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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 12-20 HCPAGENDA BROOKLYN CENTER HOUSING COMMISSION December 20, 2016 7:00 p.m. All American Conference Room Brooklyn Center City Hall 1. Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Approval of Minutes: October 18, 2016 4. City Council Liaison’s Report 5. Chairpersons Report 6. New Neighbor Program 1. 2016 New Neighbor Program Recap 2. 2017 New Neighbor Program 7. Other Business 8. Adjournment Page 1 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 October 18, 2016 ALL AMERICAN CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission was called to order by Chairperson Goodell at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson – Mark Goodell - Present David Johnson - Present Tamika Baskin – Present Kathie Amdahl - Present David Johnson - Present Leroy Houston –Present Susan Pagnac - Present Kathy Nelson - Present Also present was Staff Liaison Jesse Anderson and Council Liaison Lawrence-Anderson. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Baskin to approve the agenda as amended to state September 20, 2016 minutes. The motion passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – There was a motion by Commissioner Amdahl and seconded by Commissioner Baskin to approve the minutes of the Housing Commission meeting on September 20, 2016. The motion passed. PENELOPE BROWN APPEAL Deputy Director of Building and Community Standards provided an overview of the appeal. There was a motion by Commissioner Amdahl and seconded by Commissioner Houston to open the hearing. The motion passed. Penelope Brown stated: There is a safety risk to put up waste enclosures at the property and would like to ask that the wording be changed relating to safety issues. They own and live at the property. Page 2 Commissioner Johnson: Can you explain the safety issue? Penelope Brown: Right now there is no visibility in the areas near the businesses that are closed in the evening and people could hide in the woods. They could also hide inside the dumpster enclosure then pull someone into the woods. There are many people who cut through that area to go towards the former mall area. They have recently had strangers spending time in the parking lot. Chairperson Goodell: Have there been any issues with people at the dumpsters? Jenny Brown: They are spread out and you can see behind them and the side and there are lights on the garage so tenants can see people. There have been multiple vehicles broken into the area. Commissar Baskin: Has a resident had been attacked in the parking lot? Jenny Brown: There was a time when a person followed someone home to the property and now has an order for protection. Chairperson Goodell: Do you mainly have concerns about the wooded area? Jenny Brown: The enclosure would give a person less time to run from someone because the person may not see someone as soon because of the enclosure. Right now when a person is coming home at night the headlights light up the wooded area. Commissioner Johnson: Have you considered moving the containers? Jenny Brown: There is nowhere else to put the dumpster because of the required number of parking spots. Chairperson Goodell: Is the garage used by the tenants? Jenny Brown: The garage is used to store equipment and the owners who reside at the property use the garage and not the tenants. Commissioner Johnson: Do the trash hauler have tip containers for dumping the containers? Jenny Brown: There is one container that tips and the other swivels. Chairperson Goodell: Do residents go in the wooded lot? Jenny Brown: Yes, to get firewood or for compost. Chairperson Goodell: Have you considered a fence around the property? Jenny Brown: There isn’t a good area to put up the fence because of hills and trees. Chairperson Goodell: Would the fence prevent people from cutting through the property from other areas? Jenny Brown: We would have to fence off the entire corner because people walk through. Commissioner Baskin: I see you have a trailer on property, is there a concern with people hiding behind it? Jenny Brown: The trailer prevents people from hiding by it because of arborvitaes . They would be visible if they came around it. Commissioner Pagnac: Are there any residents with disabilities that would be prevented from accessing the containers? Jenny Brown: Yes one tenant. Amdahl: How would opening the enclosure be different then the lid of the dumpster? Jenny Brown: One of the dumpsters has an easy lift lid on the dumpster, which was specifically requested. Commissioner Nelson: There are lights on the garage. Why couldn’t there be a light in the corner to light up more of the property? Jenny Brown: It would be expensive to run electricity across the lot. There is already a light pole near the garage that is high and bright. Page 3 Commissioner Johnson: If there is a concern about safety at night people don’t have to bring their trash out at night. Jenny Brown: There are residents that need to bring their dogs out at night. Chairperson Goodell: Could you put the enclosure next to the garage? Then you could improve lighting. Jenny Brown: we can’t reduce the number of parking spots because they are all needed. We have 18 spaces, which is less then 2 per unit. Chairperson Johnson: It would probably be safer to have the dumpsters closer to the building. Jenny Brown: They were once, and then we were told to move them away from the building when they were stored in front. Commissioner Pagnac: Why were you told to move them? Penelope Brown: Because It was an eye sore. It has been in the back for about 20 years. Commissioner Baskin: Could you put a slab in for the dumpsters? Jenny Brown: We would have to move them back and it would cause drainage issues. Commissioner Johnson: You could build the screening to allow for drainage. Jenny Brown: The dumpsters are on dirt, but they are at the edge of the parking lot so residents don’t have to walk in the mud. Penelope Brown: We are just considering quality of life for our tenants and have spent $150,000 to beatify the building. Commissioner Johnson: How old is the