FAIRMONT– The rental housing ordinance conversation continued in the city of Fairmont Wednesday evening with a two hour work session between city council members and a handful of landlords and renters who were in attendance.
Changes to the ordinance were first brought up at a public hearing during the Sept. 27 city council meeting, when it was shared that the current rental housing ordinance would be repealed and replaced in response to discussion at the May 24 city council meeting when some complaints were brought forth to council.
Following the Sept. 27 public hearing, a work session was held at the Oct. 11 meeting, where landlords were given the opportunity to share their thoughts on the ordinance changes and ask questions to council members and city attorney, Mark Rahrick, who was present at that meeting.
At the Oct. 25 city council meeting, holding a roundtable discussion with council members and landlords was discussed, but Mayor Deb Foster said they like to hold their work session in a format that allows community members to speak at the podium so that everyone can hear, including those watching from home.
Some of the main topics of conversation Wednesday evening were about changes to the property inspection requirement, who can file a complaint and when the landlord is notified of a complaint.
Danny Klous, a landlord who was also present at the public hearing and work session, said he was concerned that landlords won’t be notified of complaints before the city comes in to inspect it.
“I don’t want a call into the city and an inspector going into the house because where does the list start and stop?” Klous said.
He said that was one of his largest concerns with the proposed ordinance.
“We don’t have an opportunity to fix the problem,” Klous said.
City Attorney Mark Rahrick, who was present, said, “the ordinance is amended to say that the landlord first gets notice and an opportunity to fix it… after that 48 hours, if a complaint is made that it’s not adequately addressed, at that point it certainly makes sense for the city to come in and inspect it.”
The council also worked to define who can make a complaint about a rental property. The current ordinance says a tenant can file a complaint, but the council has discussed broadening it.
City Administrator Cathy Reynolds said they can keep it as a tenant only complaint, family members and neighbors or a written complaint. She asked if council has a preference on where it would like to go with the matter.
Council member Britney Kawecki said she’s gotten a lot of feedback from the community saying people want to be able to discuss homes in their neighborhood and the way rentals make them appear.
“Driving down Blue Earth Avenue, there’s rentals along there. This is the first impression people have when they come into our city. What are we doing about that?” Kawecki said.
She also pointed out that it also takes a lot of courage for people to complain because some are afraid of retribution.
“I know there’s people who say there have only been two complaints in four or seven years but it takes a lot of guts for people to complain because they’re afraid of being kicked out,” Kawecki said.
She also touched on the issue of who does the rental inspections and listed a host of cities including St. James, New Ulm and Owatonna and said all of them have some form of a city inspector do inspections.
“It’s been stated that we aren’t those cities, but we shouldn’t be the outlier, either,” Kawecki said.
Kawecki acknowledged that no one likes new rules or ordinances.
“But when you actually go through it, there isn’t that many changes that are that big,” she said.
Returning to the conversation of who can file a complaint, Klous said he fears a complaint about loud music could be filed and will trigger an inspection. Mayor Deb Foster said she thinks the ordinance should specify who can file a written complaint.
“I think they need to have a direct consequence for having a written complaint,” Foster said.
Reynolds clarified that complaints about a yard and loud noises goes to the police department, but a written complaint would trigger an inspection.
“Any written complaint, the neighbor on the street or person who’s two blocks away, they have to have some sort of knowledge about the home or the condition. If it’s just an external appearance, it’s probably not going to trigger an inspection,” Reynolds said.
Council member Randy Lubenow said he’d like to see neighbors be able to file complaints about a property. He’s previously voiced that he’d like family members be able to file complaints on behalf of a tenant as well.
On the subject of providing prior notice of a complaint to the landlord, the council discussed changing the proposed ordinance to include that a when a written complaint is submitted, a notice to the landlord will be sent so the landlord has 48 hours to try to address it prior to city staff or an inspector going out to inspect it.
Regarding who does the rental inspections, the proposed ordinance requires the inspection to be completed by the city or a contractor retained on behalf of the city. Several landlords have voiced dissatisfaction with the change since it’s been revealed.
On Wednesday evening Lubenow suggested giving landlords the right of one refusal when it comes to choosing an inspector from a list provided by the city
“I think that’s being a little lenient.,” Lubenow said.
Reynolds said the inspection fee will be set by council. She said they will put our Request for Quotes and get a list of inspectors together and then negotiate contracts with them. She said it looks like inspectors are charging anywhere from $20 to $40.
Reynolds said staff should be able to make the changes discussed to the proposed ordinance that today and it will be brought to the council for approval at the next regular meeting, which is Monday, Nov. 22
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November 18, 2021 at 02:06PM
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