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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 06-17 HCM NIINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMNIISSION OF TI� C1TY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN TI-iE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND STATE OF NIINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JUNE 17, 2008 COUNCIL COMNIISSION ROOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Vice Chair Lawrence- Anderson at 7:15 p.m. ROLL CALL Vice Chair Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Commissioners Michael Johnson, Judy Thorbus and Joshua Xiong. Chairperson Steve Landis was absent from the meeting. Also present were Council Liaison Mary O'Connor, City Manager Curt Boganey, Assistant to the City Manager Vickie Schleuening and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Thorbus to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. i APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 20, 2008 Approval of the May 20�' minutes were deferred to the July meeting. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT In the absence of the Chair, the report was deferred to the July meeting. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Councilmember O'Connor reported on the May 27`� City Council meeting and noted the adoption of a North Suburban Emergency Operation Plan, proposal for a wrought iron fence to be built azound Centerpointe Apartments with the cost being assessed to Centeipointe and an ordinance regarding dangerous facsimile weapons which had a first reading and was approved although Councilmember O'Connor voted against the ordinance because she was unable to get an answer regarding the ability of persons to cairy mace or pepper spray for self protection. Councilmember O'Connor next reported on the June 2 Special Audit and Financial Commission meeting and noted that no instances of non-compliance existed and no �ndings were made by the auditor in the 2007 annual financial report. She also briefly reviewed a summary of the 20081egislative session including the fact that Brooklyn Center will receive more Local Government Aid but will also have a cap of 3.9 percent on the tax levy. Councilmember O'Connor next reported on the June 9�' Council meeting noting that one of the items included planning for the Aldrich area street improvement project to occur in 2009. She Page 1 6-17-08 also noted that the 2030 Comprehensive Plan was discussed and that there will be an update meeting on June 30`� at 7 p.m. at which time the City Council and Commissions will meet to address planning issues related to the Comprehensive Plan update. DISCUSSION OF RENTAL HOUSING IMPROVEMENT STRATEGY Vice Chair Lawrence-Anderson inquired as to where the City Council is with the Rental Strategy recommendations. The Assistant to the City Manager explained the city is looking to get feedback from the Housing Commission and Multi-Housing Association and forward this to the City Council when they review the next draft. She added the goal is to get the draft to the City Council by early August. Ms. Schleuening noted the Multi-Housing Association (MHA) is a non-profit professional organization representing rental owners. MHA's activities include educational programs and I, lobbying on behalf of rental owners. �I Commissioner Thorbus noted that the City of Hopkins has a point system for enforcing their code and uses the International Property Maintenance code. The Assistant to the City Manager explained that Hopkins does use a point system to address substandard properties, fines and police issues. She noted there are pros and cons with a rating system and that the Hopkins ordinance was passed in January so there is a limited track record on performance but she stated she would keep in touch with the results of the Hopkins program. Commissioner Johnson commented that the point system seems to make sense and inquired whether the city looked at this as an option. The Assistant to the City Manager explained that staff looked at a number of models including National models to address rental strategies and also has reviewed the International Property Maintenance code. She added that staff reviewed programs in over 20 cities for models including St. Louis Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis. The City Manager commented that one of the fundamental objectives of a neighborhood plan is to improve resident engagement by defining issues at a neighborhood level. Commissioner Thorbus inquired what CPTED represented. The Assistant to the City Manager pointed out that CPTED stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and is intended to reduce criminal activity through physical design such as lighting placed in proper locations, signage and other physical additions to property. Commissioner Thorbus commented that group homes are appearing more and more i� suburban areas and requested staff to comment on this. The City Manager explained that in the last legislative session, a bill was proposed that would allow cities to limit the location of group homes in proximity to one another but the bill did not Page 2 6-17-08 pass. He explained that owners of group homes tend to locate where it is most economically feasible for them. Discussion continued on the rental strategy recommendations. Commissioners discussed the issue of a livability quotient mentioned in the recommendations and discussed whether or not this would have a negative connotation. Other issues discussed included streetscaping, the focus on smaller neighborhood areas and multi-family vs. single family issues in terms of calls for service. 'I Also discussed was the issue of whether calls for service will be addressed in the final rental I strategies recommendations and also Representative Hillstrom's legislation which addresses calls I for service in the 4d program at the State level. Also addressed was the Crime Free Multi Housing program and whether the City would want to formally have this as a requirement. Vice Chair Lawrence-Anderson inquired as to what is planned to seek out unlicensed rental property. The Assistant to the City Manager pointed out that rental licensing, code enforcement, inspections and assessing are coordinating information relative to tracking non-homestead properties. She explained a letter is sent to inquire about the status of some properties where the owners are not choosing to homestead. She pointed out that the benefits of homesteading are not as financially beneficial as they use to be so that people are not obtaining homesteads in the same numbers as years before. She explained code enforcement is also looking at unlicensed properties and will pursue court action where feasible. She added that the city is getting better cooperation from judges and that persons can be fined on a per diem basis from the date the property is rented without a license. The City Manager also noted that the city is�putting rental information in the City Watch newsletter and posting rental licenses on the website. Commissioner Xiong inquired as to whether the city required visible posting of rental licenses such as posting them in a window. Commission members discussed this issue and there were mixed feelings about posting rental licenses visibly since one of the goals appears to be too have rental property blend in with owner occupied property. Commission members next discussed the recommendation from the standazds and operations team to remove ordinance provision 12-913 in favor of additional enhancements to 12-911. Discussion ensued regarding how enforcement of behavior at rental properties would be addressed, including whether it would be by complex or individual unit. The Assistant to the City Manager explained that the focus will be primarily on the unit but that additional legal work would need to be done to address unit specific enforcement vs. the overall apartment complex. The City Manager explained the current ordinance provides that a unit is not allowed to be rented when the owner's license is revoked or denied. He pointed out that one option in a revised ordinance could be a situation where units could be removed from renting without revocation or license denial. The City Manager next discussed a workshop he had attended which was conducted by the Page 3 6-17-08 League of Minnesota Cities and noted that the St. Louis Park Inspections Manager stated that their goal was to achieve results without necessarily involving more code enforcement activity. He explained the St. Louis Park representative stated that the goal is to get to compliance and not necessarily increase code enforcement. The goal is to create an environment where compliance is viewed as the best option for all parties. OTHER B USINESS There was no other business addressed by the Commission. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Thorbus to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:30 p.m. v Chairman Page 4 6-17-08 I I I