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Minutes Workshop - 01/28/2008 COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2008 TAPE READING LQ DATE. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CITY OF WOODBURN, COUNTY OF MARION, STATE OF OREGON, JANUARY 28, 2008. CONVENED. The workshop convened at 6:10 p.m. with Mayor Figley presiding. ROLL CALL. Mayor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Figley Bjelland Cox Lonergan McCallum Nichols Sifuentez Present Present Absent Present (6:16 pm) Present Present Present (6:33 pm) Staff Present: City Administrator Brown, City Attorney Shields, Police Chief Russell, Assistant City Administrator Stevens, Community Development Director Allen, Building Official Krieg, City Recorder Tennant U RENTAL HOUSING DRAFT ORDINANCE. Mayor Figley stated that the staff report answers a number of questions the Council had from the last workshop with additional information on specific issues such as occupancy standards. Administrator Brown stated that staff reviewed the questions and concerns expressed by the Council and obtained more information from various sources in order to address these issues. Livability standards was an issue of concern and staff revised the draft ordinance to bring the State landlord /tenant act into the ordinance. Staff has tried to provide the Council with recommendations on the basis of staffs understanding of federal and state laws, legal defensibility, and administration of the ordinance. In regards to manufactured homes, staff found that the State of Oregon did not extend protections to tenants in addressing livability standards inside the structure, therefore, the revised draft ordinance has been modified to apply the same livability standards to tenants renting manufactured homes in a manufactured dwelling park. Another concern related to egress windows in basements and staff continues to recommend that egress windows be required so that individuals renting basement rooms have an access out of the home in the event of a fire in a stairwell. The third major area of concern related to establishing a maximum occupancy of dwelling units. Administrator Brown stated that staff continued to look for occupancy standards and are recommending that the City's standard should be reasonable based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) position with 150 square feet of habitable space pre occupant as the most restrictive enforceable standard that is consistent with federal law. Page 1 - Council Meeting Workshop Minutes, January 28,2008 TAPE READING 12.9 see corrected minutes of 02/11/08 COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2008 Councilor McCallum had hoped that the square footage would have been higher but understands the staffs position in recommending a square footage amount that is consistent with case law. City Attorney Shields stated that he had personally talked to other City Attorneys that have adopted occupancy standards and it was difficult to obtain information as to why the 150 square foot standard was established. He stated that his memo on occupancy standard includes the complaint filed by the federal government against the town of Cicero, Illnois, to illustrate that any application of a minimum occupancy standard must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner. Councilor Bjelland stated that the two issues he feels is of great concern are (1) overcrowding in a residence, and (2) having boarding houses or multiple rental situations in a single family zone without zoning approval. City Attorney Shields that the courts allow the City to zone property and violations of zoning regulations can be pursued by the City. Administrator Brown stated that staff tried to anticipate enforcement of standards and how realistic the standards should be. Councilor McCallum questioned ifneighbors are able to file complaints. Administrator Brown stated that the ordinance allows neighbors to file a complaint on the occupancy issue, however, it will be difficult to prove that the occupants of the home are not all family. rfthe occupancy standard is approved, it would limit the number of adults in a household based on habitable square feet. He reiterated that staff will continue to look at the maximum standard but the amount recommended seems to be the safest standard to adopt at this time. Councilor McCallum felt that staffhas done a good job on this draft ordinance and, as time progresses on, adjustments can be made with the housing ordinance. Councilor Bjelland stated that if a standard is adopted, then whenever there is a plan review, it be stipulated that the maximum occupancy is based on a certain amount of square feet of habitable space. When a new house is built, the habitable space would be calculated and builder informed of the maximum number of habitants of individuals age 18 or older. Even though it will involve some additional bookkeeping, it will be easier in the future to refer back to the permit to obtain the square footage of habitable space. Administrator Brown reiterated that staff tried to look at what can legally be done and to look at what can be reasonably be done for enforcement purposes to come up with a balance that staff felt they could work with in a housing code. Building Official Krieg felt that this draft ordinance is a good starting point to see how it will work in our community. He stated that the research completed by staff, which includes looking at ordinances implemented by other cities, strikes a good balance between what those cities are doing, what the City feels that they can do, and what the City might have the staff available to do. The City will not know how much work will be involved until the City is able to educate the public on the ordinance provisions. Police Chief Russell stated that the