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HomeMy WebLinkAbout[03] Minutes May 7, 2012 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, May 07, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Chair S. Kathleen Kalinowski Members John Meyer, Ross Rieke, Joe Dubel, Gina Dullinger, Brad Cobb. Council Liaison Rick Schultz. Administrator Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Arnold Berscheid, Brian Tadych, Karen Tadych, and Police Chief Pete Jansky Meyer made a motion to approve the agenda; seconded by Dubel. The motion Approval of Agenda: passed unanimously. Motion to approve by Schultz and seconded by Cobb. The Motion was Approval of Minutes: approved with minor changes and passed unanimously. Interim Use Hearing, Bryan Berscheid, 1206 Cary Court: Kalinowski called the hearing to order and Weyrens stated the purpose of the hearing is to consider an Interim Use permit to allow an owner occupied rental at 1206 Cary Court. The property is legally described as Lot 8, Block 2, Pond View Ridge Four. St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.27 subd. 5 allows for an Interim Use Permit as follows: Residential rental provided the unit is owner occupied and provided the room(s) rented does not contain separate kitchen facilities and is not intended for use as an independent residence. For purposes 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. The owners may not exceed two in number. For purposes of determining ownership, the owner/owners must provide a copy of a recorded deed or recorded contract for deed. A purchase agreement will not be accepted as evidence of ownership. The request for interim use has been submitted by Bryan Berscheid 1206 Cary Court. Arnold Berscheid approached the Commission to speak on behalf of is son, Bryan Berscheid, owner of 1206 Cary Court. Berscheid stated that when his son purchased his home, he was working locally and has since changed jobs and is now working in North Dakota. He hopes to return working in the area within two years. Arnold Bersheid stated that he suggested that his son rent his home for the two years. Before leasing the property he did conduct a credit and background check on the family that is currently residing in the home. Weyrens stated that the City Office received a complaint about the property and a compliance order was sent to Bersheid. Berscheid contacted the City Offices and stated that he resided at the home and rents a portion of the home. With that understanding he was informed that he would need to apply for an Interim Use Permit to allow for the owner occupied rental. Since that time, staff was made aware that Berscheid did not reside at the residence and this was verified by the Police Chief and Administrator. The property owner is maintaining that the property at 1206 Cary Court is his residence as he comes back when he can and stays at the house. In an interview with the residents they indicated that he has not stayed at the property since they moved in. Arnold Berscheid questioned how many days his son would have to physically be living in the home to qualify as a primary residence. Weyrens stated that it is not for the City to determine the number of days, either the property is his primary residence or it is not and based on the information provided by the Police Chief the property is not being used as his primary residence. The Police Chief, Pete Jansky, stated that he did have a discussion with the tenant at 1206 Cary Court at which time she confirmed they rent the entire house. Jansky stated that in addition the driver’s license for Berscheid is North Dakota, not Minnesota. Arnold Berscheid stated that his son drives truck in North Dakota therefore he needed to get the State license. Weyrens stated that the current R1 ordinance only allows rental if the house is owner occupied. The matter was published and the hearing was scheduled as the property owner signed an affidavit of residency. The Planning Commission must determine if the interim use permit applies. May 7, 2012 Page 2 of 4 Brian Tadych, 1205 Dale Street, approached the Commission regarding the long term impact of the proposed Interim Use Permit. While he is not opposed to the current tenants as they are great neighbors, but he questions what happens to the property when they move out. Tadych also stated it is his understanding that the property owned by Berscheid is going through the foreclosure process and questioned if a license can be issued to a property in foreclosure. Cobb questioned the financial status of the house and ability to secure a rental license. Berscheid stated that the property is not in the foreclosure process. Dubel questioned Tadych if he is for or against the proposed rental unit. Tadych stated his only concern is that the Ordinances and policies are enforced so that the property does not deteriorate. Karen Tadych, 1205 Dale Street E approached the Commission clarifying that she is not opposed to the current tenants, rather she is more concerned about the long term impact. Berscheid assured the Commission that he will make sure the property is maintained in his son’s absence. Kalinowski closed the public hearing at 7:15 PM. Rieke apologized for being late, but stated that from the information presented at the meeting, the property does not qualify for an Interim Use Permit, so why is the matter before the Commission. Weyrens stated that at the time of application, Bersheid indicated that he resided at the property, and in good faith the application was accepted and processed. It wasn’t until after the matter was published and mailed that it come to light that he did live at the property. Rieke stated without Bersheid living in the home the Planning Commission does not have authority to recommend approval of an Interim Use Permit and are left in a position to deny the request. Dullinger stated that she lives near the subject property and she was of the understanding that Bershcied had moved out completely. She stated that the property is maintained and she has not experienced