[0:28] e [0:58] e [1:28] e [1:58] e [2:28] e [2:58] e [3:28] e [3:58] e e [4:49] good evening welcome to the October 8th 2024 city council meeting the meeting is [4:55] hereby called to order members of the public May attend this city council meeting in person or may watch and [5:00] listen remotely by viewing the meeting on Channel 8 WCTV and at the city's website at [5:07] www.a.org WCTV public comment during the public forum Andor public hearing portions of [5:14] the meeting may be provided in person at the meeting in advance or by logging into the zoom call and raising your hand [5:21] during the public hearing when your name is called in the meeting you will be seen and heard in our council chambers [5:27] and the cable channel you will be asked on mute and then you may begin your comment all public comments must include [5:34] your full name and address second item on the agenda this evening is the Pledge of Allegiance I would ask everyone who [5:40] is able to please stand and follow along I pledge allegiance to the flag of [5:48] the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation [5:54] under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all [6:01] thank you next item is the roll call let the record reflect that all members of [6:07] the council are present except uh for council member [6:14] perill right uh earlier this evening the council participated in a workshop where [6:19] we reviewed the following two items we had updates to the capital Improvement plan for 2025 through [6:26] 2033 and the we also reviewed the draft cannabis related zoning ordinance [6:32] amendments next item is to approve the agenda may have a motion to approve the agenda as is or would anyone care to [6:39] make any changes so move Madam mayor thank you to [6:46] approve the agenda as is all right is there a second [6:51] second any further discussion all those in favor say I I I opposed motion passes [6:59] and next item is the public forum as a reminder for those members of the public and attendance this evening if you are [7:06] interested in speaking please state your name address indicate if you are representing a group we also ask that [7:13] you limit your comment to 3 minutes if the item you wish to speak about is [7:18] something that is on the agenda for those that are in person we ask that you please fill out a form uh located on the [7:25] table in the back of the room and handed to staff for those that are watching via Zoom please send a note via chat to [7:31] staff and let them know which agenda item you wish to speak about we will also require that your camera is turned [7:38] on when you speak city manager do we have any forms [7:44] that are filled up for the public forum this evening uh Madame mayor we do not and we do not have anybody on Zoom as [7:49] well all right very good uh we do have one item uh that was listed on the [7:55] published agenda for the public forum and that is intr protction of our new [8:00] employee Aaron saer I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly thank you um [8:06] accountant city manager thank you Madame mayor Deputy city manager Jagger is going to take this uh I'll just say that [8:13] uh given our size given the type of community we are it's important to acknowledge uh our wonderful employees [8:20] especially our new ones that see um all of our community members uh in whatever [8:26] position they're they're doing so this is a tradition that we love we can really showcase our our wonderful [8:33] staff well thank you Madame mayor and council members it's my pleasure to introduce you um to our newest um [8:40] accountant uh her name is Aon St seir she joined the city in May and she actually joined what was a new position [8:47] um we previously only had one person in our finance department so we were very very happy to add a second one to our [8:54] midst Erin comes with a lot of Public Finance experience she came to us from the State auditor's office and I can [9:01] already tell you that in the time that she's been here she fits in with the team really well she's a super hard [9:07] worker a very quick learner and she has a great sense of humor too so I can say [9:13] that our team loves having her and it's great to have the added capacity especially at a time with as you may [9:18] remember our senior accountant retired at the end of last month after 31 years and so graciously Aaron has really [9:25] stepped up and taken on some additional duties and is learning a lot and I can hly say that I don't know where we would [9:30] be without her so um I'm very happy um to have her on our team and welcome [9:42] Aaron hello I'm Aon sere and um again I [9:47] started in May absolutely love working for the city it's very different from [9:53] working I worked at the state auditor's office in the government uh information division for 12 years prior to that I [10:00] worked in private sector for a family business uh St Louis Park [10:07] um I've really enjoyed the fast well it's been a very fast learning experience uh jumping into uh a new [10:15] position and then all of a sudden learning Kathy's job as well so uh [10:21] absolutely love all the employees that I work with and love the experience wonderful well thank you any [10:28] questions no well it is a pleasure to have you and [10:34] have uh very big shoes to fill with as we know with Kathy uh leaving us after 31 years but heard nothing but [10:42] absolutely amazing things about your skill set and having you on the team so [10:48] thank you so much um for all that you do uh for making us run so smoothly and [10:54] getting all the bills paid on time and and everybody gets paid [10:59] you know that's important too uh so we really appreciate having you and look [11:05] forward to many years here at the city of poeta thank you thank [11:12] you all right any other forms for us this evening uh no other forms Madam [11:18] mayor for the public [11:24] forum uh Madam we do have one but this is for an agenda item so I'll pass it along just to keep in mind for the the [11:30] the new business items very good okay so we'll move along item number six on the [11:35] agenda is uh new agenda items this is an opportunity for the council to bring up [11:41] any items that they would like to talk about at a future council meeting anything no all right then we will move [11:48] on to item number seven which is our consent agenda uh this evening we have a [11:53] few items we have approval of the city council workshop and regular meeting minutes of September 17 2024 approval of [12:01] the check register approval of Municipal licenses approval of local climate [12:06] action Grant agreement with Minnesota Pollution Control agency approval of [12:12] Great River Greening Cooperative agreement for the wetta Nature Center restoration project receipt of 2024 [12:21] second quarter financial report approval of letter of agreement with Kent good [12:28] road piano for volunteer appreciation dinner adoption of resolution [12:33] 41-22 approving the 2025 wetta city council meeting schedule and approval of [12:39] amendment to Professional Services agreement for financial services with [12:44] abof Financial Solutions for 2025 members of the council do any of [12:50] you have any questions about any of the consent agenda items or wish to pull an [12:56] item for separate discussion Madame mayor I'd like to pull item [13:01] 7D uh approval of local climate action Grant agreement with the Minnesota [13:06] Pollution Control Agency for separate discussion and vote okay uh [13:12] then any concerns or any other items that we'd like to pull Madame mayor I [13:18] would like to make a comment and maybe even a request to staff regarding [13:25] um item e okay I just um I I do plan to [13:31] vote in favor of it and so I'm fine with it staying on the consent agenda I just thought it should maybe it's more [13:38] discussion or a little bit of nuance with it but I have a few comments I'd like to make on that item okay very good [13:46] let's see if there are any other items um all right so nothing from council member [13:52] senson uh very good why don't we go ahead and let's pull item D we'll put it [13:58] to the end of the [14:04] agenda all right sorry I'm just making some notes so I don't [14:10] forget all right so we'll talk about that after item 8B under new business [14:17] and then uh council member uh would you like to ask your [14:23] questions about e or make your comments yes if you don't mind thank you I just wanted to to I had spoken to the city [14:30] manager about um The Cooperative agreement for the wisata Nature Center restoration project and I wanted to just [14:40] make it noted to the public that this is a an initiative to restore the Nature [14:48] Preserve and that it's kind of separate from any initiatives via parks and [14:53] trails or any sort of development and that's why I support [14:59] this item but I also wanted to make a request that the public be notified of [15:06] what's going on in the Nature Preserve and also keep the council looped in on [15:12] what the plans are in this restoration just so that we um have many eyes on [15:19] this situation I think it's a important piece of property that is preserving [15:25] nature and I hope that it would stay that way oh thank you um I think it's a [15:32] really um I think it's great that we're tackling this we ask our residents to um [15:39] and encourage them to take care of invasive species and uh that's what [15:44] we're we're tackling here so um I I do think it's good it is not part of a [15:51] larger initiative at all it is simply to try and take back some of what nature is [15:57] trying to take over um and not the nature that like the Buckthorn and and things like that that [16:03] we want in um a place like the Nature Center I do like the idea [16:09] of um maybe some signage somewhere I know it's tucked away in kind of in the back there of to promote the work that [16:16] we're going to be doing that the city is undertaking um the removal of invasive [16:22] species but also communicating very clearly and succinctly with the neighbors as we do know that uh when [16:29] Thorn is removed it can have a a vastly different look and feel um to the area [16:34] and some of that privacy uh that people enjoy from having that type of [16:40] vegetation once it's removed it can be it can feel Stark um so I think that [16:45] would be that's a good suggestion um for communication any else on those items no [16:54] um the one item uh kind of a comment uh city manager and I spoke about this [16:59] earlier today uh is with regard to item I um and Talking a little bit about the [17:07] services that are provided by ABDO um I would like to see [17:13] us start taking some of these tasks on inhouse given the skill set we just met [17:19] um Miss Saint here and her abilities that we have new Financial software that [17:24] we get to a point where we can start taking on some of the tasks that abdos doing like the quarterly financial [17:31] statements um and so um let's start now [17:36] that we have the the tools and the skills um taking that inhouse for some of those [17:42] things okay um seeing that there are no other questions or comments for the [17:47] items on the consent agenda may have a motion to approve items a through c and [17:54] e through I so move Madam mayor thank you and a [18:00] second second any further discussion all those in favor say I I I opposed motion [18:08] passes I will take us on to new business [18:14] and let's see we have uh three items now under new business the first item is to [18:22] consider adoption of ordinance 842 approving a moratorium on Redevelopment in the r3a district District city [18:29] manager thank you madam mayor our wonderful assistant planner Val corl is going to tackle this one thank you city [18:36] manager good evening Council uh tonight we'll be considering adoption of ordinance 842 uh approving moratorium on [18:43] Redevelopment in the r3a district for some background there have been uh [18:48] concerns raised uh from the council and from the community about the uh fast-pace and uh character overall of [18:54] single family Redevelopment in some of our core neighborhoods uh when I say neighborhoods the areas of concern [19:00] appear to be uh north of wetta Boulevard East of Barry South of Highway 12 and west of gleon Creek uh a council [19:07] Workshop was held on the subject on September 17th and the direction that came out of that was that staff were [19:12] directed to prepare a moratorium on Redevelopment in this area for the council's consideration this [19:19] evening the moratorium is in your packet uh and the applicability is is always [19:24] the biggest question with the moratorium uh the area subject to the moratorium is outlined that's those uh Central core [19:31] neighborhood sort of area of concern that was primarily discussed at that Council Workshop the moratorium would be [19:38] set for 90 days from the effective date of the ordinance I mentioned that because as an emergency ordinance if we [19:44] had a four out of five vote from Council that would be an emergency ordinance and it would be effective immediately if it [19:51] were to pass on a regular three out of five vote then it would be treated like any other ordinance and we would have a [19:56] second reading at the next Council meeting and that would delay the effective date the activities prohibited [20:03] by the moratorium include uh no new demolitions no new home permits and no [20:08] additions uh the moratorium is designed uh to give staff some time to look at [20:14] potential code changes within the r3a district as a whole we don't uh differentiate this area from the rest of [20:20] the r3a district which in that U call out image below is most of the area in Orange and includes a lot of uh Central [20:27] Avenue South WIA Boulevard that whole neighborhood so uh while we're focusing [20:33] on a lot of the uh Redevelopment activity that's happening on the North side the changes would likely apply to [20:39] the rest of the r3a district our next steps regardless of whether the moratorium passes or not are [20:45] that we would hold a Planning Commission Workshop to discuss the issue staff is already working on uh potential zoning [20:52] solutions to the uh concerns around neighborhood character that were raised in that Workshop like homes being far [20:58] forward or dominated by garages impervious surface all of the things that were talked about within that Workshop uh we would also be looking at [21:05] creating an engagement plan for both residents of these neighborhoods and the developers that build in these neighborhoods understanding whether you [21:12] know are we putting together solutions that seem really great on paper but aren't feasible for Builders you know and would not be used and then like any [21:20] other zoning code amendment process we would be bringing that through the public process with Planning Commission ultimately to city council and we would [21:27] be doing that before the morning moratorium ends so over that 90-day period and again that's our based on [21:33] Council Direction that's the plan regardless of whether there's a moratorium it just changes whether there's that pressure of additional [21:39] demolitions or new home permits happening at the same time or not and then the community's role in next steps [21:45] is that we do intend to have engagement around this issue it's important it's specifically