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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHousing Task Force - 02/12/2020EDEN PRAIRIE HOUSING TASK FORCE MINUTES Wednesday February 12, 2020 HTF Members  Chair Joan Howe-Pullis Vice Chair Lyndon Moquist Carol Bomben Pedro Curry Terry Farley Marlene Fischer Mohamed Nur Joan Palmquist Anne Peacock Ken Robinson Emily Seiple  Staff  Jonathan Stanley, Housing and Community Services Manager Amanda Pellowski, Community Development Administrative Assistant  Guests Council Member Mark Freiberg   TENANT PROTECTION ORDINANCES Howe-Pullis called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm. Members absent were Fischer, Moquist, Curry, and Nur. Howe-Pullis shared that she, Bomben and Palmquist met separately to work on Tenant Protection Ordinances (TPOs). They did a comparison of neighboring cities, they requested some information from HOME Line—a tenant’s advocacy organization, and they contacted several other organizations that deal with tenant rights. She pointed out the question about the threshold for TPOs and how it’s connected to affordability (early local adopters of such policies have limited policy applicability to properties with a certain percentage of low-income units). There’s a concern about rentals that wouldn’t be covered by a TPO, for example at Arrive. Because the market is so tight, losing housing is an issue no matter what the price point. The group wanted to look at what they could tie a policy to, for example maybe rental licensure, to make sure protections are in place for all tenants. Palmquist presented a comparison of the TPOs of neighboring cities and gave a preliminary recommendation for a TPO for Eden Prairie. She pointed out Brooklyn Center was the only city to protect tenants from material changes in their lease. That would be an important piece to include in the TPO for Eden Prairie. Farley asked what complaints HOME Line has received about lease changes that prompted them to recommend including it in Eden Prairie’s TPO. Howe-Pullis said the general categories HOME Line received complaints about were: repairs, evictions, security deposits, and lease language when ownership changes. For example, residents at Arrive were living in buildings where their lease said dogs weren’t allowed, then the owners changed the rules and dogs were allowed. Before Arrive was sold some utilities were included in the rent. After the sale rent increased and utilities were no longer included. Palmquist continued to share the TPO comparisons. Most cities require a notification written in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong to flag important information, with a full translation available upon request. Eden Prairie should also have that requirement, and at the recommendation of PROP should add Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian. Some cities had packets available online that were helpful because they included FAQs, example letters from owners to tenants, and lists of tenant resources. St Louis Park’s was a great example. Howe-Pullis summarized the information the group received from Eric Hauge, Executive Director of HOME Line. He emphasized how important it is to protect people during the 90-day period and help them find a new place to live that’s acceptable within that time if they can’t stay where they are. The most common complaint they hear from tenants in Eden Prairie is about repairs not being done and how it affects residents’ health. The second most common complaint is the way evictions are handled. The third is security deposits. The fourth is lease language changes. HOME Line also identified there aren’t usually enough resources for rental inspections in cities like Eden Prairie, or the way inspections are done creates gaps. The Task Force should look into it and determine what recommendations to make. Howe-Pullis stated they were also given a list of tenants’ rights categories HOME Line suggested looking at, although not all of them are things the Task Force needs to consider. They are: regulation of tenant screening practices, capping security deposits, right of first refusal, prohibition of Housing Choice Voucher / Section 8 discrimination (however the Task Force should wait until the Supreme Court decision on the case in Minneapolis), just cause termination and eviction, and a pre-eviction notice. Seiple wondered if there was a connection between repairs not being made and evictions. Perhaps tenants had withheld rent because of repairs not being made, but didn’t understand the impact that could have. Howe-Pullis stated it wasn’t clear from the HOME Line data if that’s the case. But requiring clearly communicated and translated information so tenants are aware of their rights would help if it is. Howe-Pullis continued with the list of tenants’ rights categories: capping application fees, standardizing the application process, prohibiting other