HomeMy WebLinkAbout[02] Minutes
January 22, 2008
Page 1 of 5
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
City Representatives Present: City Attorney Tom Jovanovich, Building Official Ron Wasmund
In the absence of Chair Bob Loso, Sr. Kathleen called the meeting to order.
Aqenda: Deutz made a motion to approve the agenda with the following
Add 4a Mayor Rassier
I en acted
The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously.
Minutes: Wick made a motion to approve the minutes of No
Anderson being noted as absent. The motion was secon
Deutz made a motion to approve the minutes of Nov
as chair. The motion was seconded by Wick and 9
Wick made a motion to approve the minutes of Decembe i6p07 with minor cha
made. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed unaniW usly.
he Oath of Offic:e,o'tbe newest commissioner, John
'0 about himself,{\I1~yer stated that he has lived
9,~hildren a~;well as two grandchildren. He
swelhKalinowski then asked the
Oath of Office: Administrator Weyrens admin
Meyer. Kalinowski asked Meyer to share som
in the St. Joseph Area his entire life. He is marri~g a
added that he owns a construction company in st.) oseph
commissioners and staff to introduce them to Mr. yet> ..'
> -->\- f:)"
Mayor Rassier: Rassier pproac edth'~ Commissione~s stating that he received a phone call from Mr.
Loso stating that he ~g ........ ......... . resignir'/g from the Planning Commission due to recent changes with his
work schedule. Rassler sta~(j,that th~~ity will be accepting'applications to fill the vacant spot on the
Planning Commission. Applic~ti?Qs.l1W!e~du~.by Jan~~N 31, 2008 and it is anticipated that the Council
will appoint the n ember attbe'(ebruaryZ';":2008Jneeting.
fficers: An})~ madeallJotion to nominate Sr. Kathleen as Planning Commission
. motion was se~.om:fed by Rieke.and passed unanimously.
s
Kalinowskiacepted the position~f chair:/
--".,/....,/,.",""...;>-< "
~:<--_::>'>., -.;
Meyer made amot.iqn to clos~llominations. The motion was seconded by Deutz and passed
unanimously.<',,/
Anderson questioned Wipkjf he would be willing to serve as vice-chair. Wick stated that as the Council
Liaison he does not feel,jt.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
Page 2 of 5
Ordinance 55: The Commission continued the review of Ordinance 55. The following is a summary of
the discussion.
· Paqe 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, security 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 ac -q~~: Deutz replied that
based on laws and City Ordinances, there are only limited things that t3ndlords can do to ensure
that the tenants are not disrupting the neighbors. According to Jova , this paragraph is very
vague as it simply states the purpose of the ordinance.
license
· Paqe 55-1 (Subd. 3 a)
Rental properties shall be inspected in 2008. Any such p
under the previous rental ordinance, and which would
ordinance, shall receive a provisional license comm
up to one year, provide that each such property spal
standards established by this article by no later than
expiration of the license for the property at midnight Dec
Discussion: Kalinowski questioned whel
rather than ".. . established by this article.
ordinance, not article.
established by the ordinance..."
's an error and it should say
e fi s stated that the license is valid
pliance with new standards. She
V" rather than December.
.
Monastery rather than convent.
Ordin
respect to;;
subdivision
to state more
the various prec
OM
e Colle determine whether the various inspections listed in the
by t College. The College should also submit an annual report with
he report should come to the City. We may want to include another
College to provide the reports to the City. We have also made changes
ollege is representing that it conducts these various tests and follows
.
Discussion: Wick q ioned 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 #5 and deleting #9. inowski questioned the
term building official. Wick advised Kalinowski that the term was definordinance as subd. 5.
Wasmund added that the term building official is a recognized term . ndustry.
· Page 55-7 (Subd. 44)
Any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit s
sleeping, but not for cooking and eating purposes.
Discussion: Anderson questioned why this definitio'l
Wasmund replied that a bedroom is defined furthf}P;
codes. .
.
Page 55-8 (Subd. 1 a & 2a/b)
a. R-1 Property. Any property which is (~
residing on the property must own 100% .
number. In such an owner-occupied rental
the rooms rented may not be intended for u
d in an R-1 area e owner occupied and the owners
[operties and th ers may not exceed two in
OO'ms.must not cont.....~parate kitchen facilities and
PElndent resigence.
-'7
Discussion: Wick sugges~~~\~gf1.t the word ProA~rtifJsbe cHan~e~:lc/property. There was also some
discussion about whet . captttJe phrases "an'q:the owners:; and "the rooms rented" were
redundant and whet y cou/dqe removed. Jovanovich stated that it should be left as is to avoid
different interpretfJ . .
2a. have a ceiling heightofat..lea5fseven.fe~t;
DiSCUS~{~fif/:)i/tJt~Ri.Je$poned theRotential Of a bed room being added in a basement and false
ceili~Fllare put in re$.Lllt[ng in ceiling$.less than 7'. In the past, this would have met the ordinances,
n~'t"lt.would not. Wasm~ntl:statedthaNhiS issue was addressed in Subd. 3(b): Built in Deficiencies.
Deut~.ihen questioned how tlJis would. be determined or implemented. He was advised that this would
be addrf;Jss(3d later in the Ordinance..;;
':.,.:,.,'.'.....'.' ,
,....... "" -""
2b. contain ad qyate ventil~tidn and fire escapes as determined the building official.
, /
Discussion: Wickc~frecte{Nhe sentence to say".. .as determined by the building official. "
· Page 55-9 (Subd. 1c)"
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 work application should be changed to applicable.
· Page 55-10 (Subd. 3e)
e. Such other information as the Council may require.
January 22, 2008
Page 4 of 5
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 i
reasonable time.
Discussion: Deutz questioned whether or not the fees associat n inspection would be
the responsibility of the property owner. Jovanovich statedJ~~ti re wou QO fees to the property
owner unless there were violations found during the insPJtgJioTlt>Wasmund a ,.l1.cf. that he does not
believe there was any intent to charge for such inspectigns. Jovanovich also sta(~gthat this could be
very argumentative and that it is hard to draft an Ofi ..' nee that "tould address alrp~~~'ell1issues that
may arise. He stated that if it becomes an issue, ltJ may wa to revisit the Ordi ance.
· Subd. 14
Discussion: It was noted by the Commissioners that Subd.
were two Subd. 3, but the Ordinance wi! corrected.
· Page 55-15 (Subd. 15b)
b. ... The hearing shall be conducted pursu
Discussion: Weyrens state
the ordinance.
be consistent with other parts of
.
this be revised to show correct references.
ate agencies shall be the Compliance Official who shall
Is Ordinance and who is hereby authorized to cause
sis for " al units, or otherwise when reason exists to believe that a
been ,or is being committed. Inspections shall be conducted during
the Compliance Official shall present evidence of official capacity to
pective dwelling unit.
Discussion: Was
consistent with the
changed to authori
st d that Building Inspector should be changed to Building Official to be
nce. It was also suggested that, in the last sentence, "official capacity" be
n.
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
Page 5 of 5
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.
Adiourn: Deutz made a motion to adjourn at 8:40 PM; seconded by Anderson and passed
unanimously.
Judy Weyrens
Administrator