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Community Development Director Hanson reviewed the rental licensing fees. <br /> City Administrator Hagen shared that they have a full-time Rental Housing Inspector, and the <br /> Planning Administrative Assistant will be helping with this program. He added that the Police and <br /> Fire Departments will also assist with the program. He shared that the money they will bring in <br /> with licensing fees should cover the Community Development Staff time. <br /> Councilmember Musgrove noted that there is a large disparity between what they will bring in for <br /> licensing fees for single-family homes versus apartment buildings. She said this program will be <br /> running on the backs of the individual, small property owners. She suggested lowering the <br /> licensing fee and increasing the per unit fee to make up some of the difference. She stated that it <br /> is unrealistic to have this entire program fund itself. She said she does not think they are charging <br /> the apartments too much and they are charging the single-family owners too much. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson shared that their $15 per apartment unit is quite a bit <br /> lower than most other cities in the area. <br /> Councilmember Riley asked how they landed on the $15 per unit cost. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson said this was something that they had discussed with <br /> the Council. <br /> Councilmember Howell shared that she was shocked when she saw these numbers as the <br /> apartments are essentially being discounted and they are putting the cost of this program on the <br /> backs of a third of the City's rental properties. She explained that she has come up with a solution <br /> to not bringing in enough revenue and it would be to charge $125 a unit across the board regardless <br /> of whether or not it was a single-family home or an apartment. She said this would move them <br /> away from the tiered program and would be fair to everyone in the community. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff stated that part of the reason why they did the $15 per apartment unit <br /> was because the cost for the whole apartment building was significantly higher. He said he is not <br /> opposed to Councilmember Howell's suggestion. <br /> Councilmember Howell said if the landlords had to pass this cost down to the tenants it would <br /> increase rent by around $10 per month which she finds to be much more affordable than the kind <br /> of increase the single-family homes are currently seeing. <br /> Community Development Director Hanson asked if Councilmember Howell's plan includes any <br /> application fees or if it would just be $125 per unit. <br /> Councilmember Howell said she would just suggest the flat $125 rate for all units with no <br /> application fee. <br /> Planning Manager Larson shared that they should keep in mind the length of the inspection. He <br /> explained that a single-family home inspection will take 45 minutes to an hour and an apartment <br /> City Council Work Session/August 27, 2024 <br /> Page 8 of 12 <br />