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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-13-13-WS-- Dave McClung Ed Werner www.cityofardenhills.org Arden Hills is a strong community that values its unique environmental setting, strong residential neighborhoods, vital business community, wellmaintained infrastructure, fiscal soundness, and our longstanding tradition as a desirable City in which to live, work, and play. APPROVAL OF AGENDA NEW BUSINESS 2.A.Discuss Enforcement Of The Rental Housing Registration Program Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director Joel Jamnik, City Attorney Documents:MEMO.PDF, 2.B.Discuss Country Financial Zoning Amendment Request Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director Documents:MEMO.PDF, Discuss Snelling Avenue North Street Project Terry Maurer, Public Works Director Documents:MEMO.PDF,ATTACHMENT A.PDF COUNCIL COMMENTS / STAFF UPDATES If additional time is needed, the work session may reconvene after the regular City Council meeting.  MEMORANDUM DATE: May 13, 2013 TO: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers Patrick Klaers, City Administrator FROM: Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director SUBJECT: Rental Housing Enforcement Discussion In 2011 and 2012, staff worked with the previous City Attorney to thoroughly evaluate the rental registration program and determine whether the City could take additional actions to enforce the rental registration program and mitigate or prevent related code enforcement issues. The staff memo as well as the meeting minutes from the April 16, 2012, work session meeting are attached. As of January 1, 2013, the City has a new City Attorney.The City Council has requested that the current City Attorney review the City’s rental registration ordinance and code enforcement practices to determine whether additional measures should be taken. The City Attorney will be present at the May 13, special work session meeting to discuss his review. Attachments Staff memo dated April, 16, 2012 City Council work session meeting minutes, April 16, 2012 City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session May 13, 2013 11 Page of  MEMORANDUM DATE: April16, 2012 TO: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers FROM: Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director SUBJECT: Rental Housing Enforcement Requested Action Review City Council goals related to code enforcement at rental properties. Provide staff direction on any additional initiatives which could be enacted to address problem rental properties. Background The City Council goal, “Minimize complaints regarding single-family rental properties”is designated as a high-priority goal. Staff has been working on action items related to that goal as follows: 1.Maximize participation in the 2011 rental program. Technical issues that arose during the 2010 rental program have been resolved. Probable owners of rental property were contacted up to three times by letter asking owners to register any rental property. As staff has become aware of non-registered rental properties throughout the year, owners have been strongly encouraged to participate in the program. 84 propertiesare currently enrolled in the rental registration program. This compares to 58properties in 2010/2011. 2.Educate the community on the rental registration program. Information about the rental registration program and housing ordinances were distributed in electronic form to both Bethel University and Northwestern College for distribution to students seeking off-campus housing. An article describingthe rental program was published in the City newsletter. City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session April 16, 2012 15 Page of 3.Work with Ramsey County on enforcement issues. Staff has workedwith the Sheriff’s Department to establish a protocol for enforcing the limit on driveway parking to four vehicles. Persistent driveway parking violations have been resolved. New cases have been addressed promptly. The City Council approved changes to the parking ordinance to make it simpler to understand and easier to enforce. Through working with Ramsey County as described above, staff feels that a streamlined process has been developed to address excessive vehicles in the driveway. The process allows staff to track and addresshabitual violators of the ordinance, without penalizing households who unknowingly violate the ordinance due to family gatherings or other events. City staff has been working with the City Attorney on the remaining two action items under the rental properties goal: 4.Research legal constraints and opportunities for enforcement. 5.Research rental registration and licensing programs in other cities. While working on these remaining action items, staff and the City Attorney have primarily focused onthe following issues: Excessive occupancy. Unregistered rental homes. Rental licensing programs and requirements. Excessive Occupancy The City’s Zoning Code defines “family” as “an individual or two (2) or more persons, each related to the other by blood, marriage, adoption or foster care, or a group of not more than four (4) persons, some orall of whom are not related by blood, marriage or adoption, living together and maintaining a household.” Occupancy in single-family dwelling units, therefore, is limited to no more than four people if at least one of the occupants is unrelated to the others. Generally, the City faces two challenges related to excessive occupancy: 1.How can the City prove excessive occupancy? 