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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005 11-15 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 NOVEMBER 15, 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, David Johnson, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Jean Schuster and Mark Yelich. Also present were Council Liaison Mary O'Connor, Chief of Police Scott Bechthold and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Leino was absent and excused from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OCTOBER 18, 2005 Commissioner Yelich noted a correction on Page 1 of the October 18, 2005 minutes and pointed out that the words low and high in the last paragraph on Page 1 should be in the opposite order as they appear in the minutes as presented. There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Yelich to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2005 Housing Commission meeting as amended. The motion passed. PRESENTATIONBYPOLICE CHIEFBECHTHOLD ONCODEENFORCEMENTACTIVITY AND ORDINANCE 12-913 (PROVISIONAL LICENSE) Chief Bechthold pointed out to Commission members that his presentation was the same one presented to the City Council at their last meeting. By way of introduction, Chief Bechthold stated he has been with the City of Brooklyn Center for four years and prior to that, 23 years with the Anoka County Sheriffl s Departrnent as the second in command. He explained his philosophy could be described as "preventative policing" which takes a program such as the COPS program and combines it with problem oriented policing. Examples of this type of approach are community outreach where police work with neighborhoods to support police efforts. He pointed out in this type of policing, strong neighborhoods are needed to support this type of police effort. With regard to the police department, he pointed out that each week the police department conducts meetings where strategies, statistics, patterns and trends in the city are discussed. He noted Part 1 crimes in the City of Brooklyn Center have been reduced 10 percent in the last 18 months. Chief Bechthold indicated that the summer sweep program is a priority for code enforcement but that 11-15-OS -1- code enforcement is done year round. The Chief reviewed the handout presented to Housing Commission members summarizing the City Council presentation on code enforcement. He explained that the police department has the city divided east and west with liaison officers representing each division. The Chief explained the first response to a code enforcement problem is a letter where the focus is on voluntary compliance and resolution of the problem. Chief Bechthold next reviewed the concerns and issues of the 2005 sweep including chronic property offenders amounting to approximately 12 to 15 properties, single family rentals where there is an increase in single family rental property, including unlicensed single family homes, and parking issues where most parking violations axe related to people parking in their front yard areas when driveways are full. Chief Bechthold pointed out the three primary departmental issues which are crime and/or the fear of crime, quality of life issues and community outreach. Councilmember O'Connor arrived at 7:40 p.m. Chief Bechthold next reviewed the city's rental licensing ordinances and commented that Section 12- 913 of the City Code is a good tool to mitigate problems before they get to the provisional license stage. He pointed out that at the .35 Calls for Service level a letter is sent to the apartment complex to inform them of the ordinance and the .65 Calls for Service level which triggers the provisional lic�ense. He noted that at .50 Calls for Service a Neighborh4od Liaison Officer and Sector Sergeant along with the District Lieutenant will meet with the owner�and/or manager to work out a voluntary mitigation plan. If the Calls for Service then move to .65 or over, a provisional license process is started. The Chief pointed out that so far under the ordinance only two complexes have gotten to the provisional license stage. Chief Bechthold next pointed out the Hennepin County joint multi cultural project noting that Hennepin County provided grants to allow Hennepin County Probation Officers to work with the City of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park to address issues relative to various cultures present in Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park. For example, it allows Police Officers to resolve issues such as code items where language may be a barrier. He explained the City is also hiring cadets who will work in CSO positions and will be sent to school for a two year program to eventually become eligible for a position as a Police Officer. Chairperson Thorbus asked the Chief to expand on the translation portion of the program. Chief Becthold commented that the City does have community translators, but if the translator is not court certified, then the information cannot be used in a criminal case. Chairperson Thorbus then inquired as to how many letters relative to code enforcement are the result of language problems. The Chief responded noting that he believed it to be a small number and that these types of problems are becoming less and less as time goes on. Commissioner Johnson inquired as to the current priority items in the city. The Chief pointed out that the city's rental properties, problems with a transient population and crime in commercial 11-15-OS -2- districts are the main issues. He noted that the city is divided into five sectors which divides the city into commercial, residential, etc. He pointed out that one specific