2019.10.08 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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questioned if this was an issue that was impacting New Brighton currently. Councilmember Jacobsen indicated he would like to see the City have something in place rather than the City having to respond to actions later. He supported the Council looking at this issue further. Mayor Johnson also supported the Council take a closer look at New Brighton's rental housing stock. She discussed the history of the City's apartment buildings and how some were looking run down. She stated her main concern with the proposed Ordinance would be how it would impact investment in the community. Councilmember Dunsworth indicated she had the same concern and feared the proposed Ordinance could have a chilling impact on economic development. Lotter suggested the Community Development staff be directed to collect data regarding the City's rental products and current rental rates. He stated he had raw data but this information would need to be refined. Councilmember Dunsworth stated she was not opposed to moving forward with an Ordinance but wanted to be assured that it worked for New Brighton and its residents. She noted the City did have affordable housing regulations on the books and recommended this language be taken into consideration within the new Ordinance. Councilmember Burg commented she supported affordable housing in the City, but wanted to better understand how this Ordinance would look for New Brighton. Councilmember Allen stated he was more willing to get involved in this issue and he appreciated the fact staff could conduct research regarding the City's rental housing stock. Councilmember Dunsworth explained she did not want to keep an investor from coming into the City and improving a large rental property. Councilmember Burg stated one way to address the concern of increased rental rates after a property has a new investor would be to require a certain number of units to remain affordable. Mayor Johnson indicated the Council may have to redefine the Ordinance and suggested offering tenants six months to relocate versus three. She questioned if this was a City issue or a Ramsey County issue. Councilmember Allen stated he would fully support taking a look at the larger issue to address how investors remodel their properties and stop renewing leases. Councilmember Dunsworth commented this could be overreaching for the City because this was a private business. She stated she would like to see more language that addressed this topic before she could move forward with this topic. She noted she did not support Richfield's Ordinance. She explained she wanted to encourage development and redevelopment in the community. Mayor Johnson indicated one-third of New Brighton residents were renters. She believed the Council could not make a decision at this time without further information on the City's rental properties and rental rates. Councilmember Jacobsen agreed. I Councilmember Burg commented on the knowledge she had regarding Section 8 and subsidized housing in the metro area. She explained as rental rates continue to go up, the number of units available goes down.