building? Penelope Brown: Built in 1963. Commissioner Johnson: I have seen the property and think it is kept in good condition. However, the ordinance is to be consistently applied. To create an exception would cause a problem to justify others. Also, you should consider moving containers for safety. Commissioner Nelson: I live close to this property in an apartment and there dumpster enclosures are designed next to the garage and easily swings open. Jenny Brown: There are large trees and all the outlets for the tenants to plug their cars in the winter. Commissioner Jonson: Adding an enclosure wouldn’t be too expensive. Penelope Brown: We are not worried about cost, only esthetics. Chairperson Goodell: Is there any other testimony or questions? Penelope Brown: I want the ordinance change to allow for safety. The inspector calls correction inside for safety. The City should consider the safety of the dumpster’s enclosures. Many businesses in the community have their dumpsters out still. Please make exceptions due to safety. We are the best landlords in the City. There was a motion by Commissioner Amdahl and seconded by Commissioner Nelson to close the hearing. The motion passed. Chairperson Goodell: Next item is to consider what recommendations to make. Commissioner Johnson: Can a person appeal directly to the council? Chairperson Goodell: Housing Commission makes recommendation for the City Council. Commissioner Baskin: The owner has valid points related to safety, however they are common points. There is some flexibility with their property and the location of the containers. There are other areas that cause safety issues on the property as well, items such as the garage and the trailer. They could add more lighting and have open fence enclosure. Page 4 Commissioner Amdahl: Agree that there’s a safety issue. However, that is going too happened regardless of the screening due to the dumpster. Chairperson Goodell: Chain-link fence with slots would still be allowing some light through. If safety is an issue at the property they should consider putting up a fence at the property. Commissioner Goodell: I do have sympathy relating to the timeframe. Commissioner Amdahl: Did you call to report other properties that didn’t have an enclosure? It doesn’t make you a bad neighbor, but nothing can happen unless people speak up. Commissioner Pagnac: I don’t see this appeal as an erroneous interpretation. Commissioner Johnson: The City should be consistent in enforcement and should stand by the code. Commissioner Goodell: I don’t see this as an issue of safety. It is more about appearance. Commissioner Amdahl: They could also consider putting container in the garage. Council Member Lawrance-Anderson: They could put parking spots where dumpsters are now if they move the dumpsters. Chairperson Goodell: If losing parking spaces by moving the dumpster up, they could add parking spots to dumpster location. Commissioner Amdahl: There are different trucks and a pickup from the side so there could be other options as well. There was a motion by Commissioner Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Baskin that the Housing Commission recommends that the City Council affirms the compliance order dated September 22, 2016 for City Ordinance Section 12-713 regarding the Screening of the Waste Containers and request the violation be completed within 180 days. The motion passed 7-0. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT Council Member Lawrance-Anderson Apologized for attendance due to multiple scheduling conflicts. I also appreciate the deliberation on the appeal. There was budget meeting last night. At the recent Darkness Days event there was approximately $200,000 in sales by BC Liquor. There has been recent discussion at the opportunity site. There have been discussions on the Friends of Brooklyn Center Facebook page. The long-term plan is 750 units with initially 150 units. There was a community meeting where there was feedback that it wouldn’t be successful. Some recommend townhomes. Also, some questions have been raised about the property becoming affordable housing. Any input would be appreciated on this project. As the Housing Commission pleases give some thought on the subject. You may also consider being involved in the planning commission meeting when this is being discussed. There is a rebranding effort starting within the City. This could include the City logo. This came up because we are about to have the water towers painted. Rental density was reviewed by council. There is a 4 tier rental license. Some members of council wanted an ordinance to limit the number of rental properties on a block. The proposal was no more than 30% of an area. There wasn’t a consensus and the proposal was dropped. Page 5 May want to research and discuss this issue for future discussion. A of resolution for resident economic stability was adopted. Also, forming a taskforce to better engage in the community is being discussed. CHAIRPERSONS REPORT Chairperson Goodell reported: Thanks to participating in the new neighbor program. Round 2 is almost completed. We will deliver this Saturday from 10am to 2pm. If we get three cars we should be able to complete the remaining list. NEW NEIGHBORH PROGRAM UPDATE Commissioner Amdahl stated that 3 people did 58 houses and Chairperson Goodell did 22 last Saturday. We are finding that there are less people are around on Saturdays. Council Member Lawrance-Anderson stated that she appreciates that the program has continued. OTHER BUSINESS There was no other business addressed by the Commission. Commissioner Baskins stated that she had attended senior living technology conference where the home health care homes were discussed. Had the opportunity to speak to people who pushed for the legislation. The Housing Commission could discuss it further and will provide notes from the discussion. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Commissioner Amdahl and seconded by Commissioner Johnson to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed. The Brooklyn Center Housing Commission adjourned at 9:10 p.m. __________________________________ Chairman