crime that continues to be a priority is auto theft. He noted the city has received a grant from the state to hire an officer specifically for addressing auto theft in the city. The Chief pointed out that burglary is typically not a big problem and that it is situational with crimes of opportunity being presented when garage doors are left open, etc. Commissioner Thorbus asked whether the city's crime numbers are skewed because of the crime numbers generated by Brookdale. The Chief pointed out that Brookdale does have an influence particularly with regard to Part 1 crimes including theft and auto theft. Commi�sioner Johnson pointed out that he understands that Brooklyn Center is in a No. 1 position with regard to criminal activity. The Chief pointed out again that Brookdale influences the city's crime statistics and that essentially the city trades off with Minneapolis for overall crime statistics. He pointed out that the city's neighborhoods are very sound and safe and pointed out for example, Section 1, the southeast corner of the city experiences very little crime. He added that criminal activity goes up in the commercial and multi family areas. Commissioner Yelich inquired as to how the Brookdale area compares with an area such as Rosedale. The Chief pointed out that there was a study done a few years ago which showed that Brookdale does not experience the highest criminal activity relative to the area malls and that the Mall of Arnerica and Southdale experienced higher criminal activity than Brookdale in that particular study. The Chief pointed out that one model of the likelihood of criminal activity is a triangle with the sides of the triangle consisting of a victim, an offender and traffic. He explained that crimes of opportunity happen when the three elements on the triangle are present. He pointed out that Brooklyn Center is on the end of a transitional zone relative to north Minneapolis and this is why the Brookdale area is perceived as a high crime area. He pointed out the Brookdale bus �ub is the second largest hub in the metropolitan area. The Chief further explained that victims or potential victims of crimes should attempt to harden the target such as not exposing valuables in cars where they may be visible to criminals. Commissioner Yelich commented that in some respects this appears to put the onus on the victim of a crime and that this is really a quality of life issue. He inquired whether the Chief was satisfied with Ordinance 12-913 with regard to rental properties. The Chief noted that the department will likely do an evaluation of the effectiveness of 12-913 shortly since we have now reached a full two years of operation under 12-913. Commissioner Yelich inquired as to the number of unlicensed rental units found with regard to the enforcement of 12-913. The Chief replied that he had no data relative to this issue. The Commission Members next discussed gang activity in the city and the Chief commented that gang activity is found everywhere and will likely continue. Chief Bechthold emphasized that gang activitiy is found in all areas of the metropolitan area. 11-15-OS -3- Chairperson Thorbus commented on an AARP survey on livable cities and pointed out that one of the recommendations of the study is a walking tour of cities with residents and representatives of the police deparhnent. Chairperson Thorbus inquired as to when persons in a neighborhood, who may be involved in a Neighborhood Watch Program, should use 911 to make calls to the police department. Chief Bechthold replied that any calls which may involve a police response, should be made to 91 l. Chairperson Thorbus and Commission members thanked Chief Bechthold for meeting with the Commission this evening. Chief Bechthold stated that he appreciated the opportunity to meet with the Commission and would be happy to meet with Commission Members in the future CHAIRPERSONS REPORT �I, Chairperson Thorbus noted that the Opportunity Site Task Force met on November 3 and that a meeting with the southeast neighborhood to review the Northbrook redevelopment area will be held in December. She requested staff to send notice of this meeting to Commission members. COUNCIL LIAISONREPORT Councilmember O'Connor reported on activities from the most recent Council meeting including council consideration of the Luther Car Dealership PUD, a deer hunt at Palmer Lake and Kylawn Parks with bow and arrows, establishing the 2006 assessment amount of $3,978 for street improvement project areas, liquor license renewal, adopt a garden guidelines, Community Center membership rates and a discussion of smoke detector requirements. OTHER B USINESS Commission members discussed the future direction of the Commission and discussed whether or not to make a request in writing to the City Council or request a special meeting with the City Council relative to this issue. There was a general consensus of Commission members to request a special joint City CounciUHousing Commission meeting to discuss the future of the Housing Commission Councilmember Thorbus addressed the issue of the Commission's recommendations relative to the rental license ordinance amendment presented for Commission consideration. She noted that the Commission had made a recommendation with regard to the ordinance to the City Council. There was a general consensus of Commission Members that the Commission's business with regard to this issue was concluded. There was no other business addressed by the Commission. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Schuster and seconded by Commissioner Lawrence- Anderson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:55 p.m. ���,,C�.� �L- Ch an 1,1-15-OS -4-