about character which is [21:51] something that uh we can try to understand a staff and have a technical understanding of but we want to hear [21:56] from the people who live live here work here and build here so that'll be the role of the community within this [22:02] process as well so the proposed motion will be to adopt the moratorium very [22:07] good thank you m corls uh questions of staff I have one yes um so when was the [22:16] last time we had a moratorium on development of this [22:23] nature I would have to look I don't have the answer to that question yeah uh council member uh Sorenson I I did have [22:30] a chance to talk to another uh colleague about that question um earlier today and [22:36] we didn't have a chance to go through all of the archives but aside from the Cannabis [22:42] moratorium no other moratorium um came up over the past eight and a half [22:48] years oh we've had moratoriums for sure right but not not [22:55] recent is is my point we had some I we have to go to the City [23:01] attorney because I remember moratoriums like in my tenure in the last over the [23:06] last 10 years but I if you ask me for what oh we had the Telecommunications [23:14] moratorium I'm trying to think if there was anything else that's the one that Madame mayor that's and Council that's [23:21] the one that came to mind that's been in you know recent memory was the one on on the um Celia when we did that I think [23:29] there was a I seem to remember we might have had one imposed in connection with zoning like this but I don't remember [23:35] exactly when during my tenure but not not not within recent years but we can [23:41] go back and take a look at that other questions no uh my question [23:48] is surrounding uh impact to to those who [23:54] may be in in process right appc [Music] [24:00] appliations that have been submitted can we talk a little bit about that how many applications do we have that are in that [24:07] area uh that are deemed complete and also those that are not deemed [24:14] complete sure Madame mayor and I think city manager doll might have a couple of numbers on this but there's a couple of [24:19] stages of permit issuance I think is kind of key here so there's the moment we receive that permit and then there's [24:26] all of the evaluation as to whether we have enough uh information on that permit uh when it comes to uh demolition [24:33] permits specifically there's a lot of site inspection that has to happen before a permit is formally issued and [24:39] then there's also a little bit of a gray area between U giving sort of the green light for a permit and the applicant [24:44] paying for that permit sometimes that can be a little bit of a gap as well so we have a few permits in process right [24:50] now if city manager doll wants to L maybe I don't know if we want to give specific addresses but we can talk about [24:55] the types yeah just in general within the um the smaller area not just in r3a [25:02] but just the smaller area where the moratorium is proposed we have essentially a few um single family home [25:08] permits that are under review right now when you say a few is that one or two [25:15] two for sure and one that were that's actually been approved but we're waiting on payment so it's that's kind of [25:21] [Music] pending two are under review one we're awaiting payment so if this moratorium [25:29] passes tonight does that mean that person does [25:35] not have the ability to move forward with their project well I I would I'm [25:41] looking at the City attorney here but my assumption just like any zoning review if when you're reviewing the permit if [25:48] you don't have zoning approval then the permit doesn't get um approved and [25:54] because a moratorium if that is enacted tonight in an emergency way they wouldn't have zoning approval so we [26:00] wouldn't issue the permit but that but I defer to the City attorney if he has anything else to no Madam mayor and city [26:07] manager that's essentially correct so the moratorium would essentially freeze those if they haven't actually been [26:13] issued a permit if they haven't received their permit either because they don't have a complete application review is [26:18] pending or they haven't paid the fee that would be put on hold for 90 days under this moratory and then are they [26:25] aware that this was pending and this could potten po impact their applications or the the issuance of a [26:31] permit I don't know specifically if these individual um folks were were made aware [26:38] of this or not I think part of the part of the discussion there is that our our pace of [26:45] evaluation and reviewing doesn't change all of that much we can't really speed it up and we can't really slow it down [26:50] so the existence of a potential moratorium either tonight or in two weeks or not at all uh doesn't really [26:56] impact the pace at which either we have evaluate or they get their fees paid or they finally you know have shovels at [27:01] the ground so that's part of the part of that there as well how long have we been waiting for this payment and I ask [27:08] because if I'm I'm trying to put myself in their shoes if I have you know I get [27:14] a phone call from Miss corl and and she's like oh [27:19] everything looks great you just have to pay and I'm like okay well I'm kind of busy this week and maybe I'll stop by [27:25] next week if however I knew that if you don't get your payment in before Tuesday [27:31] night and this emergency moratorium happens you're now delayed for 90 days and all my contractors get bumped and [27:39] yeah then that's a very I'm going to approach it very differently um yeah uh [27:46] great Point Madame mayor all I have all to say to that is we just got an update [27:51] that the the permit had been proved today or within the past couple of days so it's all very new and so we could you [27:59] know after this meeting let them know that you know there's depending on what [28:04] happens um that there's probably more a sense of urgency if if the moratorium [28:11] passes tonight but the emergency doesn't then there's still a little bit of room for them to uh get paid but if they if [28:17] the pass if it passes tonight technically they don't have a permit and then they would be affected by the moratorium as the City attorney had [28:25] mentioned okay all right uh any other questions or [28:33] comments no um just one just to clarify or make sure that we're precise on this [28:39] my understanding from what you said earlier was that to have an emergency moratorium go into effect would require [28:46] four out of five council members we're missing one tonight so all four of us would have to vote in favor for the [28:53] Emergency to go into effect but if three out of the four here tonight only [29:00] approved the moratorium it would be its normal process which would take some period of time is that correct it's [29:06] exactly correct okay yes City attorney yeah M May Madame mayor the only Nuance [29:11] I would give to that just a procedural one under our Charter we actually need two votes for an emergency ordinance so [29:18] the first vote you would ask for is to declare the uh Preamble of the ordinance [29:23] which outlines what you know this is an emergency so I think if you have four [29:28] four votes for that then this will potentially become effective immediately because you'll have you have to have two [29:34] votes for an emergency ordinance to have immediate effect under the charter so just procedurally that's what you'll ask [29:40] for first to declare an emergency okay and it's basically the Preamble of the [29:47] moratorium where it says emergency declaration there you'd ask for I don't have a hard copy of that oh I'm sorry [29:54] it's that's okay yeah page 114 of the packet I believe okay well we do have uh [30:02] one person uh that would like to speak uh [30:10] regarding this item Mr Casey sherack like to invite you up [30:23] please good evening good evening council members and uh staff my name is Casey sherack I have a home building company [30:29] called Pillar Homes and I've been creating homes and developments in wetta for 29 years now I'm also a resident in [30:37] wetta and if you could provide your address please that's where I was headed letting you know that I'm a 231 Manitoba [30:44] Avenue South thank you okay um thank you for asking I was um I'm not 100% if I [30:50] should be up here I don't know if that works for me or against me I'm here as a representative of maybe um past [30:57] experiences that have taken place in wisett I have been involved with four Mayors to date and about 30 council [31:04] members and about the same number of um Commissioners in many cases it feels [31:10] that um I'm here that this feels like a slightly knee-jerk reaction and that a [31:16] moratorium to this side of the table is taken very seriously um and if you do decide to do some sort of a moratorium [31:22] please state that that you're being very serious about it and you're trying to send a message to people on the other side because to date during this process [31:31] I have heard staff use some terms that there have been complaints and there's a lengthy list of something that's flawed [31:37] in the system the system has been heavily evaluated by your predecessors and I believe in current time by many of [31:43] you sitting here zoning code rules height requirements Water Management [31:49] hard cover um the immense amount of reviews and codes and Zoning that had [31:55] taken place didn't just happen in a vacuum these predecessors of yours have all done thorough thorough jobs um the [32:01] staff that preceded this group of the ones sitting with us today have done a wonderful job everybody's done a [32:07] wonderful job something has triggered this I sat in on a meeting last week uh um for a [32:15] workshop that I don't believe prior to that there had been any discussion of a moratorium I also just sat through a [32:21] request by council member McDonald it was wonderful that you brought up something about the Nature Center and your main concern was making sure the [32:27] public was involved The public's informed and there's something going on here with in depth with the nature the [32:32] Nature Center that's important to make sure Mother Nature is taken care of which this city does a wonderful job at that too but I talk about this moror and [32:38] I'm trying to figure out how it got to this level of concern being someone on this side of the podium who is in the [32:45] trenches all the time I have a bat phone to Valerie I talk with inspectors daily [32:52] I have a bat phone to Jen and nothing with complaints I'm just here to say what can I do to to make sure that what [32:58] I am required to do is a positive outcome for the city of the city of [33:04] wetta we cannot mandate good architecture or good things but we have plenty of rules that help us get to a [33:09] good Finish Line and it feels like more incentives should be given for better architecture or better volume in a house [33:16] or better placement of a garage as opposed to just you know putting on the brakes and calling it a [33:23] moratorium so really here today I'm just here to say you know people on this side of the podium do do take it very [33:29] seriously and that word moratorium has a a bold statement that [33:35] comes with it if you wish to do that please do it and state that you're trying to make a bold statement that [33:41] there's a bold problem I just don't see it and I'm only here as one but I'm up [33:46] to 45 single family permits in the city of wetta and I believe many of those homes fit within this envelope that's [33:53] been created by yourself your team the team that sits there that works for this City Y Zetta to make this a wonderful [34:00] wonderful place to live it's a wonderful place to build it is not easy please don't kid yourself that this is an easy [34:05] place to do that it's very onerous but that's not every it's it happens in almost every city I'm just letting you [34:11] know that it's taken you should take it very very seriously and put your foot down and say we're making a statement that a moror is the right thing I would [34:17] encourage you not to do that if you want to review like um staff has stated that [34:23] there's going to be an ongoing no matter what happens here tonight with this um [34:28] the topic at hand for a moratorium that reviewing digging depth trying to find a list that there are problems I I would [34:35] love to be involved in that but again there's not been a ton of public engagement that there's a problem if [34:41] there is let's let's find it and find some incentives not just the stop Gap that really doesn't I don't believe [34:47] solve anything in the 90 days I don't think anything can happen personally that's that's me if you're meeting on [34:52] this side of the podium I want to thank you immensely for what you do I want to thank you immensely for how much you [34:57] care but I just uh find it important that being playing in the arena of [35:04] improving the city which that's what I believe it is some sort of EMB betterment to the experience of being in [35:10] our community in the living side of it I take very seriously and have a lot of Pride doing it I love being before the [35:15] city in the past I look forward to many times in the future and um I just want [35:20] you to hopefully take what I'm saying to heart that what you're doing is very exciting for the city of wetta I don't [35:26] believe it's the positive answer here I believe there's other ways to get an outcome that would be much more appealing and come across much more [35:32] engaged with the community as opposed to again I'm not here every single day but [35:39] I am engaged and I do do a lot of activity in the city of Isetta so thank you for letting me go [35:45] over three minutes or whatever I was required to do thank you thank you right uh can we talk a little bit [35:53] about uh the process and how we've gotten to this Point uh I think that [35:59] would be helpful uh happy to just kind of summarize how we got here Madam mayor uh [36:07] the overall um concern about new single family home construction in the central [36:14] core neighborhood which is the you know the north of wetta Boulevard um in the [36:20] central part of the city in the r3a district uh was brought up at a council [36:27] Mee a couple months ago um based on you know how big the homes are how um close [36:35] they are to the street and how much of [36:40] the front yard was consisting of just the garage and it was really having a [36:46] pretty significant impact on the Integrity of the neighborhood so that overall concern was brought up to the [36:52] council a couple months ago my direction at the time is uh if the council agrees [36:57] on it uh let's have this as a workshop item to see you know to really kind of walk through the concerns and then we [37:05] can talk about next steps we had that discussion three weeks ago and the direction from the council at that point [37:11] in time was yeah there's some real concerns here um we would like to [37:16] consider a moratorium that would halt any more Construction in that [37:21] neighborhood for staff the community the council the Planning Commission to uh [37:27] really work through this and try to see if there's any solutions that can uh resolve the concerns in a fairly short [37:35] period of time and here we are today it was specifically that