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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 03-16 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 MARCH 16, 1999 CONFERENCE ROOM B CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m. Chairperson Torres informed the Commission he would be resigning from the Commission and would not be staying for the meeting. Chairperson Torres stated it was time for him to move on from the Commission. Commissioner Erickson stated that on behalf of previous and current commission members he expressed gratitude for the leadership and service Chairperson Torres has shown over the years. He further stated that he and Chairperson Torres had been on the Commission for over ten years and that when he and Chairperson Torres came on the Commission there were some long term members and that now Chairperson Torres was one of the longest serving members on the Commission. He again thanked Chairperson Torres for his dedication to the Housing Commission. Chairperson Torres left the meeting at 7:05 rP g .m. P ROLL CALL Vice Chairperson Ernie Erickson took over the duties of the Chair and asked the staff liaison to record the roll for the meeting. Vice Chairperson Ernie Erickson, Commissioners James Lano, Muhammed Okoya Lawal, Lloyd Deuel, Michael VonDeLinde, Mark Yelich and Donald Arm. Also present was Council Liaison Ed Nelson and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioner Christopher Russell was absent from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Arm and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 19, 1999 There was a motion by Commissioner Arm and seconded by" Commissioner Deuel to approve the minutes of the January 19, 1999 Housing Commission meeting as submitted. The motion passed. 3 -16 -99 -1- ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON FOR 1999 Vice Chairperson Erickson noted that former Chairperson Torres was absent from the January 1999 meeting and as a result the election of Chairperson was deferred to this evenings meeting. Vice Chairperson Erickson opened nominations for Chairperson of the Housing Commission. Commissioner Deuel nominated Vice Chairperson Erickson for Chair of the Commission. At this point in the meeting Vice Chairperson Erickson turned the meeting over to Commissioner James Lano to conduct the remainder of the nominations and election since he was in nomination for Chair of the commission. Commissioner Lano asked for additional nominations for Chair. Asking three times and hearing no nominations Commissioner Lano declared the nominations closed. Commissioner Lano stated it would be appropriate to declare a unanimous ballot for Commissioner Erickson as Chair of the Commission. There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Yelich to declare a unanimous ballot for Ernie Erickson as Chair of the Housing Commission for 1999. The motion passed unanimously and Commissioner Erickson was voted in as Chair of the Housing Commission by unanimous ballot. Chairperson Erickson appointed Commission Deuel as Vice Chairperson of the Commission as the most senior commissioner on the Commission. STAFF REPORT ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES The Community Development Specialist noted that the Community Development Director was scheduled to present an update to the Commission on Community Development Activities but was ill this evening and could not attend the meeting. Chairperson Erickson commented that it has become an tradition for the Community Development Director to give an annual report to the Housing Commission. Chairperson Erickson stated he hoped the Community Development Director could give his report to the Commission at the April Housing Commission meeting. DISCUSSION ON COUNCIL ACTION ON TIME OF SALE ORDINANCE Commissioner Deuel referred commission members to the last full paragraph on page three of the January 19, 1999 minutes, and pointed out that the term "divine intervention" was mentioned by a person in the audience at the Council meeting and Commissioner Deuel stated he believed this was wrong to bring a religious reference into the meeting and it was also wrong when the Council responded in a positive way to this comment. Chairperson Erickson noted that the individual who made this statement was the last person to come to the microphone at the Council meeting where the Time of Sale Ordinance was discussed. 3 -16 -99 -2- Council Liaison Nelson stated that the Council took a no action vote on the ordinance and that he did not think that the comment affected the Council's decision. He stated the Housing Commission needs to come to the Council with a united front and noted that the Housing Commission itself was divided on whether or not to recommend the Time of Sale Ordinance. I Chairperson Erickson noted that the Commission did not work on the Time of Sale Ordinance alone and had two to three joint meetings with the City Council and at these meetings were urged to continue their work on the Time of Sale Ordinance by the City Council. He noted that the Council's encouragement is reflected in the past minutes of the Housing Commission and joint Council meetings. He noted that as late as October of 1998 several council members were ambivalent with regard to the Time of Sale Ordinance and the Housing Commission authorized him to contact the City Council. He explained that four of five council