types of fees (parking, pets, etc.), allowing tenants to handle repairs and deduct the cost from their rent, and improving rental licensing requirements related to mold. Mold and water damage account for a fourth of the complaints HOME line receives. Most cities don’t regulate this issue even though it can impact people’s health. Stanley stated mold is tricky because it’s difficult to prove and document, but agreed it is important. Howe-Pullis stated HOME line told her it’s possible for the City Attorney to intervene on a tenant’s behalf when there are sub-standard living conditions. Legally the City can file a complaint on tenant’s behalf and use a TRA instead of revoking the property’s rental license. This helps to keep the property open so tenants aren’t displaced. HOME Line also recommended reviewing the impact of the City’s conduct ordinance to determine if police calls are causing tenants to be evicted without due process. The conduct ordinance is needed, but there should be a balance. The TPO work group will figure out how to reduce the scope of HOME Line’s recommendations and will report back to the Task Force. Stanley gave an update from the City Attorney about how the City’s status as a Plan B statutory city affects the enforcement of a Tenant Protection Ordinance. A statutory city has less power than a charter city, but does have some implied power under police power. In the City Attorney’s opinion there is an argument that Eden Prairie has the right to enforce a tenant protection ordinance. However, the City Attorney stated the City cannot do anything that implies rent control. Stanley asked the City Attorney if temporary protection from rent increases would be considered rent control. She responded it would. Seiple asked if regulating the extra fees landlords charge would be considered rent control. Stanley responded he wasn’t sure. Palmquist stated Golden Valley is also a Plan B statutory city and included protection against rent increases in their TPO. Stanley confirmed that’s correct – Golden Valley has chosen to go ahead and take that risk. Howe-Pullis asked for feedback or questions the TPO work group should consider for the next Task Force meeting. Seiple stated if they’re not able to include rent protection in the ordinance it’s going to be really important to include regulations about fees landlords are allowed to charge. Stanley stated it will be important to define what a material change in a lease means in order to keep the ordinance from being unenforceable. Robinson agreed it would be good for the ordinance to target fees. Stanley pointed out there are affordable properties that charge residents extra fees and don’t have regulated amounts or limits. Farley asked if there are enough resources to enforce a TPO if adopted. Freiburg stated enforcement is important and confirmed there would be a mechanism to enforce if a TPO is adopted. Howe-Pullis asked how those resources are being used. Freiberg suggested asking for clarification on inspections at the Council Workshop and giving specific examples like Columbine and Arrive. Seiple asked if it’s an issue of frequency of inspections or responsiveness to complaints. Peacock stated there are other required inspections, such as those required for Section 8, but wasn’t sure if the City has access to those. Freiburg asked Stanley if he knows the frequency. Stanley believes Eden Prairie inspections are every 3 years, unless the City has received complaints about a property. The state requirement is to inspect every 5 years. Farley suggested surprise inspections so property owners can’t cover up safety issues right before an inspection. Robinson asked if any other cities require properties to have a tenant advocacy group and suggested perhaps that could be a requirement in the TPO. CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP ON FEBRUARY 18 Howe-Pullis felt the biggest question for the upcoming workshop was how to address perpetuity since the majority of the Task Force agreed with recommending it with a buyout option, but it wasn’t a unanimous vote. Stanley pointed out that other than perpetuity, there were only a few changes from the original staff recommendations. Palmquist felt strongly they should discuss allowing 100% affordable developments with the Council. Howe-Pullis asked if the purpose of not allowing 100% affordable properties was to prevent isolation. She reasoned that shouldn’t apply any longer since Eden Prairie has mainly small infill lots. Common Bond could have been all affordable, which would have been 6 additional affordable units. Palmquist asked if TPOs are being discussed at the workshop. Stanley responded they are but only what’s been learned so far, not a final recommendation. They’ll also be sharing the other areas of interest the Task Force would like to work on. That would be the appropriate time to discuss allowing 100% affordable properties. Stanley reminded