a moratorium can [37:41] last up to 12 months an emergency moratorium can last up to 12 months um [37:47] but Council Direction was we would support only a very short period of time [37:53] um and ask staff to really focus prioritize prior I the issue um yep okay [38:00] that was uh the discussion at the last Workshop um all right any other [38:06] questions of Staff no all right [38:12] um so we I think we clarified we have two [38:19] applications that are in some state of process in the process and one that [38:25] we're just awaiting payment yes mam mayor I did have a a brief conversation [38:30] with the city attorney and one way of dealing with the payment issue is that [38:35] we could make the E if the council wanted to move forward with emergency ordinance there were enough votes and [38:41] consensus to move forward with that we could have the effective date tomorrow so that would give them another day to [38:47] pay for it if we wanted to allow that effective date at close of business [38:53] tomorrow so they would have time to make yes M the ordinance would have immediate effect but the moratorium would would [39:00] begin at the close of business tomorrow okay yeah that was the thought okay [39:05] thank you for the clarification all right I will bring it back to the council for discussion uh anybody care [39:11] to share sure y Council memb laon yeah [39:17] um well I've spent some time walking uh the neighborhood where we're thinking about imposing a moratorium and I think [39:24] I I get the issue I mean we're it's a Charming neighborhood with significant [39:31] character and you can clearly tell some of the new homes have a different look than some of the older homes where the [39:37] garages are in the back most of those are detached um also quite familiar with other R3 neighborhoods who have been [39:44] probably equally maybe even more impacted if you terms look at the number of new builds uh in relation to the size [39:52] of the of the neighborhood so I'm very supportive of of the study that we're [39:58] doing because you know we always want to try to improve provide some flexibility um to uh allow um our our [40:07] residents and Builders and developers to come up with our best Solutions and we [40:13] made it clear I think to staff that we want to prioritize this issue uh try to [40:18] conclude this within 90 days uh it looks like the goal is to accomplish the [40:24] study uh do a public or do a um Planning Commission session get public input come [40:32] back to Planning Commission for approval and then come to the city council for approval in 90 days it appears a little [40:41] ambitious it is it is so so I guess the point is I think it's not unreasonable [40:47] to think this is going to be more than a 90-day issue before it gets resolved um and I asked a question about [40:55] the last time we had a moratorium because it's this is a significant issue [41:01] um and it's one I think one of the biggest hammers we have as a city council and and how we deal with any [41:07] issues is putting a moratorium in place um I also think um this is a bit of a [41:15] tough nut because uh I think there's a lot of uncertainty as to what we might [41:20] conclude through this study um our audience have been here a long time I think they've been thought [41:26] out uh quite well um and they're there for good reasons so we need to we need [41:34] to keep that in mind I mean I think um Bale's got a tough job here uh to help [41:39] us to help us figure all all this out um you know the Declaration in front of US [41:46] states that there is an immediate pressing and emergency need to impose a [41:55] moratorium I I'm not I'm not sure I agree with that um question is why do we [42:02] need a moratorium we're going to study this issue we're going to do it in a [42:08] expedience manner and does this issue really rise to the level of really imposing a Mortor and stopping [42:16] development um you know and again I think this isn't a new issue the things [42:23] that we're concerned about and it deals with with a more more area than just uh [42:29] the moratorium parameters that we have in in front of us so to me um again I'm [42:36] very supportive of doing what we can to um improve uh our our processes now but [42:43] it does seem reactive it seems a little severe and extreme measure given the um [42:50] unclear outcomes that might come of this issue um sorry about that [42:58] uh uh and it's something that um that uh it's one of the few things we do that [43:04] has an immediate impact on on our residents on our residents and our our [43:10] our businesses here and you may say well it's only 90 days it's practically probably more than that but if you made [43:16] an investment uh to purchase one of these properties sell one of these properties [43:21] invest in one in one of these properties uh given the the value of the real estate and maybe it have the you know [43:28] you have plans designed I mean the monthly load on that is is pretty um [43:35] significant so you know I think from from that perspective I I guess we heard [43:40] we heard from one resident um of a of a similar note so um I'm very supportive [43:47] again of continuing to study this issue um I think we can do it away without we [43:53] can do it without the potential downside of uh imposing a [43:59] moratorium um because I think the real difficulty here is trying to uh come up [44:05] with solutions that don't have unintended consequences um including you know [44:13] dictating maybe the size of a home or the footprint of a home jeopardizing our [44:18] um our hard cover it issues um potentially impacting uh property values [44:26] those all those are things that we'll find out through this process I also think maybe the Optics of of this [44:33] doesn't sit all all that well kind of picking and choosing one neighborhood to impose a moratorium on and maybe setting [44:41] some sort of presidence so um it feels a little a little [44:46] heavy-handed to me and um uh because of that I'm going to have a difficult time [44:51] supporting the moratorium okay well thank you for sharing your perspective other [44:59] sure thank you mayor um [45:05] this issue and this um these ideas having come from from nowhere um as [45:12] someone who's lived in this neighborhood up there for close to 10 years it's something that I've seen as our packet [45:18] stated 17 homes being torn down in the last um five was it five years since [45:27] 2019 so it's significant it has been happening I hear a lot of feedback from [45:32] it from my neighbors and my little Community up there [45:39] um I really respect council member Swenson's thoughtfulness of this [45:46] and weighing out both sides now I think [45:52] about being conscious of the rights of these people who have put in the time [45:58] and the investment of their of of their home of their property and what they [46:03] plan to do with it in the future but I also look at um the person who already [46:10] has invested and and lives there and is having their street and and Landscape [46:16] changing so much so this this ball got rolling quicker towards the end it [46:21] caught a lot of steam which I was thrilled about cuz it's been a drum beat [46:27] through um the central core neighborhood I also want to note to to Mr sherack and [46:34] um developers my hopes in this is actually [46:40] to look at what our code can [46:45] do for the imagination of a builder or a developer maybe it's too restrictive in [46:51] some places which then encourages a different kind of building [46:57] so I don't want us to just go into this moratorium with a hammer that's saying [47:04] we can't allow this or that I want to look at it and say okay we made these [47:11] these