HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 [01] Jan 22January 22, 2008
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Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular
session on Monday, January 22, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall.
Members Present: Chair Kathleen Kalinowski, Commissioners Ross Rieke, Mike Deutz, Mark Anderson,
John Meyer and Dale Wick, City Administrator Judy Weyrens
Citv Representatives Present: City Attorney Tom Jovanovich, Building Official Ron Wasmund
In the absence of Chair Bob Loso, Sr. Kathleen called the meeting to order.
Aaenda: Deutz made a motion to approve the agenda with the following addition:
Add 4a Mayor Rassier
The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously.
Minutes: Wick made a motion to approve the minutes of November 5, 2007 with Deutz and
Anderson being noted as absent. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously.
Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of November 26, 2007 noting that Sr. Kathleen acted
as chair. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously.
Wick made a motion to approve the minutes of December 10, 2007 with minor changes being
made. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unanimously.
Oath of Office: Administrator Weyrens administered the Oath of Office to the newest commissioner, John
Meyer. Kalinowski asked Meyer to share some information about himself. Meyer stated that he has lived
in the St. Joseph Area his entire life. He is married and has two children as well as two grandchildren. He
added that he owns a construction company in St. Joseph as well. Kalinowski then asked the
commissioners and staff to introduce them to Mr. Meyer.
Mavor Rassier: Rassier approached the Commissioners stating that he received a phone call from Mr.
Loso stating that he would be resigning from the Planning Commission due to recent changes with his
work schedule. Rassier stated that the City will be accepting applications to fill the vacant spot on the
Planning Commission. Applications will be due by January 31, 2008 and it is anticipated that the Council
will appoint the new member at the February 7, 2008 meeting.
Election of Officers: Anderson made a motion to nominate Sr. Kathleen as Planning Commission
Chair. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed unanimously.
Kalinowski accepted the position of chair.
Meyer made a motion to close nominations. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed
unanimously.
Anderson questioned Wick if he would be willing to serve as vice-chair. Wick stated that as the Council
Liaison he does not feel it is appropriate to hold an office on the Commission.
Rieke made a motion to nominate Mike Deutz as Vice-Chair. The motion was seconded by
Anderson and passed unanimously.
Deutz stated that he will accept the position; but made it clear that he cannot serve in the capacity as
chair due to the amount of time required.
Wick made a motion to close nominations. The motion was seconded by Rieke and passed
unanimously.
January 22, 2008
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Ordinance 55: The Commission continued the review of Ordinance 55. The following is a summary of
the discussion.
^ Pa4e 55-0 (i)
To insure owners and/or operators of rental units are responsible to take such reasonable steps as
are necessary to assure that citizens of the City who occupy or live by such rental units may pursue
the quiet enjoyment of the normal activities of life in surroundings that are: safe, quiet, secure and
sanitary; free from crimes and criminal activity; and free from nuisances and annoyances.
Discussion: Deutz asked for clarification of what this additional verbiage means. Jovanovich stated
that it basically states that property owners are responsible for tenant actions. Deutz replied that
based on laws and City Ordinances, there are only limited things that the landlords can do to ensure
that the tenants are not disrupting the neighbors. According to Jovanovich, this paragraph is very
vague as it simply states the purpose of the ordinance.
Page 55-1 (Subd. 3 a)
Rental properties shall be inspected in 2008. Any such property which had a valid rental license
under the previous rental ordinance, and which would have passed inspection under the previous
ordinance, shall receive a provisional license commencing August 15, 2008, which shall be valid for
up to one year, provide that each such property shall be brought into full compliance with the
standards established by this article by no later than August 14, 2010. Failure to do so shall result in
expiration of the license for the property at midnight December 14, 2010.
Discussion: Kalinowski questioned whether or not it should read "...established by the ordinance..."
rather than "...established by this article...". Jovanovich stated that it is an error and it should say
ordinance, not article.
Wick then questioned the timeframes noted in the paragraph. Weyrens stated that the license is valid
for one year, but they have two years to bring the property into compliance with new standards. She
stated that it should read "...property at midnight August 14, 2010" rather than December.
^ Page 55-2 (Subd. 1 d &e)
d) Security Staff of College and Convent
e) Maintenance Staff of College and Convent
Discussion: Kalinowski clarified that it should say Monastery rather than convent.
^ Page 55-3 [COMMENT TO COMMENT]
The City should check with the College to determine whether the various inspections listed in the
Ordinance are being completed by the College. The College should also submit an annual report with
respect to these inspections. The report should come to the City. We may want to include another
subdivision which requires the College to provide the reports to the City. We have also made changes
to state more clearly that the College is representing that it conducts these various tests and follows
the various precautions.
Discussion: Wick questioned whether or not the City needs to know how the College protects their
students. According to Wasmund, they still fall under the building code; however, they do not need to
keep inspection records. Deutz questioned whether this is for all College housing or exclusively the
housing on campus. Wasmund added that they would be required to have an inspection done by the
City if a building permit we issued. Jovanovich advised the Commissioners that the City is not liable
for College property as we have immunity with the College. If the College is negligent, they would
assume all liability.
^ Page 55-4 (Subd. 13)
Shall have the same meaning as adopted in Ordinance 52, Subd 31 of this Code of Ordinance.
January 22, 2008
Page 3 of 5
Discussion: The Commissioners pointed out that a Section should be referenced as well, in addition
to the Ordinance and Subd.
^ Page 55-6 (Subd 27 #5 & 9)
5. Whatever is dangerous to human life or is detrimental to health as determined by the building
official.
