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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 06-18 HCM c I. 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 JUNE 18, 2002 ADMINISTRATION CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Yelich at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Mark Yelich, Commissioners Ernie Erickson, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, Mary Barrus, Lloyd Deuel, Kathleen Carmody, and Judy Thorbus. Also present were Council Liaison Tim Ricker and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Dennis Snook was absent and excused from the meeting. Commissioner Michael VonDeLinde was absent and unexcused from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Carmody to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 21, 2002 There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Barrus to approve the minutes of the May 21, 2002 Housing Commission meeting as submitted. The motion passed. GHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Chairperson Yelich noted the upcoming grand re-opening of the Community Center scheduled for June 30`�'. DISCUSSION OF MUNICIPAL HOUSING/RENTAL ORDINANCES Chairperson Yelich briefly reviewed the ordinances included in the Commission's packets and noted the goal of the Commission is to review the ordinances from other cities and come up with some recommendations for the City CounciL Commissioner Erickson suggested the Commission could look at some of the large issues common to all of the ordinances as a starting point for discussion. Commissioner Barrus discussed the ordinances provisions as they relate to the number of police calls relative to the status of the licenses for rental properties. Chairperson Yelich pointed out that the Brooklyn Park ordinance differentiates between various I size complexes and defines an apartment as a building having 16 units or more. 6-18-02 -1- CORRECTED COPY r The Commission continued its discussion of the various City ordinances relative to rental properties. Cominissioner Erickson suggested that the Commission look at the goals and issues relative to the various ordinances such as safety, security, cleanliness etc. i Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson pointed out the language in the Brooklyn Park "Purpose" paragraph, which references issues relative to apartments that foster blight. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson also stated she liked the statement in New Brighton's ordinance and the statement referencing "freedom from unreasonable fears about safety" in both the Brooklyn Park and New Brighton ordinance. Commissioner Erickson stated that, if the ordinances create penalties for apartment owners, how tough should the City's ordinance really be and do we want to go beyond what Brooklyn Park and New Brighton have established. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson emphasized that it is very important to be consistent with what Brooklyn Park does. Chairperson Yelich pointed out the Brooklyn Park ordinance seems to be aimed at larger complexes and in smaller buildings portions of the Brooklyn Park ordinance would not apply. He added, we need to be careful about who is affected by an ordinance. Commissioner Barrus brought up an example of how duplexes might be affected where one side of the duplex is owner occupied and one side is rental. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated she would like to see an ordinance ad y dress all rental situations in the City. Commissioner Carmody stated she would like to see some numbers on police calls in Brooklyn Center that are comparable to the calls used in the ordinances being reviewed by the Commission. The Community Development Specialist stated he would contact the Police Department regarding what numbers might be available and comparable to the types of calls used in the other municipal ordinances. Chairperson Yelich suggested that perhaps something such as a one year summary of part one crimes for apartment units, deleting dornestic abuse calls, could be one example. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson stated that the Commission could look at some of the other issues relative to the ordinances now without having the numerical data. Commissioner Barrus expressed a concern that the Commission should not get too involved in the regulatory aspect of an owners business and should proceed cautiously with mandating any requirements relative to how individuals manage their business. The Commission continued its discussion of the Brooklyn Park ordinance and Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson inquired how Brooklyn Park came up with the number of .64 calls for level 3 complexes. 6-18-02 -2- CORRECTED COPY Commissioner Thorbus stated that she would like to see what the city of Brooklyn Center now uses as an inspection checklist for rental licenses. Commissioner Carmody brought up the issues of crime free multi-housing and whether or not the city of Brooklyn Center participates in this program. She also stated she wanted to find out if the City still have a program where police officers are matched up with specific apartment complexes. The Community Development Specialist noted he would contact the Police Department and discuss these issues. Commissioner Lawrence-Anderson suggested that the Commission could begin its review of the Brooklyn Park ordinance by reviewing the ordinance and crossing out the sections that they would like deleted. The Commission could then review it section by section and delete or add as needed. She suggested that perhaps the Commission could review the New Brighton ordinance in the same manner. In addition to the .64 number in the Brooklyn Park ordinance she stated she would like to find out why the numbers were established as they were in the Brooklyn Park ardinance. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Erickson reviewed the memorandum he drafted regarding the Housing Commission's discussion of RV ordinances. He explained the purpose is to let the City Council know where the Commission is with regard to its review and to request direction from them accordingly. He added the Housing Commission has not reached a consensus on the RV ordinance and is seeking direction from the City Council. He explained the photographs taken by Chairperson Yelich would be duplicated and accompany the memo. Commissioner Carmody requested that the second to the last paragraph of the memorandum address the fact that the sentirnents expressed in this paragraph do not necessarily reflect the opinion or recommendations of all commission members. Commissioner Deuel addressed an issue he had discussed at the last two Commission meetings regarding his neighborhood. He explained he has recently spoken with the people in his neighborhood regarding the issue in his neighborhood relative to certain neighbor's behavior. He explained he also talked to the Police Department relative to this issue and pointed out that essentially the neighbors feel they have been able to take back their neighborhood. ADTOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Carmody and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:40 p.m. C�irman i 6-18-02 -3- CORRECTED COPY