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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Council Worksession <br />February 22, 2022 <br />5:00 pm <br /> <br />Present: Mayor Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas <br /> Councilmember Abdullahi Abdulle <br />Councilmember Graeme Allen <br /> Councilmember Pam Axberg <br /> <br />Absent: Councilmember Emily Dunsworth <br /> <br />Staff in Attendance: Devin Massopust, Ben Gozola, Sarah Sonsalla, Scott Gigrich, Kip LaMotte <br /> <br />Guests in Attendance: <br /> <br />Due to the COVID-19 pandemic this meeting was held both virtually and in person. <br /> <br />Review of the City’s Multi-Family Building Licensing Process and Inspections Approach <br /> <br />Massopust stated this was a continuation of the Council’s recent discussions related to housing. He reported <br />single family regulations and inspections were recently discussed by the Council. He explained staff would be <br />providing the Council with information on what is actually being done in terms of rental regulations and <br />inspections for multi-family (3 or more units) in New Brighton. <br /> <br />Gozola stated for part three of our February discussions on housing related matters, the City’s rental inspection <br />team was present to walk Council through the process that is used to license and inspect residential buildings <br />throughout the community. Staff discussed Chapter 13 of City Code and described the purpose for the City’s <br />rental licensing program. He reported the current rental licensing program only applies to three+ unit buildings <br />but the City will be exploring expanding licensing to all rental units in the City. The yearly inspection process <br />was reviewed in further detail with the Council, along with the new rental license application. Further <br />discussion ensued regarding the site inspection, enforcement process, and license issuance process. Currently, <br />the City’s inspection team views each building from three perspectives: Zoning (Scott Gigrich), Fire Safety <br />(Kip LaMotte), and Public Safety (Matt Farmer). He reported the staff team credits this collaborative approach <br />for an overall reduction in housing related calls (especially fire service calls) to the City each year. After <br />learning about our team’s current approach to licensing and inspection, Council will have an opportunity to ask <br />questions of staff and to make suggestions on process amendments they would like to see implemented or <br />considered. Staff anticipated this discussion will explore the grey area between educating and collaborating <br />with our landlords and tenants and how/when/if to mandate immediate action on identified issues. <br /> <br />Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas asked how many units were inspected on an annual basis. Gozola reported roughly <br />48 to 52 complexes are inspected each year and each complex will have multiple units. He explained the City <br />has 140 multi-family buildings and just over 3400 units to inspect on a three year rotation. <br /> <br />Councilmember Allen questioned if the City received requests for inspections from units that are having <br />problems. Gigrich reported people can call City Hall if their heat is out and the property manager is not <br />responsive. He indicated he makes a call to the property owner and will write up a report and have it sent to the