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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL – APRIL 10, 2017 2 <br /> <br />be offered within Rice Creek Commons. He stated he wanted to see affordable housing within <br />this development. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant explained the Council had zoned the property in order to make the construction of <br />affordable housing possible. He stated a developer would then be responsible for building units <br />that the market would support, which could include affordable housing. Further discussion <br />ensued regarding funding options for affordable housing. <br /> <br />Mr. Mertensotto asked how many bus shelters the City had in Arden hills. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant discussed the bus routes within the City and noted the Met Council was responsible <br />for providing bus transportation and shelters through the community. He reported the Council <br />was advocating to have additional lines brought through the City for TCAAP. <br /> <br />Mr. Mertensotto stated he would volunteer to work with the City on affordable housing and bus <br />shelters. <br /> <br />Jim Mars, 1740 Chatham Avenue, reported he has lived in Arden Hills for the last 17 years. He <br />expressed concern with a rental property in his neighborhood at 1753 Chatham Avenue. He stated <br />this property has been a rental for the last 10 years and had a large volume of traffic coming and <br />going at all hours of the night. He explained he had introduced himself to the renters in order to <br />create a relationship and to make them aware of Arden Hills City Code requirements. He <br />indicated he brought his concerns to Bethel University as well. He believed the City had many <br />residents that had concerns with rental properties in the community. He requested the City <br />Council take action on this issue and suggested rental properties be treated as a business and only <br />allow three renters in single-family neighborhoods. In addition, he recommended the property <br />owners be charged for police calls. He asked that the City provide his neighborhood a staff <br />contact in order to address this matter further. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant stated he has spoken with Mr. Mars about this matter several times. He suggested <br />Mr. Mars pass his questions along to City staff and requested comment from the City <br />Administrator on this matter. <br /> <br />City Administrator Joynes explained the Council brought this issue up on a recent Council <br />retreat. Staff was looking into its rental regulations and meetings have been held with Bethel <br />University and Northwestern. He understood both campuses had little to do with the behavior of <br />students within off-campus housing. He explained he would be meeting with the Dean of <br />Students where all of the complaints filed over the last year would be reviewed. The opinion of <br />the City Council was that it would be difficult to address the rental situation under the current City <br />Code. For this reason, the Council was interested in revising the language to improve the <br />enforceability. He anticipated this would be a very tough discussion and noted Mr. Mars would <br />be notified of this discussion. <br /> <br />Councilmember Holden asked when the Council would be meeting with representatives from the <br />colleges and Sheriff’s Department. She did not believe Arden Hills residents should continue to <br />suffer in the meantime. <br />