landlord / tenant law can be a complicated area and Page 2 - Council Meeting Workshop Minutes, January 28,2008 COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2008 TAPE READING the City does have a couple of police officers especially trained in this area but code enforcement officers do not have this training. Staff will be adapting their enforcement to the level of employees who will be performing the job. He also feels that the draft ordinance is a good starting point and staff will be able to enforce what is in the document. Individuals in the rental property business have shared with staff that landlords should be meeting the standards as required by the State. Community Development Director Allen felt that this is a very implementable ordinance with the exception of the occupancy standard. City Attorney Shields expressed his opinion that the draft ordinance will be defensible if a legal issue is brought forth. 28.0 Councilor McCallum felt that staff has done a good job in drafting this ordinance by addressing dwelling standards which does affect livability. Councilor Bjelland expressed concern with language in Section 6 requiring complaints to be submitted in writing. For example, it requires proof that reasonable efforts were made to provide the landlord with written notice of the alleged violation. He felt that this is could be a difficult requirement for people to make and will inhibit a lot of complaints. Administrator Brown stated that the section is focused on when the tenant is the complainant and that some letter should have been given to the landlord previously regarding the dwelling violations. In fairness to the landlord, they should be given an opportunity to fix the problems before enforcement action is taken. Following discussion on this section ofthe document, City Attorney Shields stated that he would add a provision clarifying that reasonable efforts to provide written notice to the landlord is limited to situations where the complaint is the tenant. Chief Russell stated that his staff takes anonymous complaints now and they will continue to do so even though it may hinder their ability as to how far they can investigate. Mayor Figley stated that many people will make things right if they are asked to do so and she would not like to set up a situation where landlords are not told of a problem in advance of it being reported to the City. Her only concern with the ordinance is that those individuals who do not want to create a problem with their landlord will not take advantage of the ordinance provisions that will bring their residence up to a habitable level whereas there will be other tenants who know how to work the system and will take advantage of the ordinance provisions because they are close to eviction. Councilor McCallum stated that he is more concerned about those who do not understand the system which is why education is an important component. Administrator Brown stated that the staff report does address the educational component that needs to take place which includes giving them information on other resources of assistance currently available to them. 37.3 In regards to the number of rental homes within the City, property owners with 2 or more rental units are required to have a City business license, however, not all owners have complied with the business license ordinance. Community Development Director stated Page 3 - Council Workshop Minutes, January 28,2008 COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES JANUARY 28, 2008 TAPE READING that staff has completed a review of the assessment records and found that there are about 2,000 residential properties within the City that have mailing addresses different from the site address. Councilor Bjelland stated that he had a concern with Section 6 (B) regarding the name of the landlord since some tenants only deal with a property management company rather than the owner. City Attorney Shields stated that he will change the sentence to read' . . .landlord, if known.' to clarify this issue. 40.6 Police Chief Russell stated that they will be working with a group of rental property managers to look at the draft ordinance before a final document is presented to the Council. Councilor McCallum suggested that the realtors within the community and Legal Aid office be notified of this draft ordinance to receive their comments on the document. Councilor Lonergan expressed his appreciation to staff on their effort to draft this document but still feels that there is an obligation to neighborhoods when a house has a high occupancy level since there are a number of problems that are associated with this issue that affects the neighbors. He believes that the ordinance does provide a good tool and guidance on improving the standard of living to those residents who currently live in sub-standard homes. However, he still feels that the ordinance is weak but it is a starting point to try and improve housing conditions and improve neighborhoods. Side B City Administrator Brown stated that the nuisance ordinance can take care of a number of concerns that affect the neighborhoods which are not associated with sub-standard housing. Community Relations Officer Javier Meza Perfecto will be a large part of the education process by translating documents into Spanish, meeting with citizens, and providing public announcements over the radio station. Other educational methods to be used include the local newspaper, WCAT, and the City newsletter. Mayor Figley suggested that the Legal Aid office also be contacted to see if they would be able to distribute information to individuals utilizing their services. ATTEST l1a~ ---z;:-~---\ Mary Tchnant, Recorder City of Woodburn, Oregon /' 5.2 The Mayor concluded the workshop at 6:55 p.m.. Page 4 - Council Workshop Minutes, January 28, 2008