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tenants that contain to violate lease provisions. Section 13-161 of the City's Ordinance <br />explains the provisional license. <br />The cities of Richfield, Brooklyn Center, and Brooklyn Park have adopted similar <br />ordinances that used New Brighton as the starting point but each contains its own <br />variations. You should be aware, however, that the City of Brooklyn Park's fee system, <br />which varied the fee amount for each license holder depending on the number of police <br />calls at that address, was successfully challenged in Hennepin County District Court. The <br />City later revised the fee structure to address the court's concern. Some of the other city <br />ordinances, such as New Brighton, may contain fee structures that are similar to the one <br />challenged in Brooklyn Park, but the Brooklyn Park decision is not from an appellate court <br />and has no binding impact on Ramsey County. <br />The lesson is: if you embark on a license ordinance, we recommend that you contact other <br />cities who have used this tool and work carefully in drafting an ordinance. Two good <br />contacts are Bob Jacobson, the New Brighton public safety director; and Gary Brown in the <br />engineering department at Brooklyn Park. <br />2. Tenant Remedies Actions. <br />Another regulatory approach is the "tenant remedy action" authorized in Minnesota <br />Statutes, Chapter 504B. That statute allows a"local department or authority" charged with <br />enforcement of codes relating to health, housing, or building maintenance to file a tenant <br />remedies action against the landlord to remedy a violation, which is defined as "a violation <br />of any state, county or city health, safety, housing, building, fire prevention, or housing <br />maintenance code applicable to the building." Minn. Stat. Sections 504B.001, subd. 14(1), <br />and 504B.395, subd. 1(4). <br />Essentially, the authority stands in the shoes of a tenant(s) and files an action in housing <br />court seeking an order requiring the landlord to remedy the violation(s) with rents. The <br />authority can also seek the appointment of an administrator who has the powers of a <br />responsible landlord. <br />Although our firm has not filed this type of action solely to remedy ongoing criminal <br />activities, it may be an alternative to consider and for us to investigate further. Further, even <br />if the action were based on more conventional code or maintenance issues, this might create <br />additional incentive for the problem landlord to sell the property. <br />3. Crime Free Multi-Housing. <br />The City of Roseville already has a crime free multi-housing program in place. The current <br />program could be reviewed for opportunities to deepen involvement and stepped-up <br />implementation. <br />