2013-10-16_packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

October 2, 2013 Summary of meeting with Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM), City Staff, and Human Rights Commission members, at the KOM Offices in St. Paul. Present: Chong Bee Vang, KOM Executive Director; Gary Grefenberg, Wayne Groff and Kaying Thao of the Roseville Human Rights Commission (HRC); Carolyn Curti, Staff Liaison to the HRC; Pat Trudgeon, Interim Roseville City Manager; and Jeanne Kelsey, Interim Director of the Roseville Housing and Redevelopment Agency (HRA) The purpose of the meeting was as originally discussed at the HRC's last meeting with KOM to discuss Roseville's proposed multifamily rental housing licensing ordinance. Interim City Manager Patrick Trudgeon explained the reasoning behind proposing the licensing — to hold landlords accountable to provide safe housing and to ensure that residents live in clean and safe housing. The HRA's Jeanne Kelsey explained the provisions of the proposed language. The City would get a better understanding of the number and size of rental units in Roseville. The City would inspect all rental units and assign a rating system, dependent upon how many problems they find. Dependent upon the rating, the city would re- inspect on a biannual, annual, every two years or every three years, or if there was a credible complaint. Property owners /management companies would be expected to attend quarterly meetings to discuss housing concerns. Kelsey also noted that this rental licensing proposal had been in the works since 2006, and that its origin had been in response to the numerous comments her office had received from various individuals- -other than Karen community members - -about the living and safety conditions of some apartment buildings renting to Karen. Mr. Vang agreed that residents need and deserve to live in descent housing, but he remains concerned that residents could be displaced if city officials become aware of overcrowding or if a landlord perceives that the renter complained. Kelsey responded that the proposed licensing for apartments was intentionally designed to remove the burden of reporting violations from individual renters and would allow third parties to report suspected housing violations. She emphasized that the City would on a regular basis inspect Roseville apartment buildings, thus also relieving Karen renters from the fear of landlord retribution. He also said that some tenants may be willing to put up with the problems as long as the landlord looks the other way about too many people living in an apartment. Participants discussed the lack of affordable housing which exacerbates the housing problem. They also discussed cultural differences and expectations which can lead to misunderstanding. Mr. Vang said that many of the Karen tenants tend to congregate at the apartments because they cannot drive to parks. They also have larger families so heavier usage. They do not have playground areas at the apartments so kids play in the yards which can kill the grass.