2.How can the City enforce the ordinance to reduce occupancy? Proof of excessive occupancy According to the City Attorney, “unless there are life safety concerns, the City does not have the authority to enter private property without consent from the owner and/or the occupants. If access is denied, the City must obtain a search warrant. In order to do so, the City would need to City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session April 16, 2012 25 Page of prove to a judge that there is probable cause to believe that the violation is occurring . . . Probable cause could consist of written statements from those people who observed the violation and/or date and time stamped photos of vehicles, etc.” If the City is able to obtain a search warrant and conduct an inspection, physical evidence such as the number of beds or toothbrushes could not be considered proof of excessive occupancy since the tenants may simply have a guest. Ultimately, inspections are not useful tools for proving excessive occupancy. Proof will need to be in the form of written statements from occupants, neighbors, or the Ramsey County Sheriff. If the case goes to court, witnesses who have provided written statements must be willing to testify. Enforcement of the occupancy ordinance If the City is able to prove excessive occupancy through written statements, the City may issue a citationto the landlord. The City Attorney may also prepare a formal complaint. Formal complaints must be reviewed and approved by a judge before the landlordis summoned to appear in court.Legal precedence indicates that a judge is unlikely to approve a notice of eviction solely for excessive occupancysince the tenants would be seen as innocent third parties in the disputebetween the City and the landlord. The rental unit application form (Attachment A) asks applicants tostate the number of people in the dwelling unit and certify that the occupancy compositionisin conformance with City Code. City Code Section 335.05 lists reasons for which a rental registration may be suspended or revoked, including subdivision 3, “The Owner or its Agent made oral or written misrepresentation of material facts in or accompanying the application.” In cases where the City is able to prove excessive occupancy through written statements from neighbors and occupants, it may be most straightforward to hold a Council hearing torevoke the rental registration, and request a court order to prevent the landlordfrom renting the property.In the event that the City is successful in obtain a court order, the City Attorney believes that the order would be applied prospectively and renters would be allowed to continue to occupy the property under the terms of their lease. Unregistered Rental Homes The City developed a rental registration program in 2009. The purpose of the program is to track rental properties and provide information about rental ordinances and City requirements to landlords and tenants. The rental registration year runs Julythrough Juneto accommodate student rental leasing schedules. For the 2011/2012 program year, the City has 84rental registrations. The City suspects that additional properties are being rented but are unregistered. City staff has asked the City Attorney to consider how the City can compel rental property owners to register. City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session April 16, 2012 35 Page of The City Attorney has said that, similar to proving excessive occupancy, the City would need to show probable cause that a housing unit is being rented. Probable cause would consist of building official records, statements of fact from surrounding property owners, and possibly written statements from occupants of the property. According to the City Attorney, if the City could demonstrate probable cause, it has two options: 1.The City could issue a criminal citation based upon documented facts. Currently the criminal process is taking from three to six months to complete if the defendant pleads not guilty and requests a jury trial. There are limited discovery opportunities in a criminal case. 2.The City could also issue a civil summons and complaint. Due to the number of pending civil cases, this type of process could take fromnine to twelve months but the City is allowed to depose parties and engage in some discovery. In any case, the City cannot evict tenants or discontinue the property’s use as a rental unit. The City needs to proceed against the landlordto obtain a court order that prevents the landlordfrom renting the property until it is in compliance with City ordinances.As noted above, the court order would likely be applied prospectively and renters would be allowed to continue to occupy the property under the terms of their lease. Rental Licensing Arden Hills has a rental registration program. Many other cities have rental licensing programs. It is the City Attorney’s opinion that the City’s current rental housing regulations are adequate. A licensing program would not offer the City any additional tools to regulate rental housing. The City Attorney does not believe that there is a substantial difference between a rental licensing program and the City’s rental registration program. The City can issue citations to property occupants who violate the City’s regulations. The City can conduct a hearing to revoke the rental housing registration that was issued to the property owner. During the revocation hearing, the City would need to establish facts to support the revocation of the rental registration. If the City revokes the rental registration, it can request a court order that prevents the property owner from renting the property until violations are corrected and the unit is registered. Some Minnesota cities have adopted ordinances limiting rentals to a certain percentage of the total housing stock.Some of these ordinances are currently being contested in court.The Arden Hills City Attorney does not believe that the City can regulate the number of rental housing units in the City. City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session April 16, 2012 45 Page of Status of Residential Code Enforcement A review of code enforcement tracking reports over the last six months has shown that most violations are resolved after one inspection and notification to the property owner. Most violations occur at owner-occupiedproperties.Based on a review of the City’s code enforcement records, problems with rental properties are not being reported. Staff believes that enhanced tracking, education, and cooperation with Ramsey County and the two colleges over the past year has been successful, but is interested in hearing the perspective and direction of the City Council on this issue. Requested Action Provide staff direction on any additional initiatives which could be enacted to address problem rental properties. Staff Recommendations 1.Continue to provide information on rental housing requirements to Bethel University and Northwestern College for distribution to students. 