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HRA Meeting <br />Minutes – Tuesday, April 20, 2010 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br />None. <br />  <br /> <br /> <br />8.Presentations <br />  <br /> <br />a.Rental Registration <br /> <br />Executive Director Patrick Trudgeon summarized findings over the last two year registration <br /> <br />period attempting to identify rental properties throughout the City, as detailed in the Request <br /> <br />for HRA Action dated April 20, 2010. Mr. Trudgeon reviewed the findings for type of rental <br /> <br />units; staff outreach to those properties thought to be rentals, based on research of Ramsey <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />County property records for homesteaded and non-homesteaded properties, and word-of- <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />mouth; and a city-wide map showing the distribution of those identified rental units. Several <br /> <br />  <br />clusters of those rental units were identified, mostly in the vicinity of Northwestern College, at <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Rice Street, and Snelling Avenue, typically near busier streets. Mr. Trudgeon noted that <br /> <br />  <br />property owners appeared to be becoming more aware of and cooperative with the rental <br /> <br /> <br />registration program. Mr. Trudgeon further reviewed percentage of rentals versus total <br /> <br /> <br />housing stock; rentals of single-family homes and potential diminished value of those homes; <br /> <br /> <br />and owner-occupied versus non-owner occupied units; average age of the typical single-family <br /> <br /> <br />rentals and their average square footage; and other types of rental units based on registration <br /> <br /> <br />to-date. Mr. Trudgeon noted that code violations throughout the City were significantly higher <br /> <br /> <br />in rentals than in owner-occupied homes, which could become a major issue in the community, <br /> <br /> <br />and was a valid concern for the RVHRA and City Council to be aware of. <br />  <br /> <br /> <br />The staff report detailed staff’s suggestions at this time regarding continuation of rental <br />  <br />registration for monitoring purposes, but not recommending moving toward rental licensing at <br />  <br />this time, due to the lack of concentration of rental units, particularly in single-family homes. <br />  <br />However, Mr. Trudgeon suggested that there remained a need to do some enhanced code <br />  <br />enforcement activities on rental properties through an annual NEP review, rather than the <br />  <br />current three-year cycle; and that if so directed, staff could provide a financial analysis for an <br />  <br />additional staff person to perform those annual inspections. Mr. Trudgeon also suggested that <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />if the RVHRA determined to pursue rental licensing, the problem rentals appeared to be those <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />from eight (8) to thirty (30) units, which had been identified with major issues. <br /> <br />  <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  <br />Discussion included comparison figures for the number of duplexes rented during 2009 and <br /> <br /> <br />2010; challenges in identifying rental units based on limited knowledge and inaccuracies found <br /> <br /> <br />in the Ramsey County property tax rolls until staff had culled that information; response rate <br /> <br /> <br />for those contacted; compliance rates and limited code enforcement issues in smaller rentals. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Further discussion included future staff recommendation to the City Council for a problem <br /> <br /> <br />property ordinance to address larger rental units and related fees and/or fines for non- <br /> <br /> <br />compliance for larger rental buildings, and ramifications for non-responsive landlords of those <br />  <br />units, through the cooperation and coordination of the RVHRA, the City’s Police Department <br /> <br /> <br />and their awareness of excessive calls to a specific address; and financial penalties and legal <br />  <br />remedies for their lack of cooperation. Mr. Trudgeon noted that there were a number of <br />  <br />multiple rental facilities that were very well-run; however, noted that there were a handful <br />  <br />needing to be sent a message to ensure their cooperation in order to protect the health, safety <br />  <br />and welfare of the community and those tenants in those larger rentals. <br />  <br />  <br />Additional discussion included next steps for future discussion and recommendation; <br /> <br /> <br />consensus to continue voluntary licensing but address the larger multi-family units where more <br /> <br /> <br />serious problems exist; consideration of the role of the RVHRA; and staff’s report to the City <br />  <br />Council in late May or June of this year based on the RVHRA recommendation. <br /> <br /> <br />  <br /> Motion: Member Majerus moved, seconded by Member Pust to recommend to the City <br /> <br />Council that, based on the last two (2) years of experience with rental registration, the <br /> <br />