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Minneapolis City Planning Department Report Text Amendment that the financing and construction costs required to build an accessory dwelling could be substantial. It does seem unlikely that an individual or family who currently can not receive a loan to purchase a home, would be able to find financing to purchase a home and in addition, build an accessory dwelling in order to obtain the additional income through the rent charged for that accessory dwelling. This proposal appears to serve current homeowners by providing an additional source of income through rent and certain tax benefits. C. Based on research conducted of other communities' ordinances as they relate to accessory dwellings, most required a provision that one of the units be owner-occupied. According to these communities, one reason for this provision is simply to preserve the character of the existing residential neighborhood. The community gained consensus of the stakeholders that the owner-occupancy requirement would preserve the character of their neighborhood and reduce the potential for land speculation. In general, Planning staff is in favor of an owner-occupancy requirement, although some staff believe it is a conservative approach and question the ability to enforce this provision. The requirement would increase administrative costs to the city. An owner-occupancy requirement could help to preserve the character of the residential neighborhood. The provision relates to this proposal's significance in how it could promote home ownership as an outcome. It would provide homeowner occupants of limited means a way to pay for the costs of their homes and therefore will be more likely to retain ownership. This includes older homeowners, artists, single parents, young homebuyers and the disabled. Owner- occupancy, in this case, is specifically related to land use outcome in the sense that it can control the spread of blight over time. An owner-occupancy requirement would foster better housing maintenance and neighborhood stability and reduce the incidence of housing deterioration by preventing absentee ownership of property. Further, a requirement such as this is intended to limit the number of rental units in one particular neighborhood district. A June of 1999 Star Tribune article indicates that North Phillips is a part of the city that is deemed to have an over-concentration of low-income housing. According to the MCDA, approximately eighty (80) percent of properties in this neighborhood are rental properties. The Planning Department finds that creating multiple rental properties with absentee landlords, concentrated in a low- income area, may create an undesirable condition. The owner-occupancy requirement could accomplish the following: 1. Discourage the speculation of absentee ownership. 2. May assist/preserve stability and character of the residential neighborhood. 3. Minimize unnecessary disruption to a residential neighborhood. 4. Foster better housing and site maintenance. According to the Minneapolis Plan, the following policy relates specifically to the issue of owner- occupancy. The policy states "decrease the current rate of homestead property loss (2,000/year) by 20% per year for the next five years." Page 6