Agenda - Council Work Session - 12/07/2010

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IIA Housing Ordinance Enforcement In 2008, the Minnesota State Supreme Court ruled in Morris v. Sax that certain provisions of the city of Morris' rental housing code were invalid because there were subjects dealt with under the state building code and the city was attempting to regulate these areas "differently from the state building code." Minnesota Statutes section 16B.6s subdivision 1 states: "The state building code applies statewide and supersedes the building code of any municipality. A municipality must not by ordinance or through development agreement require building code provisions regulating components or systems of any residential structure that are different from any provision of the state building code." Metro Cities supports the ability of cities to enforce all housing codes passed by a local municipality to maintain its.housing stock. II — K Statewide Funding Sources for Local Issues with Regional Impact In recognition of the fact that many issues faced by cities with significant local costs have impacts that reach beyond municipal boundaries, Metro Cities supports the availability of statewide funding sources to address local issues that have regional or statewide significance including, but not limited to, the implementation of a metropolitan area groundwater monitoring network, emerald ash borer eradication and the cleanup of storm - water retention ponds. Metro Cities opposes the requirement of enacting ordinances more restrictive than state law in exchange for access to these funds. II — L Synthetic Marijuana Regulation In the absence of statewide regulation of synthetic marijuana some cities have begun investigating the ability to ban the product through the passage and enforcement of a local ordinance. Metro Cities believes the state should enforce a statewide ban on synthetic marijuana and should regulate it as-a schedule 1 drug. 12 Metro Cities