the Task Force that workshops are open to the public. Dinner is served at 5 pm and the meeting takes place from 5:30-6:30. Seiple stated housing trust funds should be discussed. She’s working on details and will have them for a future meeting. Stanley suggested the Task Force keep in mind the City already has a sub account set up for inclusionary housing, so it’s important to convey the value of changing to a trust fund that will be regulated by state statutes. Farley added a trust fund could be the way to define how funds will be used. It could also lead to partnerships, such as working with PROP to provide emergency rent assistance. St Louis Park solicits donations for their trust fund and they do that by showing exactly how the trust fund is used. Seiple suggested creating a comparison spreadsheet for trust funds to see what neighboring cities are doing. Howe-Pullis suggested they share at the workshop some of the out of the box options the Task Force is researching, such as different kinds of housing options: SRO’s, modular housing, and tiny houses. Robinson added the possibility of allowing large homes to be converted into multiple units. Freiberg stated that idea was voted down a few years ago in Eden Prairie but that doesn’t mean it was a bad idea – it might have just been ahead of its time. Howe-Pullis stated the NOAH work group hasn’t had a chance to meet. Peacock volunteered to help. Freiburg reminded the group their presentation at the workshop doesn’t have to be a perfect, final policy. It will be a living thing. If the Task Force provides a recommendation as a foundation, that will be a success. The policy can always be tweaked later. RESEARCH GROUP UPDATES WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE TASK FORCE Howe-Pullis suggested the Task Force begin working on the final written report since there are only a few meetings left. She’ll draft the first chapter, which will be about the inclusionary policy, to create a format for the report. Others can volunteer to draft other chapters. Howe-Pullis will aim to have the first chapter to review at the March meeting. She’ll look at Aspire 2040 to find excerpts that would be relevant to use in the written report. Stanley reminded the group the report doesn’t have to be lengthy, but it should include all the possible pros and cons of their recommendations. Seiple mentioned the Eden Prairie Foundation had some listening sessions and as a result has some new tools for housing and transportation. It wouldn’t necessarily need to be mentioned at the workshop but might be good to include in the written report. Howe-Pullis encouraged Task Force members to register and attend the Census in Eden Prairie discussion on February 20th from 10 am -12 pm at the Community Center, as the Census results could affect housing in Eden Prairie. Howe-Pullis has a few additional guest speakers she’d like to invite to future Task Force meetings and asked the group to let her know if they have suggestions. She’d like to have someone from a neighboring city speak about creative ideas or share success stories and stumbling blocks. She’d also like to invite Anne Mavity from the Minnesota Housing Partnership to talk about housing for the lowest income level, which is a level of housing that doesn’t exist much in Eden Prairie, so Mavity could perhaps share compelling ideas about how to cultivate that type of housing. Peacock suggested having someone from CommonBond speak about eviction prevention. Last year they prevented 800 evictions in their portfolio. Peacock also mentioned a study that looked at whether criminal backgrounds matter for tenant screening. The study found that only a few of the 17 categories that are used to screen out applicants really matter. Howe-Pullis added it would be interesting if a representative from CommonBond could join a workshop with City Council to tell that story. Freiburg encouraged everyone on the Task Force to attend the Council workshop on Feb 18 and then exited the meeting. Farley commented the Task Force hasn’t addressed ways to keep seniors in their homes as they age and asked if that’s something they still want to address. Palmquist suggested a list of resources could be made available to seniors and their families as needed. Howe-Pullis stated the challenge is finding resources to keep a list updated and distributed. Palmquist suggested having Fischer look into options since that’s her area of interest. Robinson commented a housing trust fund partnership with the Eden Prairie Foundation could be a solution for resources. Farley stated as Eden Prairie becomes a more mature community it’s better to use those funds to keep people in their homes rather than creating new homes. Robinson suggested it might be good to invite a realtor to the Task Force, as they hear a lot about other cities and have heard many perspectives from landowners. ADJOURN Howe-Pullis adjourned the meeting at 7:04 pm.