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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 09-21 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 SEPTEMBER 21, 1999 CONFERENCE ROOM B CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Erickson at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Ernie Erickson, Commissioners Lloyd Deuel, Kathleen Carmody, Michael VonDeLinde, Mark Yelich and Donald Arm. Also in attendance were Council Member and Housing Commission Liaison Ed Nelson and Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz. Commissioners James Lano and Muhammed Okoya -Lawal were absent from the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Arm to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MAY 18, 1999 There was a motion by Commissioner Deuel and seconded by Commissioner Arm to approve the minutes of the May 18, 1999 Housing Commission meeting as submitted. The motion passed. DISCUSSION OF COMMISSION PROJECTS Chairperson Erickson stated that before the Commission begins its work on agenda items he rP g wanted to welcome Commissioner Kathleen Carmody back to the Housing Commission. He also noted that Janine Atchison, the City's Housing Inspector has accepted a position with the City of Minneapolis. Chairperson Erickson expressed praise for the job Ms. Atchison did as Housing Inspector-for the City of Brooklyn Center and recommended that a resolution or some form of written recognition in the minutes be expressed for her good work with the City of Brooklyn Center, particularly in the area of her work with the apartment managers and owners in the city of Brooklyn Center. He requested that language be drafted to be inserted in the minutes in recognition of Ms. Atchison's work with the City. The Community Development Specialist reviewed the memorandum he had prepared for the City's Community Development Director regarding housing improvement areas. He noted that in 1996, the Minnesota State Legislature passed legislation which authorized municipalities to create Housing Improvement Areas. He explained the law provided a mechanism whereby 9 -21 -99 -1- certain housing improvements or repairs can be accomplished with municipal involvement by assessing the benefitting property owners much like the special assessment procedures used for street improvements. The Community Development Specialist explained the background of the law grew out of the particular problems townhouse associations have had with securing mortgage loans from traditional lenders to provide for exterior improvements to townhouse developments. He explained associations have often found themselves in the position where they do not have the financial capability to make certain improvements in situations where their reserve funds have not kept pace with the need for repair. Due to the fact that townhouse associations consist of individual owners and do not have any assets per se they have been rejected by banks for loans to make needed improvements. The Housing Improvement Area statute provides for City funded loans to property owners unable to obtain financing through private means. Instead of securing the loans as a typical mortgage transaction, the City can assess the benefitting properties similar to a special assessment project. The Community Development Specialist explained that he had received requests for assistance under the Housing Improvement Area statute from several townhouse developments in the City and had forwarded a memorandum to the Community Development Director. He explained the Housing Commission has been requested to review the Housing Improvement Area statute and process in light of the requests for assistance in the City of Brooklyn Center. Commissioner Carmody questioned why association dues can't keep up with the cost of repairs since associations are supposed to set up reserve funds to provide for future repairs. Chairperson Erickson commented that he believes the main thrust of this statute is the low, interest rate on the money and the fact that the City is involved with the project. Also, he pointed out that association dues, in many cases, may not cover adequate future costs for some associations, particularly those with first time buyers who may be reluctant to raise dues. Commissioner Arm raised the issue of why townhouse associations would be treated differently from single family homes, pointing out that single family homeowners are required to fund their own repairs and replacement costs. Commission members discussed the Housing Improvement Area statute including the issue of the need for townhouse associations to adequately fund reserve accounts and whether there was indeed a difference between single family homeownership and townhouse ownership. Councilmember Ed Nelson arrived at 7:30 p.m. Commissioner Yelich asked whether a seller of a townhouse would be required to pay off the assessment under this statute when they sell the unit or whether it can be passed on to the new owner. Several commission members responded by pointing out that all liens must be satisfied at closing when a unit is sold. Councilmember Nelson requested that staff gather the number and age of townhouse complexes in the City to get a better picture of what is out there in terms of potential requests for projects under this statute. 