9. Whatever renders air, food or drink unwholesome or detrimental to the health of human beings as
determined by the building official.
Discussion: Meyer stated that these two sentences seem very redundant. According to Jovanovich,
they are different,' however, he suggested expanding #S and deleting #9. Kalinowski questioned the
term building official. Wick advised Kalinowski that the term was defined in the ordinance as subd. 5.
Wasmund added that the term building official is a recognized term in the industry.
^ Page 55-7 (Subd. 44)
Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and
sleeping, but not for cooking and eating purposes.
Discussion: Anderson questioned why this definition does not clarify that there must be two exits.
Wasmund replied that a bedroom is defined further in the ordinance as well as in the building and fine
codes.
^ Page 55-8 (Subd. 1 a & 2a/b)
a. R-1 Property. Any property which is rented in an R-1 area must be owner occupied and the owners
residing on the property must own 100% of the properties and the owners may not exceed two in
number. In such an owner-occupied rental, the rooms must not contain separate kitchen facilities and
the rooms rented may not be intended for use as an independent residence.
Discussion: Wick suggested that the word properties be changed to property. There was also some
discussion about whether or not the phrases "and the owners" and "the rooms rented" were
redundant and whether they could be removed. Jovanovich stated that it should be left as is to avoid
different interpretations.
2a. have a ceiling height of at least seven feet;
Discussion: Deutz questioned the potential of a bedroom being added in a basement and false
ceilings are put in resulting in ceilings less than 7'. In the past, this would have met the ordinances,
now it would not. Wasmund stated that this issue was addressed in Subd. 3(b): Built in Deficiencies.
Deutz then questioned how this would be determined or implemented. He was advised that this would
be addressed later in the Ordinance.
2b. contain adequate ventilation and fire escapes as determined the building official.
Discussion: Wick corrected the sentence to say "...as determined by the building official.
^ Page 55-9 (Subd. 1 c)
c. R-3 Property. The R-3 district is intended to provide a district which will allow a higher density of
residential development where City sewer services are available, subject to the terms of the various
application St. Joseph Zoning Ordinances.
Discussion: The Commissioners noticed that the word application should be changed to applicable.
^ Page 55-10 (Subd. 3e)
e. Such other information as the Council may require.
January 22, 2008
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Discussion: Originally, this item was to be removed, but it was decided that it should remain in the
ordinance.
Prior to the issuance of any new rental license, the Planning Commission shall approve the
registration and application to ensure that the proposed rental use of the property complies with the
requirements of the St. Joseph Zoning Ordinance and other ordinances of the City.
Discussion: Weyrens stated that this comment could be removed as it would only apply to R-3 Zoning
Districts. Currently, the Planning Commission does not see those applications if they are complete.
^ Page 55-11 (Subd. 8c)
c. Any owner or occupant of rental property may request an advisory inspection of the property at any
reasonable time.
Discussion: Deutz questioned whether or not the fees associated with such an inspection would be
the responsibility of the property owner. Jovanovich stated that there would be no fees to the prope-ty
owner unless there were violations found during the inspection. Wasmund agreed that he does not
believe there was any intent to charge for such inspections. Jovanovich also stated that this could be
very argumentative and that it is hard to draft an ordinance that would address all possible issues that
may arise. He stated that if it becomes an issue, the City may want to revisit the Ordinance.
^ Subd. 14
Discussion: It was noted by the Commissioners that Subd. 14 is missing. Jovanovich stated that there
were two Subd. 3, but the Ordinance will be corrected.
^ Page 55-15 (Subd. 15b)
b.... The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to Sections 14.57 to 14.70 of the Minnesota Statutes.
Discussion: Weyrens stated that this sentence should be removed to be consistent with other parts of
the ordinance.
Page 55-16 (Subd. 15c) and 55.05
c.... set forth in Section 55.11.12(d) (1) and (2)
Discussion: The Commissioners recommended that this be revised to show correct references.
The Building Inspector and his designate agencies shall be the Compliance Official who shall
administer and enforce the provisions of this Ordinance and who is hereby authorized to cause
inspections on a scheduled basis for rental units, or otherwise when reason exists to believe that a
violation of this Ordinance has been or is being committed. Inspections shall be conducted during
reasonable daylight hours and the Compliance Official shall present evidence of official capacity to
the occupant in charge of a respective dwelling unit.
Discussion: Wasmund stated that Building Inspector should be changed to Building Official to be
consistent with the ordinance. It was also suggested that, in the last sentence, "official capacity" be
changed to authorization.
Due to the amount of information covered so far, Kalinowski suggested that they continue the discussion
of Ordinance 55 at their next meeting.
Ordinance 52.27: After much discussion, the Commissioners made the following changes:
a. Residential rental, provided the unit owner-occupied and provided the room(s) rented does not
contain separate kitchen facilities and it not intended for use as an independent residence. For
purpose of establishing if the property is owner-occupied, the owner must be a natural person and all
owners must occupy the property as their principal residence. For purposes of determining
January 22, 2008
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ownership, the owner(s) must provide a recorded deed or contract for deed. A purchase agreement
will not be allowed as evidence of ownership.
Deutz questioned whether the current rental licenses in the R1 and R2 districts are renewable or if they
will have a sunset clause attached to them. Jovanovich stated that there will be no sunset provisions for
current rental properties.
Adjourn: Deutz made a motion to adjourn at 8:40 PM; seconded by Anderson and passed
unanimously.
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