members surveyed at that time favored the Time of Sale Ordinance. He added that at this time he did not know what there would be to change in the ordinance to make it acceptable to the Council. He noted that this ordinance is "time of sale light" compared to ordinances in cities such as Crystal and St. Louis Park. Chairperson Erickson noted that in June of 1998 the City Council authorized the Time of Sale Ordinance for a first reading and at that point the Housing Commission had spent 2 /2 to 3 years in development of the Time of Sale Ordinance. He noted that 60 days later the Council did not approve the ordinance for a second reading. Commissioner Arm stated that the Council kept sending the ordinance back to the Housing Commission and in his assessment the interest on the part of the Council was waning all along. Commissioner Arm stated that he believes if the people of the City of Brooklyn Center did not want a Time of Sale Ordinance then it should not be approved but he added that he does not think people in the community really understand the ordinance but the interest on the Council for approval was continuously waning. Council Liaison Nelson stated that he thinks ordinances of this type should be a team effort and that the Council Liaison should monitor the Council's feelings on ordinances of this nature. Commissioner Lano noted that the City Manager drafted a letter to the City Council regarding his opinion on the Time of Sale Ordinance and he feels the City Council would look at his draft with more weight than the Housing Commission's recommendations. Council Liaison Nelson stated he believes the City Council's decision on the Time of Sale Ordinance could lead to putting it back on the table for consideration. Commissioner Deuel stated the Housing Commission met jointly with the City Council to get direction from them regarding the Time of Sale Ordinance. He noted the Council stressed the fact that the Housing Commission should come up with some type of ordinance with "teeth in 3 -16 -99 -3- it Commissioner Deuel stated the Housing Commission had no idea the City Council was going to reject the Time of Sale Ordinance given their past encouragement. He added that the staff spent a great deal of time on developing the ordinance with the Housing Commission including meetings with the City's Building Inspectors and private evaluators. He also noted that the Association of Realtors spent a great deal of time on the Housing Commission's consideration of the ordinance. Commissioner Yelich stated he believed the Time of Sale Ordinance as proposed to the Council did not provide enough "bang for the buck" and would not be an effective ordinance. Commissioner Lano agreed with Commissioner Yelich and also pointed out that the ordinance was done to "improve the City's housing stock" where there was no objective evidence to indicate that the housing stock would be improved by enactment of the ordinance. He stated he could have supported the ordinance more if it was promoted on a safety basis rather than an improvement of the housing stock in the City. Council Liaison Nelson suggested the Commission focus in on what its overall mission is and that he believes there are many other areas where the Housing Commission could address the issue of improving the City's housing stock. Commission members discussed the Bellvue Lane housing development and Council Liaison Nelson stated that this project may be a model for redevelopment for first ring suburbs. Commissioner Deuel then noted that several communities had been working on a remodeling plan book and he noted that Brooklyn Center was not included in the development of the plan book. Commissioner Lano inquired with regard to the Bellvue Lane project and asked what determines which properties should be removed in a redevelopment project. Chairperson Erickson noted that the properties in the Bellvue Lane 53rd Avenue project were primarily deteriorating properties built on narrow lots that backed up to a City park. Commissioner Deuel returned to the issue of the Time of Sale Ordinance and noted the situation in St. Cloud where a faulty furnace had lead to the death of two small children. He also noted that a Time of Sale Ordinance may have some affect on the issue of quick real estate sales where lenders conspire with realtors. This is also known as "flipping" houses. Commissioner Arm stated that it was his understanding that all residents present at the January 11, 1999 City Council meeting were opposed to the Time of Sale Ordinance and that the only people in favor of the ordinance were Housing Commission members. Chairperson Erickson stated that he would like to put the issue of the;Time of Sale Ordinance to bed for a while and close the discussion on the Time of Sale Ordinance for this evening and in the near future. 3-16-99 6 99 _q._ OTHER BUSINESS Chairperson Erickson stated that with respect to Bob Torres' resignation h rp p g e believed it was appropriate to consider a motion accepting the resignation of Robert Torres as chair of the Housing Commission with regrets. There was a motion by Commissioner Arm and seconded by Commissioner Yelich to accept the resignation of Robert Torres as Chair of the Brooklyn Center Housing Commission with deepest regrets. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Arm noted that Commissioner Christopher Russell has been absent from the Commission for a significant amount of time. Chairperson Erickson stated that if Commissioner Russell is not in attendance at next month's meeting he would call him to ascertain whether or not he is able to serve on the Commission. Commissioner Yelich stated that he believes the by -laws are quite explicit about absences and noted that three unexcused absences constitute automatic resignation. The Community Development Specialist noted that he would bring Commissioner Russell's attendance record to the April Housing Commission meeting. Chairperson Erickson noted that in September the Commission had planned to go on a bus tour of the City and because of the Time of Sale Ordinance was not able to do this. He added that the Commission may want to look at doing a bus tour of the City in May. The Community Development Specialist noted that he would resurrect the tentative tour route planned for last years tour and bring it to the April meeting and finalize the tour route at the May Housing Commission. Commissioner Deuel noted that Housing Inspector Janine Atchison had spoken at a previous Housing Commission meeting and indicated he would like to have her speak again at a future Housing Commission meeting. He also suggested that Police Chief Joel Downer would be a good future speaker at an upcoming Housing Commission meeting. Chairperson Erickson stated that he was interested in the status of the Humboldt Greenway Project in Minneapolis. He briefly reviewed the Humboldt Avenue Greenway project for Commission members noting that it centers around the creation of a parkway along Humboldt Avenue from the railroad tracks in Minneapolis to 53rd Avenue North. He noted the goal of the project is to remove a number of deteriorated and primarily slab on grade homes along Humboldt Avenue and to replace them with new housing. Chairperson Erickson noted that the Humboldt Greenway Project had been discussed by the Housing Commission in the past and that the primary opposition to the project was based on school board concerns of losing students if housing were to be removed on Humboldt Avenue. 3 -16 -99 -5- The Housing Commission requested the Community Development Specialist to update the Commission on the status of the Humboldt Greenway Project. Commissioner Yelich stated that he would like to address the mission of the Housing Commission at a future meeting. Chairperson Erickson suggested that the Commission may want to do this on an annual basis. Commissioner Arm suggested that the Commission look at the possible need for single level townhouse development in the City of Brooklyn Center and noted that a number of older residents are leaving the City because they cannot find single level town homes available in the City. Commissioner Okoya -Lawal stated that in the City of Brooklyn Center housing owners complain about break -ins and apartments in the City. He suggested that the Commission look into what apartment owners are doing to improve life for people living in apartments. He suggested that the Commission could invite the Mayor to a future Housing Commission meeting to discuss the issues relative to apartments and housing. He also suggested that the Housing Commission should look at what it can do to restore houses in the City. Chairperson Erickson noted that the City does have several programs relative to housing improvements and requested the Community Development Specialist to update the Commission on Housing programs such as the first time home buyer and housing rehabilitation loan programs etc. Commissioner Okoya -Lawal stated that the Commission could contact the Police Department regarding the burglary issue in the City and determine what the Police Department can do to help homeowners in this area. Commissioner Deuel brought up the issue of the Housing Commission's role as information distributor in the City and noted that he believes this is one of the more important roles of the Commission. Commissioner Yelich stated he believes the Housing Commission should look at the issue of marketing in Brooklyn Center including articles on projects such as Bellvue Lane and publicity on housing loan programs etc. Chairperson Erickson addressed the issue of the Housing Commission potentially working on economic development issues also. He pointed out that the EDA is comprised of City Council members and raised the issue of where the Housing Commission can fit into economic development issues and whether or not the Commission wants to expand its role into economic development. Commissioner Yelich suggested that the Housing Commission review the most current copy of the City's Comprehensive Plan at a future meeting. i 3 -16 -99 -6- f Chairperson Erickson referenced the Discover the Center program in the City and requested information on the status of that program. Commissioner Yelich suggested that the Commission continue its discussion of future projects at the next Housing Commission meeting and to also address the issue of a structured format for Housing Commission meetings. In response to Commissioner Yelich's suggestion Chairperson Erickson stated that the Commission could discuss things such as putting a time limit on meetings to either 8:30 or 9 p.m. and then set a policy of what would be necessary to exceed that time limit if at all. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Arm to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Chairperson 3 -16 -99 -7-