06.02 Rental Property Ordinance - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Member Wilson asked if we could adopt the ordinance for a couple of years to weed out the bad ones and then repeal it. Mr. Burslie stated an ordinance can be repealed. This is on the Agenda to begin discussion. Ne�month the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council. If the City Council wants to pursue a Rental Property Ordinance,the public hearing will be held in January. Planning Commission Member Hallan will contact the City of Little Falls to collect information regarding staff time to administer. Planning Commission Member Wallin stated there are HUD laws that protect tenants. Planning Commission Member Wilson stated the concern is not with the apartments, but with the older housing. He has heard some of the complaints that have gotten to the City Council. There are fire hazards and all kinds of issues. Ken Henke, Pillsbury Street, stated he had several rental properties years ago in Columbia Heights. He was a good landlord and didn't need the City to have an ordinance. There was one landlord that didn't take care of his property and didn't screen tenants. The City adopted a maintenance code and it was more of a pain than it was worth. The City had to hire people to administer and do inspections. Can we as a City afford to do all of that? November i6, 201�Planning Commission Meeting: b. Rental Property Ordinance Mr. Burslie explained the Staff Report. Vice-Chair Hallan stated he contacted Little Falls and learned they contract out all of the management of their rental ordinance. City Staff doesn't deal with it. Planning Commission Member Habein asked if there is a requirement due to population that this type of ordinance would be needed. Mr. Burslie stated there is not. Planning Commission Member Habein asked if the City has determined a need for this. Mr. Burslie stated Pequot Lakes is like all small communities with various types of landlords. Bittner pointed out the City has received a few complaints on landlords. Planning Commission Member Wa11in had invited Bob Erickson from Babinski Properties to the meeting to share his insight on this issue. Mr. Erickson stated Babinski Properties have property in Vadnais Heights where they have enacted a Multi-Tenant Housing Task Force. When this task force was initiated, 10% of your units were inspected annually. Over time it was increased to 50% and now 100% of your units are inspected annually. This inspection gives a snapshot of a11 of our units. The rental fee may be $g5 per unit. The Vadnais Heights Fire Department, along with building management, conducts the inspections. They check smoke alarms, carbon mono�de detectors, door handles, patio 2