determinations in 08 I believe so that's not that recent to be looking at [47:17] zoning codes in that neighborhood um with maybe encouraging a a better [47:24] building for that sell better and make the developer more money and make the [47:29] neighbor's house rise in value because I think there are some unintended consequences to our restrictions that [47:37] are encouraging a certain type of building [47:42] that I would imagine a builder would rather do something a little more aesthetically pleasing and probably have [47:48] a higher value I do realize I'm not a developer so take that but that's what [47:56] one thing I want to mention is my intentions is to look at it more [48:01] holistically and how we can make things maybe even easier on a developer instead [48:09] of just saying no to a certain style because Aesthetics are so um [48:17] subjective um so I we received a few letters of support for this um I hope [48:24] that the council had a moment to read those before uh the meeting began I um I [48:32] think 90 days is a short time and it's an ambitious timeline but I'm glad this [48:38] has lit this fire to really address some of these issues and look at how we could [48:44] make our building code better for our residents and our building code better for Builders [48:51] so thank you council member pish well I uh [48:57] I I appreciate and value what both of my fellow council members have had to say about this I certainly had no [49:04] predisposition about where I was going to go with this and until we heard all the arguments uh I think the most [49:10] important thing uh about this issue is what it impact how it impacts the neighbors am I uh losing my my mic here [49:19] okay and um when a developer comes in and builds a [49:24] home they turn it over to the new new homeowners and then they go on to the next project but the home that was put there [49:31] affects not only that homeowner but all the neighbors around them in some way now we have a history in this town that [49:39] I'm that I was even part of where we could have considered something like this but we had zoning that we had put [49:46] in place for all good reason hard cover requirements setback requirements all [49:51] with good purpose as to what we had intended for that the unfortunate thing is that sometimes those un intended [49:57] consequences take a little bit of time to play out and I think that's what's Happening Here is those unintended [50:04] consequences have been playing out particularly in that neighborhood because that it is so compact when a [50:11] home is put there that is dramatically different than the other homes surrounding it it changes the character [50:18] of the neighborhood I think we have made mistakes in the past unintended they [50:23] were honest mistakes but they were mistakes nonetheless uh I think we have an opportunity here to correct a mistake [50:29] before we continue to let it happen uh we don't know that where this was going to end up but it is clear that we have [50:36] some zoning uh discrepancies some zoning issues we need to take a look at to make [50:41] it right if we are aware of things that could go into place in the next week or two or or a few months that we know at [50:48] the end of this wouldn't match or would meet the new requirements I think it we [50:54] we owe it to ourselves to stop that from happening uh as much as I hate moratoriums in this case I would be in [51:00] favor of it because I think we could stop a wrong before it happens now very [51:07] tactically we do have Apparently one permit that has been approved but not been paid for is that correct okay uh In [51:15] fairness I would think in that case because the developer in that I don't [51:20] know who that is the developer in that case was acting in good faith and their permit was approved to then pull it out [51:27] from under them simply because they haven't written the check yet seems a little bit onerous to me so I would [51:32] encourage us to vote for the moratorium but put it into effect at the close of business tomorrow to give that developer [51:39] a chance to to to pay that bill and then I think 90 days is not a very long time [51:44] uh we're coming up on winter I don't think a whole lot would happen again I'm not a developer but uh I think we that [51:49] gives us a uh an accelerated time to figure this out and then let the process play out so I would be in favor of an [51:56] immediate moratorium okay thank you uh I too uh you know just a little [52:05] bit of background since I lived in that neighborhood back in the mid 90s um so what is that almost [52:15] 30 years oh wow um and I I too have seen [52:20] just a staggering amount of change especially on some of the areas [52:27] you know the the the lot sizes haven't changed but the um desires uh for what [52:35] people are looking for in a home have definitely changed over time and and our [52:40] zoning was pretty cookie cutter right we're going to put it here and do this [52:46] and you know and it doesn't always fit that neatly into a box and definitely [52:53] for the last 15 20 years seen just a considerable amount of change um [53:00] especially uh here in the last few years uh but some of the issues that council [53:06] member McDonald had brought up have been issues that have been brought up for a substantial amount of time and so I am [53:14] I'm really pleased that the council was in agreement to explore this issue uh [53:20] because it it seemed to have fall fallen on deaf ears uh with previous councils [53:27] and so I think this is a really great opportunity um for us to roll up our [53:33] sleeves take a look at it um but again with some very tight parameters uh [53:39] looking at 90 days understanding that this does have impacts it has impacts to [53:45] um to people financially um timelines uh you know and I'm talking about just [53:52] the individuals I'm not talking about the people who are even doing this as a business right as a developer I'm [53:59] talking about the homeowner who you know pays an architect and you know um wants [54:05] to build their new home so I'm very sympathetic to that and I think that's why collectively as a council we [54:14] consider we agreed to consider a a moratorium but only for a very short dur [54:20] duration um and so I think it warrants um further exploration to council member [54:27] McDonald's point I thought it was very aptly stated uh we're not just looking [54:33] to drop a hammer we are also looking at some other tools that we might be able [54:39] to uh accommodate um I'm going to say like [54:44] water credits right when you with permeable papers and coming up with [54:49] other things so it doesn't require a variance if you happen to go over a certain number and understanding that if [54:56] we're more restrictive in some areas we may need to be a little less restrictive in others and so finding that balance [55:03] and that's what this moratorium is for is to be able um to figure that out it's [55:08] not tough because it takes us a long time generally just to agree on things but um I think we at least at the [55:16] end of 90 days know if we're headed in the right direction or not [55:22] so that takes us to um our [55:27] the action that we have this evening so we need two items yes Madam mayor you [55:34] will need to ask for two votes and just to I just want everyone to be clear this is something that's required under our [55:42] Charter this ordinance is set up as an emergency ordinance which means it could [55:47] have immediate effect will have immediate effect as you don't we don't have the two readings that we normally [55:53] do but the charter requires you to vote separately on the Preamble declaring and defining [55:59] the emergency