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� a <br /> Our Missiow To work together to resposihty grow ouf communiiry, and to prowlde quality,cost-effective.and eificlent gowemment servIem. <br /> Regular Planning Commission 5. 4. <br /> Meeting Date: 10/06/2016 <br /> By: Tim Gladhill, Community Development <br /> Information <br /> Title: <br /> PUBLIC HEARING: Consider Ordinance 416-09 Amending to the Residential Rental Licensing Program. <br /> Purpose/Background: <br /> Purpose: <br /> The purpose of this case is to consider amendments to the City's residential rental licensing program. This initiative <br /> originates from the City Council's Strategic Plan. Based on an initial public engagement/workshop authorized by <br /> the City Council and subsequent Staff discussion, Staff proposes the following amendments to the program. <br /> 1. Single-Family Dwellings (detached and attached/townhome) subject to licensure (registration),but not <br /> inspection. Inspections would only occur on a complaint basis. A fee of$25 would be collected. <br /> 2. Frequency of multi-family inspection reduced to once every three (3)years <br /> a. Common Areas inspected <br /> b. Portion of individual units inspected <br /> In addition,the City would chart out a path for future amendments,only if necessary. These options are not being <br /> recommended at this time. <br /> 1. If clusters of rental homes with exterior code violations presented itself,the City would consider adding an <br /> exterior inspection requirement. <br /> 2. If clusters of interior code violations presented itself through the complaint-based system,the City would <br /> consider adding interior inspections. This would be on a tiered/incentive-based approach, as outlined below. <br /> As has been discussed in the past as part of this topic,the City does not believe there to be a widespread issue with <br /> rental properties in Ramsey;the goal of this program is preventative in nature. However,there are isolated issues <br /> and pockets of issues believed to be in existence. The amendments to the program would improve communication <br /> with owners/landlords and provide an additional tool in the event the owner is unresponsive to corrective needs <br /> while not creating a burdensome process both for owner and City. The proposed amendment would create a <br /> program that is still much more relaxed than the City's original program for these single-family homes. <br /> Background <br /> The City Council previously authorized a public engagement process to gather feedback on potential amendments <br /> to the rental licensing program. Letters went out to approximately 800 non-homesteaded homes believed to be rental <br /> properties. The City also reached out to area real estate brokers and property management companies. Of that invite <br /> list, approximately twenty(20)participated in the public comment period. The intent of that workshop was to better <br /> understand the issue at hand,but not propose any amendments at that time. The City did not want to lead with <br /> solutions until it better understood the issue. Staff found this to be a valuable exercise, as additional aspects of <br /> renting a property were discovered that were not necessarily part of the original research. The abstract nature of the <br /> initial workshop and comment period likely contributed to the relatively low response rate. It is expected that the <br /> City will receive more comments as part of the next phase,which includes reaction to an actual proposal. <br />