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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998 08-18 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 AUGUST 18, 1998 CONFERENCE ROOM B BROOKLYN CENTER CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Robert Torres at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Robert Torres, Commissioners Lloyd Deuel, Ernie Erickson, Michael VonDeLinde, and Mark Yelich. Also present were Council Liaison Bob Peppe and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Donald Arm was absent and excused from the meeting. Also absent from the meeting were Commissioners James Lano and Christopher Russell. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Erickson to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES July 21, 1998 The Community Development Specialist noted he had not yet prepared the July Housing Commission minutes. There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Erickson to defer approval of the July Housing Commission minutes until the next meeting. The motion passed. TIME OF SALE ORDINANCE Commissioner Erickson inquired as to the various concerns the Council had with regard to the proposed Time of Sale Ordinance. Council Liaison Bob Peppe responded by. explaining that one of the Council's concerns addresses an issue where someone may be found in violation of the Time of Sale Ordinance and may not be able to afford the repairs. He explained further that even if the house does not sell the ordinance would require that the owners be held liable under the current ordinance as proposed. Commissioner Yelich inquired whether or not a situation such as a faulty furnace that is not repaired, but is noted in the inspection report, would entail some liability for the City if there is a death or injury related to the furnace. Council Liaison Peppe indicated that he believe there 8 -18 -98 -1- could be some liability in a situation like this. The Community Development specialist noted that one of the issues examined early on in the discussion of the Time of Sale Ordinance was the public duty doctrine and he explained that there are various criteria that must be met under this doctrine to assure that cities are not held liable under ordinances of this nature. Council Liaison Peppe questioned how the City can tie repairs of the house into the ordinance even if the house is not sold. Commissioner Erickson pointed out that the ordinance would reflect the codes in effect when the house was built with the exception of a few items that are new such as smoke detectors. He added that he does not think the ordinance should waive corrections of items in cases where hazardous items are found as per the appropriate code at the time the home was built. He added that he thinks elderly individuals are likely to have equity in their homes and there may be some creative ways to accomplish corrections from a financial standpoint. He added that he does not think life safety issues can be ignored. Council Liaison Peppe commented that he believes some people will still not be able to afford to fix various items if the house goes off the market. He cited a possible scenario where an elderly person may be taken to court over the correction of items they are unable to correct because they cannot afford it. Commissioner Erickson stated he does not think the scenario is a valid one and stated that he believes there is often equity in a home that has been owned for a significant period of tune. He added that there may be charitable or volunteer organizations available to help out in addition to other community resources. Council Liaison Peppe suggested that the ordinance should be a situation where a private evaluator does an inspection, repairs are made only if the house sells otherwise the City is not involved. He also expressed a concern that the 90 day follow up period in the ordinance will be missed.. Commissioner Yelich brought up a scenario where hazardous items are noted in a report, the City is made aware of the hazardous items and if nothing is done and a death or injury results is there not potential liability for the City? Commissioner Erickson noted that there may also a problem with the evaluators performing an inspection where they perform an inspection knowing that their requirement for repair of a hazardous item will be forgiven. Council Liaison Peppe added that an example where there is one permit item to be corrected and three non permit items how does the City assure that there is no liability from the non permit items. 8 -18 -98 -2- Commissioner Erickson requested the Community Development Specialist to get an opinion from an evaluator on the liability issues raised. Commission members continued to discuss the liability issues with regard to the Time of Sale Ordinance. Council Liaison Peppe noted that if the ordinance is tied to the closing of the house then it may become more of a realtor responsibility. In a situation such as this the realtor's license is at risk. He noted that the City would not necessarily know about the inspection report if there are not permits required. He suggested that there should be no liability for the City in this situation. Council Liaison Peppe expressed a concern that the ordinance as proposed is creating a situation where government is imposing itself on residents and in effect is a situation of too much government. Various commission members responded to Council Liaison comments and expressed their opinion that the ordinance is necessary and that it would be a positive step for the housing stock in the City. Council Liaison Peppe left the meeting at 8:10 p.m. The Housing Commission continued its discussion of the council directive as contained in Council minutes with regard to the Time of Sale Ordinance. Commissioner Erickson stated that the City Council is requesting an answer by September. He noted that he would attempt to contact the four remaining Council members with regard to clarifying their positions on the ordinance. There was a general consensus of commission members to meet in September and to conclude its consideration of the Time of Sale ordinance with regard to the Council directives. ITINERARY FOR BUS TOUR The Commission briefly discussed the fall bus tour and concluded that because of the discussion and council directive regarding Time of Sale they would postpone the bus tour until early spring. There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to table the Housing Commission's bus tour until early spring 1999. The motion passed. OTHER BUSINESS Commissioner Yelich inquired why the City was rezoning an area in the 53rd Avenue area from R4 to R2. The Community Development Specialist noted that the R4 zoning is in the Bellvue Lane subdivision where the new single family homes are being built and that it consisted of a two lot R4 zone where the apartments occupying the R4 zone were demolished as part of the 53rd 8 -18 -98 -3- Avenue Development and Linkage project. He noted the surrounding area is R2 and the rezoning is to bring the property into compliance with the surrounding zoning. Commissioner Deuel requested that the issue of assisted living and health issues with regard to housing be addressed at some future Housing Commission meeting. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Erickson and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Chairperson 8 -18 -98 -4-