9 -21 -99 -2- Commission members inquired of the Community Development Specialist which complexes had inquired about the Housing Improvement Area statute. The Community Development Specialist responded by noting that he had received several requests including one from Mr. Roger Gorman, of Impact Management, a private firm doing townhouse management. He noted that Mr. Gorman represents approximately 1/3 of the townhouse complexes in the City and has provided the most inquiries and information relative to the statute. He noted that Mr. Gorman has requested to appear before the Housing Commission to review his request. The commission breifly continued the discussion of the Housing Improvement Area. There was a motion by Commissioner Carmody and seconded by Commission Arm to invite Mr. Roger Gorman to the next Housing Commission meeting to review his requests for assistance under the Housing Improvement Area statute. The motion passed. The Community Development Specialist reviewed the next Commission project area which was review of the City's occupancy limits as per City Ordinance. He noted that one of the goals for the City Council in 1999 was to "survey current practices in other cities on occupancy limits and coordinate that review with the Housing Commission". Commissioner Yelich inquired what precipitated the interest in reviewing occupancy limits. Councilmember Nelson noted that the increased number of large families in homes has become an issue in terms of the optimal number of persons per household. Commission members discussed the issue of reviewing the occupancy limits and there was a general consensus of commission members that it may be difficult to determine the number of persons in a particular household due to the fact it is difficult for municipalities to gain entrance to residences without some overriding need. In a related item Commissioner Yelich raised the issue of permit fees for housing improvements noting that if it is the City's goal to encourage homeowners to improve their homes, the cost of permits, which in his case was 8% of the total project cost, is a direct cost that may discourage homeowners from doing improvements. He also noted that it was a hassle to obtain the permit and that he can understand the reluctance of homeowners to cooperate with the process when it appears to discourage housing improvements. Commissioner Arm commented that in some cases he believes homeowners may not want to complete a repair in exactly the correct way and by not obtaining a permit they can avoid an inspection. He noted that this also applies to some contractors. The commission continued its brief discussion of housing inspection fees and Chairperson Erickson noted that he believes building inspection fees may be worthy of future discussion. 9 -21 -99 -3- The commission then discussed the issue of when homeowners are and when they are not required to have permits for improvements. Returning to the occupancy limits issue, Commissioner Carmody inquired why the issue of occupancy limits is considered a problem. Commissioner Arm noted that there are certain standards for the number of people per room in a house and that this may be a health related issue. Commissioner Carmody again addressed the issue of the difficulty of enforcement in this area. Commissioner Deuel inquired what other cities are doing in this area. The Community Development Specialist noted that one of the parts of this analysis would be to survey other cities regarding their code requirements. Commissioner Carmody also brought up the legal issue and how occupancy limits would be viewed from a legal perspective. Chairperson Erickson noted that in addition to reviewing occupancy limits he would like to have the Commission review Chapter 12 in its entirety for an upcoming project. Chairperson Erickson read a resolution of recognition prepared by Commission Carmody for Ms. Janine Atchison. The item read as follows: In recognition of Janine Atchison 's contributions to the City of Brooklyn Center in terms of.• 1. Enforcing current codes for the City's apartment buildings, 2. Education of apartment managers especially through the formation and continuation of the Association of Rental Managers (ARM); and 3. Enabling the City to legally bind owners to the improvement and /or restoration of apartment buildings /units. The Housing Commission, therefore commends Janine Atchison's work on behalf of the City of Brooklyn Center. There was a motion by Commissioner Yelich and seconded by Commissioner Deuel to include the statement of recognition read by Chairperson Erickson in the Housing Commission minutes and to forward a copy of the minutes to Ms. Janine Atchison in appreciation of her work for the City of Brooklyn Center. The motion passed. Chairperson Erickson inquired if there was any other business to be considered by the Commission. Commissioner Deuel stated that he would like to have nameplates made for the Housing Commission. He noted that with the turnover in the commission it is sometimes difficult to keep track of names. 9 -21 -99 -4- ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Carmody and seconded by Commissioner Arm to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Chairperson 9 -21 -99 -5-