crest Resident and her advocate's supervisor met the manager in person. The manager finally acknowledged that she made a mistake, but there are still no help bars installed. New Crest Resident added there is a security guard that is there only to protect the staff from tenants. The main level has random people in it at all hours, which is unsafe. She also shared experiences with a previous apartment in Minneapolis. 9/19/23 -4- Chair Enger thanked the commenters for sharing their experiences with the Commission. NEW NEIGHBOR BAGS Mr. Anderson stated some of the new neighbor bags are ready. He offered for the Commissioners to grab the bags divided by neighborhoods to distribute on their own. Also, some badges are ready. Chair Enger suggested wearing Brooklyn Center shirts to have more success with delivering bags. Mr. Anderson stated he would work with Communications Staff to see if they have available t- shirts. FOLLOW UP OCTOBER 17, 2023 — TYPE IV REPEAT RENTALS, TENANT PROTECTION_FOLLOW UP Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson explained the meeting will go into more depth on Type IV repeat licenses, and that will be combined with other license categories for the Council to consider. Also, there will be an opportunity to discuss the commentary fiom the present meeting. Mr. Anderson added the Opportunity Site needs some discussion. The Council has developed an infrastructure guide for the redevelopment, and there is a Master Plan for the site. The planning could be reviewed by the Housing Commission. Alternatively, there could be discussion about another topic of interest for the Commission. For example, there could be a presentation on the new tenant protection legislation beginning in 2024. Chair Enger stated she would like a presentation on new tenant protection legislation beginning in 2024. Mr. Anderson stated HOME Line has good resources on the topic, and they could invite Mr. Spaid to present at that time. There are some strong additions like a required eviction timeline. However, there is nothing about a just cause non -renewal. Mr. Anderson added previous Commissions have considered repercussions for landlords that provide false maintenance charges or deny renters based on their income. NOVEMBER 21, 2023 — THANKSGIVING BREAK? MEET WEEK BEFORE OR AFTER Mr. Anderson stated the date of the meeting also needs to be discussed because of its proximity to Thanksgiving. Chair Enger stated she was available on November 21, 2023 for a meeting. There was a consensus by the Commission to keep the meeting on November 21, 2023. Chair Enger asked what management company handles The Crest Apartments. Mr. Anderson stated Aeon manages The Crest, and they tend to focus on low-income housing. It's a nonprofit, mission -based organization. Staff has worked with the Fire Department regarding the broken elevator. The elevator cable broke sooner than the organization had budgeted for. Since they are a non-profit organization, they have been raising funds to replace the cable. Mr. Anderson added the nonprofit grew immensely in a short amount of time. The goal was to prevent developers from turning the buildings into market -value units and to preserve affordable housing. They have good intentions, but they grew too quickly. 9/19/23 -5- ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Chair Enger and seconded by Commissioner Best Defoe to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 9:02 p.m. 9/19/23 -6-