any negative impacts from the rental unit. Dullinger questioned what determines occupancy, and that the action of the Commission at this meeting could displace two families. Schultz confirmed that the ad hoc committee has met and has had a good discussion on identifying the impacts and consequences of the current Ordinance. However, they have not come to a conclusion nor are they in a position to recommend any change of policy to the Council. Therefore, if any change would be recommended it will not happen immediately as the hearing process would have to commence. Meyer stated that it is his opinion the rental restrictions in the R1 Zoning district are too restrictive and outdated. He questioned Weyrens as to the rationale restricting rental in the R1 Zoning district. Weyrens stated that in 2000 the City received complaints from residents that rental units were blight to the neighborhood. Yards and homes were not maintained and it was easy to identify rental homes when driving through the neighborhoods. The committee looked at ways to balance the neighborhoods, finding a way to allow rental and provide for aesthetic and safe neighborhoods. Their conclusion resulted in the owner occupied rental provisions and it did work to balance neighborhoods. Meyer stated the rental ordinance really needs to be looked at based upon the student housing situation now and based on today’s economic times. Meyer motion to delay action on the application for up to 40 days or until the Mayor’s Ad Hoc R1 Rental Housing committee forwards a recommendation on the rental provisions, whichever comes first. The motion was seconded by Rieke . Discussion: The Commission struggled with making a decision at this meeting that would potentially displace two families, at the same time that a committee is looking at changing the requirement that would resolve the situation at hand. A two or three month delay is not going to be harmful. Weyrens stated that the issue at hand is an enforcement issue; the City has identified an ordinance violation based on an existing Ordinance. The City staff is in the process of enforcing a second similar May 7, 2012 Page 3 of 4 violation and she questioned the ability of enforcing this second complaint. Rieke stated that the Planning Commission cannot provide direction to not enforce an Ordinance; rather the Commission is only having a discussion that may impact future rental units. Dubel questioned if a provision could be included for hardship. Jansky commented that one of the problems is opening a Pandora’s Box, people are watching the meeting. If you do this for one, you must do all, cannot make exceptions for one. The Ordinance is on the books, if we don’t enforce for all, it is difficult for staff to do any investigation. If you are not going to do it, what is the direction to staff for enforcement? Schultz reminded the Commission that the ad hoc committee has only met once and even if they make a recommendation it will be a slow process. Meyer amended the motion to delay action on the application for up to 40 days or until the Mayor’s Ad Hoc R1 Rental Housing committee forwards a recommendation on the R1 rental provision, whichever comes first. The motion was seconded by Rieke . Ayes: Kalinowski, Meyer, Rieke, Dubel, Dullinger, Cobb Nays: Schultz. Motion carried 6:1:0 Ordinance Review: Weyrens presented the Commission with the revised ordinance amendments to Ordinance 52.21 Corridor Overlay, 56 Fence and 52.10 Parking Pads. She requested the Planning Commission review one more time for changes and the matter will then be ready for public hearing on June 4, 2012. To follow is a summary of changes: Ordinance 52.21: Minor grammatical corrections Ordinance 56:00 Deletion of statement requiring all fences to be wood or chain link, changed to allow fence types a permitted in section 56.07 (c): Deletion of the last sentence of section 56.05; Section 56.07 – addition of or adjacent to the property line in first sentence; Amending date of pre- existing fences. Ordinance 52.10: Add “and or located in the side yard” at end of first sentence sub section (a); substitute public right of way for street or road; replace the words garage, house at the end of sub section (a) with off street parking facility; grammatical changes to sub section (c); Update on Mayor’s ad hoc committee: Rieke reported that he is a participant in the Mayor’s ad hoc committee reviewing the rental provisions for the R1 Zoning District. The committee has meet once and in addition to Mayor Schultz and himself, the other members include Cory Ehlert, Mike Deutz, and Roger Schleper. Rieke stated the discussion at the first meeting was a broad discussion of the issues and concerns. Schultz concurred stating that issues revolve around enforcement efforts when absentee landlords are unresponsive, what parts of the Ordinance can or should be amended, how the Ordinance is applied to a changing economy and housing needs, and the impact of the residency requirement of St. Ben’s and St. John’s. Schultz stated that he will be adding additional residents to the committee for continued discussion. Dubel questioned if the committee has reviewed other cities ordinances relating to rental in both communities with and without student rental. Weyrens stated information was presented for cities with student populations. Cobb stated support of reviewing the Ordinance as the rental landscape in St. Joseph will be changing due to the College/University residency requirements. The concerns expressed in 2000 with unacceptable behaviors are different than the rental issues in 2012 and Ordinances should be reviewed from time to time. Schultz confirmed the need to determine the audience this affects, how many rentals, how many foreclosures and how big is this issue. Meyer and Dullinger concurred that changing times require review of Ordinances and the housing economy has changed significantly over the past couple of years. May 7, 2012 Page 4 of 4 The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 PM. Adjourn: Judy Weyrens Administrator