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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 09-20 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 SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 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 Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Jean Schuster and Mark Yelich. Also present were Council Liaison Mary D�d Co �mmi s one�Stan Le n were ent and Tom Bublitz. Commissioner David Johnson excused. APPROVAL OFAGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Schuster to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MAY 17, 2005 There was a motion by Commissioner Schuster and seconded by Commissioner Lawrence Anderson to approve the minutes of the May 17, 2005 Housing Commission meeting. The motion passed. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Chairperson Thorbus reported she has been attending the Opportunity Site Task Force meetings and noted that the Task Force will also be considering redevelopment plans for the old Northbrook Shopping Center in addition to the Opportunity Site. She explained the Task Force recommendations to the City Council scheduled for September 12�' has been postponed and additional work will be done on the Opportunity Site project by the Task Force. Chairperson Thorbus then reported on the status of the proposed ordinance relating to rental dwellings and non-conforming uses, and pointed out the City Council has not taken action on the ordinance and the City Attorney is in the process of reviewing issues relative to the proposed ordinance. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Councilmember O'Connor reported that the Task Force final recommendations on the Opportunity Site will be made in January or later and noted there will be an additional public meeting and that the shopping center at 57 and Logan Avenues North has been added to the Task Force's work and that a business survey will be conducted of businesses in the Opportunity Site area. -1- Councilmember O'Connor next reported on the clean up of the old Hmong America Shopping Center site and discussed asbestos removal and other contaminarion found on the site. Councilmember O' Connor reported on the proposed senior housing site being discussed for properiy on the south side of 57�' Avenue North, just across from the old shopping center site. She noted this proj ect this proj ect is no longer in process and that Hennepin County has elected not to participate in the project. Councilmember O'Connor then reported on the status of several projects in the city including the hotel and water park project, a new office to be built next to the Olive Garden on a vacant lot, the fiber optics installation project being done by the city and the use of a portion of the police department building by LOGIS. Councilmember O'Connor also explained the Council approved the Planning Commission's review of issues related to parking of cazs in front yards and drive ways and the possible limiting of the number of parked cars. Commission members discussed the Housing Commission's past review of issues related to the parking of vehicles and expressed some concern that the Council did not involve the Housing Commission in the review of parking on residential property. UPDATE ON OPPORTUNITY SITE The Community Development Specialist noted that Chairperson Thorbus and Councilmember O' Connor had provided a great deal of the current status of the Opportunity Site proj ect. He pointed out that one of the issues to be discussed by the Task Force will be whether to use a master developer or individual developers and that the direction appears to be favoring a master developer for the Opportunity Site. He also noted that an analysis of the fiscal impacts of development of the Opportunity Site is also being prepared by the City's fiscal consultant. Commissioner Yelich commented on the design guidelines being developed for the Opportunity Site and suggested design guidelines be extended to all new developments in the city, particularly along Brooklyn Boulevard where the city is trying to encourage commercial development. He cited an example where design guidelines could be helpful to a CVS type project. He explained that he believed implementation of design guidelines would improve city wide redevelopment. DISCUSSION: AGENDA FOR 2005-2006 Chairperson Thorbus suggested that the Commission invite Lieutenant Benner to an upcoming meeting to revisit the ca11s for service ordinance and to report on the status of calls for service in apartments in the city. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson suggested that we compare information on calls for service before the ordinance and after the ordinance was adopted. Commission members inquired as to the status of the Brooklyn Park ordinance and where they were at in terms of calls for service numbers and the status of the lawsuit in Brooklyn Park. The Community Development Specialist is to follow up on these issues. -2- Commission members also requested the Community Development Specialist to provide information on the summer code enforcement sweep along with inviting Lieutenant Benner to meet with the Housing Commission. Chairperson Thorbus addressed an issue from the meeting held with Comxnission Chairs and the City Council regarding the communication of ordinances to residents including non-English speaking residents. Commissioner Yelich suggested that website information on city ordinances could be displayed in different languages or at least some maj or information displayed in various languages on the city's website. Chairperson Thorbus requested Commission Members to indicate any additional proj ects they would like to have the Housing Commission address. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she would like to do a calls for service follow-up and expressed a concern as to why the Planning Coxnmission is addressing the issue of vehicle parking when the Housing Commission had already worked extensively on that issue. She also addressed the issue of Housing Commission membership and expressed a concern about the future of the Housing Commission pointing out that if we have a future role she would like specific direction from the City Council. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson addressed the issue of the inspection of single family homes by the city's Assessing Depariment and discussed the notices assessors put on homes to notify homeowners of the need for assessors to gain access to homes. Commissioner Yelich discussed a newspaper article he had recently read regarding a survey taken of developers which addressed perceived impediments to development in metro area cities such as the number and type of fees and the relative difficulty of processing permits and planning applications. Commissioner Yelich also suggested that what should be addressed is to encourage homeowners to invest in their property including a discussion of whether or not the permit process is ,discouraging improvements from being done the correct way. He suggested that the city could put articles in the city's newsletter informing people of the inspections process and the need for formal approval and inspections for home improvement projects. He also discussed preparing brochures for home maintenance, particularly new home owners. Chairperson Thorbus suggested that homeowner education could be a project for community education. Chairperson Thorbus inquired if there were any other suggestions by Housing Commission members. There were no other comments or suggestions and Chairperson Thorbus entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. There was no other business addressed by the Commission. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Schuster to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:15 p.m. -3- _.�.��t.� c -4-