2009-04-21_Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Kennedy & Graven 470 US Bank Plaza 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis MN 55402 (612) 337-9300 telephone (612)337-9310 fax http: //www.kennedy-graven. com CHARTERED TO: Jeanne Kelsey Pat Trudgeon FROM: DATE: � MEMORANDUM Stephen Bubul Melissa Manderschied April 15, 2009 HRA Involvement in Multi-Family Housing You asked us to describe various ways that the Roseville HRA might address multi-family housing issues in the City, either directly or in advisory capacity to the City. 1. Rental license ordinance. Rather than acquire property, the City may use its police powers to regulate multifamily housing through a rental license program. Although a rental license ordinance would not directly be within the jurisdiction of the HRA, but it may be an effective tool and the HRA could play a helpful advisory role. Several cities successfully use rental licensing. For example, the City of New Brighton (where we also serve as city attorney) was a pioneer in the metropolitan area in rental licensing. The City had several challenging apartment projects and adopted a license ordinance that directly addresses crime and police calls. The ordinance has been very successful in reducing problems, either because the landlords are forced to comply, or because they decide it's not worth the trouble and sell to a party who will comply. The New Brighton licensing scheme uses a mathematical calculation based on the number of incidences. Those multi-family properties that exceed the threshold must obtain a six month provisional license. This provisional license is more expensive than the regular rental license. To obtain the provisional license, the property owner must submit and gain approval of a mitigation plan. Every six months, a new mitigation plan must be submitted and approved until the property qualifies for a regular rental license again. Mitigation plan elements can include enhancing tenant screenings, improving building security, or removing