2.Continue to market the rental registration program through the bulletin, website, and City newsletter. 3.Continue to work with Ramsey County on enforcement issues when appropriate. 4.Continue to track code enforcement complaints to be aware of any trends with regards to type and location of complaints. 5.Consider additional code enforcement mechanisms as directed by Council. City of Arden Hills City Council Work Session April 16, 2012 55 Page of MEMORANDUM DATE:May 13, 2013 TO:Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers Patrick Klaers, City Administrator FROM:Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director SUBJECT:Country Financial Zoning Amendment and CUP Background/Discussion Country Financial, located at 2 Pine Tree Drive, has applied for a Zoning Code amendment to allow higher education uses in the B-2 zoning district with a Conditional Use Permit. The property includesa 5-story, 227,138square foot multi-tenant office building. Country Financial has vacated much of the building and is currently marketing the building for sale or lease. Approximately 62% of the building is currently vacant. Country Financial has received a request for leased space from Bethel University. Bethel would like to lease 26,000 square feet for administrative offices, general and specialized classrooms, meeting rooms, common spaces, and other general educational and related purposes. Most classes will be heldbetween 5:30 pm and 10:00 pm, Monday through Thursday. The tenant will also have limited use of the leased space during the hours of 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Monday through Friday and 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday. According to information provided by Country Financial, Bethel students, guests, faculty, and administration will not exceed 4 per 1,000 rentable feet leased during normal business hours and no more than 8 per 1,000 rentable square feet after normal building hours. The property currently has approximately 4.29 parking stalls per 1,000 building square feet, and the applicant does not propose to add parking due to this use. The City approved a similar zoning amendment request on May 22, 2006(minutes attached) that was brought forward by Rob Davidson for property owned at 1212 Red Fox Road in the B-4 District. In that case, the City Council determined that higher education and special education uses were consistent with the purpose of the B-4 District, and a special use permit was approved. The Community Development Department, with the assistance of the Economic Development Commission, has been working on an analysis of commercial and industrial property in Arden 12 Page of Hills. Preliminary results have shown that, although the overall level of office vacancy in Arden Hills (17.9%) is comparable to vacancy levels in the northeast Twin Cities submarket (18.8%), the office vacancy rate in the B-2 District isapproximately 45%. Vacant space at Country Financial represents more than 60% of the office vacancy in the B-2 District. Discussion Questions 1.Is higher education an appropriate use for office space in the B-2 District? 2.Does the City Council have additional questions that should be addressed during the review process? Attachments Site Map Letter dated May 6, 2013 Minutes, May 22, 2006, City Council meeting 22 Page of 2 Pine Tree Drive Legend City Halls Schools Hospitals Fire Stations Police Stations Recreational Centers Parcel Points Parcel Boundaries Streets (8K-16K) Interstate US Higway; MN Highway Ramp County Road Municipal Street Service Road Private Road Restricted Access Route A99 Notes Enter Map Description 960.201,920.4 0Feet 1,920.4 This map is a user generated static output from an Internet mapping site and is for reference only. Data layers that appear on this map may or may not be NAD_1983_HARN_Adj_MN_Ramsey_Feetaccurate, current, or otherwise reliable. © Ramsey County Enterprise GIS DivisionTHIS MAP IS NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION MEMORANDUM DATE: May 13, 2013 TO:Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers Patrick Klaers, City Administrator FROM: Terry Maurer, Public Works Director SUBJECT: Snelling Avenue North-BituminousStripping Issue ThereareafewstreetsintheCitythathavehadastrippingproblemwiththetoplayerof bituminouspavingseparatingfromthebasecourse.Thisisanissuethathasoccurredstatewide andMnDOThasbeenworkingontryingtopinpointthecausesoitcanbeeliminatedinthe future.MnDOThassuggestedthatthesolutiontotheproblemwhenitoccursismillingand patching of the stripped areas. Wehavebeenworkingtoaddresstheproblemthroughtheannualstreetmaintenancebudget. LastyearwetackledArdenOaksDrivethroughacombinationofbituminouspatchingandusing afillermaterialforthesmaller/shallowerareas.Thisyearweplantomillandpatchthestripping in Tiller Lane so it will be ready for a sealcoat in a subsequent year. OneoftheworststreetsforthestripingprobleminoursystemisSnellingAvenueNorth.We haveactuallyshotthestripedareaswithourGPSandplottedthemontheattachedexhibit.As canbeseenfromtheexhibit,almost50%oftheroadsurfacewouldneedtobemilledand patched.Patchingthismuchofthesurfaceareaisnotcosteffectiveandcannotbeaccomplished without leaving a very rough riding surface. StaffwouldliketodiscusswithCouncilanotherpossiblesolutiontotheproblem.Snelling AvenueNorthisontheMunicipalStateAid(MSA)systemsoitwouldbepossibletodoa millandoverlayprojectandfunditwithMSAdollars.Wehaveestimatedthecostofthis approachatbetween$125,000and$140,000.Thisrepresentsabout10%ofourcurrently availableMSAfunds.Oneotherbenefitofthisapproachiswecouldrestripetheroadwiththe centerlinemovedslightlytothewesttoallowon-streetparkingontheeastsideofthestreet.Cur rentlythereisnoparkingallowedoneithersideexceptneartheparkwhereawas built. 12 Page of If the Council would approve this approach this work could likely be accomplished this fall. Attachment Attachment A:Exhibit 22 Page of Attachment A