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Special City Council Meeting <br />Mouday, February 20, 2008 <br />Page 4 <br />Administration Discussion <br />Discussion included the amount of work indicated in the short-term; duplications within the <br />short-term section, as well as in medium- and long-term sections; and Finance Director Miner's <br />advocacy for a community survey, based on the questions asked in such a survey. <br />Councilmember Pust noted that, while she was supportive of a service form on the website, she <br />thought it could be accomplished by staff in the immediate future, without the need for it to be <br />shown as a priority in the task list. <br />Community Development Discussion <br />Discussion included the similarity and rciationship of the first and second items in this section; <br />staff's encouragement to Couucilmembers for code enforcement as it related to many areas <br />(crime, resources, etc.); and incorporating those two items into one item; and asidewalk/trail in- <br />stallation program outside the realm of street reconstruction projects. <br />Community Development Director Patrick Trudgeon endorsed moving directly to rental licens- <br />ing, but at a minimum the need to immediately identify the number of rental units and status of <br />those rentals. Mr. Trudgeon opnred that code enforcement was a priority, but that rental hicens- <br />ing was also valid, and was vital to the Police and Community Development Department in <br />maintaining the community's quality of life. <br />Considerable discussion ensued between staff and Councihnembers related to the status of rental <br />housing registration and/or licensing, specific to single-family neighborhoods converting into <br />rentals, and impacts to the neighborhoods. Mayor Klausing opined that, whether owner- <br />occupied or a rental, the key was in identifying code enforcement issues and solving them. <br />Mr. Trudgeon expressed frustration with code enforcement delays, and specifically for rental <br />housing, that the City needed to use the rental licensing as a tool to encourage landlords to main- <br />tain their property as a basic business decision; allowing staff to focus on getting problem prop- <br />erties cleaned up in a timely manner. <br />Mayor Klausing advised that he had not listed the rental registration as a priority, as he thought it <br />was already moving forward. <br />Councilmember Pust noted that recent meetings of citizen groups had just been completed, and <br />the issue was in process and would be on an agenda in the near future. <br />Councilmember Roe clarified that the City was looking at rental registration, not going to full- <br />fledged licensing; but would work with landlords in the community to identify potential prob- <br />lems and the types of programs needed for implementation. <br />