okay so my recommendation would be first to ask for a motion to [56:05] adopt the Preamble of ordinance 842 defining and declaring the [56:11] emergency if you do not have four affirmative votes for that Madame mayor we can then discuss how we can turn this [56:19] into an ordinary ordinance which would have two readings you basically ask for a motion to adopt the first reading of [56:26] this ordinance we'll have to make some change to the language remove the word emergency remove the Preamble and we'll [56:32] need to talk about making it effective at the end of well actually we won't need to make it effective at the end of [56:37] business tomorrow because it won't be effective for two weeks and so two two cycles question procedurally um with [56:45] that if this isn't if the emergency declaration um does not pass then [56:51] becomes part of our regular a regular ordinance so to speak yes we could do [56:57] that okay um still in effect for 90 days it would be a uh the moratorium would [57:04] begin upon um passage passage uh which would require the second reading okay so [57:11] so in other words the 90-day moratorium would take effect after the next council meeting if this is approved by a [57:17] majority of council the second reading so then uh further question [57:23] procedurally um public in no no we don't [57:29] so this we don't need a public hearing for for first reading or second reading [57:34] no okay all right very good and it's posted so there's no issue with that [57:42] either and Madam mayor just qu clarification would the ORD interim [57:47] ordinance be in effect upon the second reading or upon publication upon publication okay so it [57:54] it' probably be early November when it would [58:00] start got it so one not to labor the point but one way for Council to think [58:05] about this is um if you pass the moratorium there will [58:12] be a 90-day moratorium it'll either start the end of business tomorrow or it'll start sometime in November okay so [58:21] you know I've heard Council wrestle with several different aspects of this one is well we've got some application in the [58:26] pipeline now what about them and I've also heard well let's do this quickly and get it over with so things to [58:34] way yes coun I've got a couple of questions that brings up one is I [58:39] already know that if we're going to pass an emergency moratorium we need all four of us if that doesn't pass do we only [58:47] require three votes positive for the second okay and the other is that we're going to if we if it passes that four or [58:55] three if it passes 1 there will be a moratorium so for some period of time [59:00] there will be a moratorium on development if we don't pass the emergency then that gives developers [59:06] homeowners Property Owners 30 days or whatever time it takes to squeeze in [59:12] something before the morum moratorium takes effect and get done possibly what [59:18] we don't want to have happen only because they know that they have a short amount of time to get it in is that is [59:24] that a possibility uh Madame mayor council member plish we [59:30] we it's possible that if some property owners are waiting to uh submit plans [59:37] for whatever reason that we might get a a couple extra uh given you know they [59:43] don't want to be onp for 90 days um but we we're not going to be able to go [59:50] any faster in our review um but we may get more submitted so we we'll do the [59:55] best we can but we're not going to be able to stop everything else and focus on reviewing single family homes in that [1:00:02] neighborhood just to get them through we we won't be doing that we'll be business as usual and city manager I'll note our [1:00:08] standard single family home permit review time at minimum is usually like six weeks so that would definitely fall [1:00:14] outside of you know whenever the effective date of this would be even if it were second Reading Plus publication [1:00:20] time okay okay thank you all right [1:00:27] so Madame mayor if you want to proceed yeah as we outlined earlier I think the first order of business would be ask [1:00:33] asking for a motion to adopt the Preamble of ordinance 842 defining and declaring the emergency and do we need [1:00:40] to read out the Preamble I don't think you need to it's it's in the packet it's [1:00:45] in front of you now on the screens very good would someone care to make that motion Madame mayor I'll make that [1:00:52] motion in the words that the City attorney used very good thank you and a second second motion's been first and [1:01:01] seconded uh why don't we do a roll call vote sure council member McDonald I [1:01:07] council member plish hi council member Sorenson nay uh mayor Mutan I okay so [1:01:14] the motion does not pass that's s right Madam mayor so now um if Council wishes [1:01:20] to proceed with this as an regular ordinance that would become effective [1:01:26] after two readings and publication um I can give you some quick edits to the the ordinance 842 that's in [1:01:33] your packet you would essentially would excise the word emergency from the title would remove the Preamble and would make [1:01:40] the effective date in duration the last section of the ordinance the ordinance shall become effective upon um passage [1:01:48] in in publication did you guys get that I went [1:01:55] rather fast I I can talk more about any of those things all right so we need a motion to [1:02:02] adopt a draft ordinance no yeah Madam mayor I I can give that to you if you'd like perfect yes thank so the motion I [1:02:08] would suggest would be uh a motion to adopt the first reading of ordinance number [1:02:14] 842 with edits to remove references to it being an emergency ordinance [1:02:20] including the Preamble and that it would become effective [1:02:26] upon passage and publication I couldn't have said it better [1:02:32] myself someone care to make that motion I'll make that motion Madame mayor thank you and a [1:02:38] second I'll second any further discussion yeah I'd like to ask a [1:02:44] question of staff I mean I will be voting in favor of this but by virtue of [1:02:49] us now extending the beginning of a moratorium for however long that gives us say two months does that give staff a [1:02:57] longer lead time to research this knowing that another 90 days Will Come [1:03:02] thereafter or does it not matter uh Council mayor and plish Madame mayor it [1:03:07] I would say it matters because it does give us a longer time in order to meet that deadline of getting something to [1:03:13] the council before those 90 days are expired um and who knows what's going to [1:03:19] come out of the discussion the workshop the community feedback and just to have a little bit more time for that and to [1:03:24] to give the best product back to the council I think is important so it will help so if I can rephrase it in my words [1:03:31] is there is a silver lining to the fact that my my vote and the last one didn't [1:03:36] Prevail uh which is that it will give us more time to come up with a better solution at the end of this uh yes [1:03:43] council member plish I agree and because of our our our um our our timeline and [1:03:49] how we process permits I mean the the homes that are that we get building permits for and applications they're [1:03:55] very complicated their custom so it does take some time given that um I don't [1:04:00] think we're going to be in a situation where we're going to have new you know new building permit applications that [1:04:06] are going to be permitted in this little kind of gap between now and when the [1:04:12] interm ordinance is published so I think we're in good shape so let's talk time frame just a [1:04:18] little bit uh let's play this out