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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 04-17 HCM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION APRIL 17, 2007 COUNCIL COMMISSION ROOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Thorbus at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Judy Thorbus, Commissioners Michael Johnson, Kara Kuykendall, Steve Landis, Kris Lawrence-Anderson and Joshua Xiong. Also present were Council Liaison Dan Ryan, Interim Assistant to the City Manager, Gary Eitel and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Yolanda Lee was absent from the meeting. APPROVAL OFAGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Kuykendall and seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MARCH 20, 2007 There was a motion by Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson and seconded by Commissioner Xiong to approve the minutes of the March 20, 2007 Housing Commission meeting. The motion passed. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Chairperson Thorbus stated she had nothing to report. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Councilmember Ryan reviewed his April 17, 2007 memorandum to the Housing Commission. The memorandum included information relative to Councilmember Ryan's expression to the Council at their March 26, 2007 work session that the Housing Commission has expressed a strong interest in looking at Time of Sale, issues of code enforcement and extending the standards for rental properties to smaller rental units. Councilmember Ryan's memo pointed out that he was informed at the March 26`�' meeting that these issues had been previously assigned to city staff for review and recommendation to the Council. He noted the Council expressed a strong interest in engaging the Housing Commission in the role of a citizen review board for recommendations relative to the Time of Sale ordinance by providing input from residents on the issue of T'ime of Sale. Commissioner Kuykendall raised the issue of whether the Time of Sale issue was brought up after we took it up or before. 4-17-07 -1- Commissioner Landis stated he supported the direction of moving to a Time of Sale Ordinance noting that Brooklyn Center is one of the few Metro cities without Time of Sale. Further, he stated he believes the conversion of single family homes to rental is increasing here and elsewhere and that we need to address maintenance issues on the inside of homes as well as the outside. STAFF REPORT ON TIME OF SALE The Community Development Specialist informed Housing Commission Members the City Manager had intended to be here this evening but a conflict arose and he could not attend this evening's meeting. He noted the City Council had developed a number of strategies and goals for the City and that goal No. 7 was to improve the quality of the City's existing housing stock and included Time of Sale as one of the strategies to consider. The Community Development Specialist explained that, with regard to the Council's consideration of Time of Sale, the Housing Commission's proposed role would be to provide feedback on alternative forms of Time of Sale, to determine the best means to implement a Time of Sale ordinance and to seek and receive feedback from residents before the issue comes to the City Council through the use of public hearings or focus groups. He noted the staff would provide data to the Housing Commission relative to Time of Sale options. Mr. Gary Eitel introduced himself to Commission Members, noting he has been a City Administrator in Rogers, Minnesota and has worked as a Planner in the cities of Minnetonka and Corcoran. He explained he is working as a temporary part time employee for the City of Brooklyn Center on special projects. Mr. Eitel explained he has been researching Time of Sale for the City Manager and briefly reviewed a summary of Time of Sale housing inspection ordinances in existence in the Metropolitan area. He also addressed the Housing Commission and City Council's previous consideration of Time of Sale and noted that the last Time of sale Ordinance considered by the City consisted of using outside contractors for inspection services with the city role to be minimized. He pointed out one of the important issues he discovered in researching Time of Sale is the various levels of municipal staff involvement in Time of Sale programs throughout the Metropolitan area. Mr. Eitel continued to review his research with the Commission Members pointing out the following items: In 1995, the Housing Commission was split on a Time of Sale versus Truth in Housing ordinance. In 1998, the Housing Commission considered Time of Sale and recommended an ordinance to the City Council which was subsequently rejected by the Council when no action was taken. Mr. Eitel reviewed the range of ordinances including a voluntary Truth in Housing ordinance by seller, Truth in Housing evaluation done by outside contactors, which in some cases does not offer a consistency in enforcement and the St. Louis Park model which uses city staff for inspection. A Truth in Housing Ordinance used by the City of Minneapolis and Time of Sale Ordinance in Bloomington, involve the city only when hazardous items are addressed. He explained the definition of hazardous items and conditions is not always objective. The City of St. Louis Park uses a property maintenance code model which addresses the 4-17-07 _2_ whole site and not just the interior of the house in its Time of Sale program. He emphasized the need to address what the City is trying to do in terms of implementing an ordinance, such as upgrading certain of out of date code items or looking at the entire maintenance of a property. An issue which needs to be addressed is which code to use and Mr. Eitel pointed out the use of the International Property Maintenance Code in many Metropolitan cities. He stated this would need a technical review by the city's Building Official prior to consideration of the international code by the City of Brooklyn Center. Another issue he addressed was existing housing conditions, pointing out that there should be some base data to determine the current state of housing in the city. He added that this does not have to be a complex research issue and noted that existing assessing records, aerial photos, and other types of information available already could be used. He suggested looking at whether Time of Sale was the most effective means to address the improvement of housing stock. He added that it may be just as important to look at housing that is not affected by a Time of Sale ordinance. He noted that there are approximately 1,000 homes a year that are sold in�St. Louis Park which generates over $180,000 annually to fund their Time of Sale program. He explained a Time of Sale program could be funded in part by general fund monies but this may be a problem since there are other priorities for general fund dollars. Declining market values may be positively affected if improvements are made to homes and if home sellers can sell their homes for more. The actual and perceived value of homes in the city could be improved. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she appreciated the staffs information on Time of Sale but that she believes the Commission has already heard most of the information previously. She inquired as to the Housing Commission's role in Time of Sale and stated it seems as though the Housing Commission is not needed and that Time of Sale has already been decided. She added that she thinks the Housing Commission has been by- passed in the process and she had thought the Commission was going to have a role in extending ordinance 12-913 and determining what the priority should be with regard to the areas discussed by the Housing Commission. Councilmember Ryan stated that at the March 26, 2007, Council work session, he communicated the Housing Commission's interest in looking at Point of Sale, code enforcement issues along with extending the 12-913 ordinances to smaller rental properties. He added that he apologizes if the Housing Commission believes there has been any misinformation from him on these areas. Commissioner Landis stated that he has personally spent a lot of time in reviewing the City neighborhoods and with regard to Time of Sale, he believes the Housing Commission has spent a lot of time for nothing and thought we were going to have a role in this issue. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson questioned whether, with regard to single family rental property, was there some direction for the Commission and stressed the need for specific direction from the Council. Commissi oner Landis stated he supports extending ordinance 12-913 to smaller rental units and that the lowest priority on his list was Time of Sale. 4-17-07 Chair Thorbus sug ested that the Housin g g Commission table its discussion on these issues until next month and suggested inviting the City Manager and Mayor to next month' s Housing Commission meeting to discuss the direction for the Housing Commission. Commissioner Landis stated that in his opinion, a lot of the City's housing looks tired and many of the city's neighborhoods look tired. He added that, as the Housing Commission we are here to provide assistance not to take over staff functions. He added that Commissioners are also here to provide information on their neighborhoods. Commissioner Landis added that he believes it would be valuable to meet with the City Manager and Mayor and pointed out that he believes the City Manager's organizational changes are positive. Discussion continued regarding next month's Housing Commission rrieeting. There was a consensus of Commission members to support meeting with the Mayor and City Manager at the May Housing Commission meeting. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business addressed by the Commission. ADJO URNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Landis and seconded by Commissioner Kuykendall to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:50 p.m. U��-�t,� h 'rmani 4-17-07 -4-