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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 01-15 HCM Correction 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 JANUARY 15, 2002 CONFERENCE ROOM A CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Erickson at 7:04 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Ernie Erickson, Commissioners Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Dennis Snook, Lloyd Deuel, Kathleen Carmody, Michael VonDeLinde, Mark Yelich and Judy Thorbus. Also present was Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Shawn Taylor was absent and excused from the meeting. The Community Development Specialist noted that Commissioner Taylor had called to explain his work hours had changed and that he was now required to work evening hours. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Yelich to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES December l8, 2001 There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Snook to approve December 18, 2001 Housing Commission minutes as submitted. The motion passed. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Chairperson Erickson welcomed Commissioner Judy Thorbus to the Commission and requested her to tell the Commission a little bit about her background. Commissioner Thorbus indicated that she is a long time resident of Brooklyn Center and has three children, one still living at home. She noted she works at the Brooklyn Park Post Office. Chairperson Erickson noted that June Scofield had recently passed away and explained Ms. Scofield had been active in the City including serving as the long time director of the City's Children's Choir and as a member of the Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee. He emphasized that Ms. Scofield was very active in the community and it was appropriate that the Housing Commission should recognize her passing. Chairperson Erickson noted that the Council resolution governing the Housing Commission 1-15-02 -1- requires election of the Chairperson at the first meeting of each new year. He noted that he has chosen not to continue as Chair and therefore would not be a candidate for Chairperson. He added that he is planning to stay active on the Commission and commended Housing Commission members for all their hard work in the past during his tenure as Chair. Chairperson Erickson opened the nominations for chairperson of the Housing Commission. Commissioner Deuel commented that it has been a tradition that the Vice Chair has moved up to the Chair position but he indicated he would not accept the nomination for Chair and would like to nominate Mark Yelich as Chair of the Housing Commission. Chairperson Erickson inquired whether there were any further nominations and repeated the inquiry a total of three times. Hearing none, the nominations were closed. Chairperson Erickson noted that it would be appropriate to cast a unanimous ballot for the nominee. There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Snook to unanimously elect Commissioner Mark Yelich as Chair of the Housing Commission. The motion passed. Chairperson Yelich thanked Commissioner Erickson for his service as Chair of the Commission noted that chairing a volunteer group is not that easy. Chairperson Yelich then appointed Commissioner Deuel to continue as Vice Chair of the Housing Commission. REVIEW DRAFT RV ORDINANCE The Community Development Specialist stated that, after reviewing the minutes and previous record of the Housing Commissions discussion regarding RV ordinances. He did not believe he had enough information to draft an ordinance at this time and instead prepared a memorandum highlighting the current regulations relative to RV parking in the City and a checklist of questions, statements etc. relative to preparation of a final draft ordinance. He noted he had reviewed the various chapters in the City Code including various sections of Chapter 19 and also Chapter 27-120 which restricts parking on public sidewalks or upon the non roadway area of any public street right of way. Commissioner Thorbus inquired whether anybody has been cited under Chapter 27. The Community Development Specialist commented that this section of Chapter 27 addresses the boulevard and is not typical of most of the traffic ordinances that are enforced by the Police Department since most are enforced and public roadways. He indicated he would try to follow u to see the level of enfarcement on this articular section. P P Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson commented she was at an RV show recently and many of the RV's at the show were larger than 24 feet in length by 10 feet high and noted that 11 x 25 seems to be a mid size standard for RV's. She noted one of the questions in the staff information addressed the size of RV's. 1-15-02 -2- Commissioner Carmody stated she would be interested in seeing how the Chapter 27 provision is enforced. Chairperson Yelich requested Commissioner Erickson to provide a little bit of the history and discussion of the RV parking issue as it was presented by the City Council. Commissioner Erickson noted the City Council had asked the Housing Commission to review the issue of RV parking at the time the Council had considered other Commission interests with regard to code enforcement. He explained the specific example cited by the Council was an RV parking in a situation where it blocked the sight of a neighbor backing out of his driveway which adjoined the neighbors driveway who owned the RV. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated that she doesn't think there are that many RV's in the City but did note there are certainly some that are eyesores which are at the extreme. She noted she believes many older people are now buying RV's in retirement and inquired whether enacting additional ordinance requirements would force them out of the City. Commissioner VonDeLinde commented that there are relatively small lots in Brooklyn Center and that people need space and that the relatively smaller lot sizes result in problems where storage of items such as RV's become problems where they may not be on larger lots. Commissioner Deuel inquired whether residents should be encouraged to park RV's in the back yard or whether this is also a problem. Commissioner Thorbus inquired whether there could be a time restriction on parking Rv's. The Community Development Specialist noted that some cities have attempted to establish criteria for parking vehicles in terms of months of the year when those particular items would be used. This becomes difficult in drawing the line on the months they ean use them and also which vehicles would be classified as winter season vehicles and summer season etc. The Commission continued to discuss the RV parking ordinance and the desire to have a clearer direction from the City Council with regard to the Commission's discussions on this matter. Commissioner Erickson suggested that he could draft a memorandum to the City Council regarding the Commission's concerns, as contained in its discussions on this item, and present it to the City Council for additional clarification. There was a consensus agreement among commission members to request Commissioner Erickson to draft a memorandum to the City Council regarding the RV parking discussion. REVIEW/DISCUSS MAXFIELD RESEARCH INC. SENIOR HOUSING UPDATE 2001 Chairperson Yelich noted that he thought the report provided some good information with regard to various types of senior housing. He posed several questions to commission members including what is the current status of senior housing in the City, where do we want Brooklyn Center to be in terms of mix and quality of housing and once we decide how do we get it into a long term development plan. 1-15-02 -3- Commissioner Erickson noted several senior buildin s he was aware of includin Maranatha g g Assisted Living, Earle Brown Terrace, Alterra which are the red buildings off Summit Avenue which are memory units and assisted living units. Commissioner Carmody also noted that Brookwood and Twin Lake North are both senior buildings The Commission continued its discussion of senior housing and Commissioner Thorbus noted that the report indicated the memory care market appears to be saturated right now. Commissioner Erickson noted there is an oversupply in some areas and in some locations there is a demand. He noted this is one of the problems of senior housing in that in some areas there is an oversupply yet in other parts of the metro area there is a shortage. After continued discussion, the Community Development Specialist suggested that it might be beneficial to being some type of basic report preparation with regard to the questions relative to senior housing including current census data and an inventory of seniar housing. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Thorbus noted that on February 9` there will be a birthday bash for the City which will cost $25 per person and will be held at the Heritage Center. She invited all commission members to attend this event. ADJOURNMENT There was a rnotion by Commissioner Carmody and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:25 p.m. i� r���� Chai�an 1-15-02 -4-