so we've got assuming we're in discussion [1:04:25] now we've got get a motion um first and seconded F the we're in the discussion [1:04:30] point so we um assuming this [1:04:35] passes first reading second reading in two weeks yep 22nd then we publish it [1:04:43] after that that would be approximately November 5th probably okay so right [1:04:50] around election time we've got the publication it goes into effect after [1:04:56] publication yep okay and then the 90day clock starts from that point so we're [1:05:03] talking December January February heck we're almost into spring at that [1:05:09] point yeah early February uh hopefully it's hopefully it feels like spring at that point pardon me hopefully it feels [1:05:16] like spring at that point yeah well I mean it it's better than January right [1:05:22] and that allows us to get over the hump of the holidays too when people might be out at town okay okay so yes um a couple [1:05:31] things so I think I think the Silver Lining just went to four months instead of three but um What if after 90 days it [1:05:40] hasn't this hasn't played out yet what if it hasn't made its way through Planning Commission and then approved by [1:05:46] city council that what if that takes longer than 90 [1:05:52] days yes please yeah Madame mayor council members uh so the moratorium [1:05:59] will expire after 90 days uh from the effective date um Council will have the [1:06:06] opp opportunity to extend it or the option I should say to extend it that [1:06:11] does I believe require a public hearing so it will be more involved than this initial uh moratorium but moratoriums [1:06:18] can be extended the other option is to let it lapse and hopefully be you know close [1:06:25] enough to the finish line that that uh that any official controls that we want to change would be would be changed due [1:06:31] course thank you I think the point we were trying to [1:06:38] or the we were trying to impart um a sense of urgency right that [1:06:43] we aren't going to study and study and restudy and we're just take a look at a [1:06:50] few very concise issues come back with some recommendations and and make a [1:06:57] decision okay so uh we have a motion on the table it's been first and seconded [1:07:04] we've had some discussion uh let's go ahead and take a roll call vote please [1:07:11] council member McDonald I council member pish I council member Sorenson nay mayor [1:07:16] muton I motion passes and we will move on to the next [1:07:23] item under new business and that is to consider approval of first reading of [1:07:30] ordinance 841 to add short-term rentals to chapter 815 rental dwelling licenses [1:07:37] city manager thank you Madame mayor I'll be uh walking you through this item uh [1:07:43] just to get a little bit of background on this item um in context of our [1:07:48] current circumstances we have about 18 short-term rental properties that we know of in town that have been active [1:07:55] over the past year there's honestly there's probably more than that but those are the the ones that we uh at [1:08:00] least know about um we discuss this when I first started here I think in [1:08:07] 2016 or 17 um short-term rentals as an issue did we want to um add to our [1:08:14] ordinance to regulate them at the time we said let's not you know there was weren't uh too many problems associated [1:08:21] with it so why were you trying to create a solution to a problem that didn't um that didn't need to be solved um fast [1:08:28] forward we have had more of them uh more short-term rentals over the past few [1:08:33] years especially in a few neighborhoods and we've gotten some complaints from Neighbors about them uh so uh that was [1:08:41] mentioned as a part of our strategic plan um especially in terms of our strategic initiative of kind of [1:08:47] maintaining that small town character and making sure our neighborhoods retain their integrity and are safe uh so this [1:08:55] was initiative uh between now and the next year um fast forward from our [1:09:02] strategic plan when that was approved to just recently this past summer we held a workshop and just uh wrapped our hands [1:09:09] around the entire issue with the current circumstances what the alternatives are [1:09:15] uh what other cities do and ultimately the council provided direction to staff [1:09:20] to kind of because this is a significant issue to break it up into two phases is [1:09:26] first phase which is you know the action item tonight is to um it's it's the I [1:09:32] would say the most simple phase is just to update the ordinance to include short-term rental Define short-term [1:09:39] rentals in our ordinance and mandate that they are licensed licensed and if [1:09:45] they're licensed that means that they will um have an inspection and have to adhere to whatever regulations that we [1:09:52] deem appropriate um so that's the first phase um the second phase as you see [1:10:00] there which would start next year would be to do a lot more engagement and really get into the details of zoning uh [1:10:09] method means and manner of of of uh you know do we want to have restrictions in [1:10:15] certain areas do we want to have Property Owners present look you know look at some of the other cities that [1:10:20] are similar to us um and really dive deep into the details of of where [1:10:26] essentially and how many do we feel comfortable with that's going to be an interesting process that will require a [1:10:32] lot of Engagement because uh often in this uh with this case Property Owners [1:10:39] may have of short-term rentals may have a lot of um differing uh opinions on it than the [1:10:48] uh just the our residents that are wanting to live in a peaceful and quiet [1:10:53] neighborhood so that's phase two that's next year um what you have in front of [1:10:58] you tonight uh is a uh draft ordinance that really allows for short-term [1:11:05] rentals to be a part of the licensing process as our longer term rentals are [1:11:10] now with a couple of exceptions one as you see on the screen there owners of [1:11:16] short-term rentals are not required to conduct criminal background checks on prospective tenants uh like they would [1:11:24] uh for a longterm rental and then in addition to that leases or rental agreements with short-term rental [1:11:30] tenants will not be required to contain crime-free or drug-free and disorderly [1:11:35] conduct language um you may ask why why would we you know disallow this um the [1:11:42] the quick answer without going into more detail is this we're treating short-term rentals more like a lodging facility [1:11:49] where you know these types of questions or these types of uh restrictions you [1:11:54] wouldn't have in a hotel or a resort or something like this this would uh make [1:12:00] it less of a burdensome process for tenants to stay in the um facility with [1:12:08] knowing that we are we have kept in the Clause that the property owners of a [1:12:14] short-term rental do have to take that crime-free drug-free um training that's required for a [1:12:21] long-term uh rental owners so that's what we have have that's what you have in front of you [1:12:27] tonight uh I'm here to answer any questions that you have this has been a really collaborative process between myself City attorney schelzel uh Chief [1:12:35] Schultz and um uh Mr Zer from WSB too um [1:12:40] so we're happy to answer any questions you can see the next steps here uh whatever form of this draft ordinance we [1:12:47] move forward with hopefully tonight next steps are we'll incorporate into our fee [1:12:52] schedule you'll see that in a future meeting um we'll develop an actual application or or tweak the current [1:13:00] application that we have and then we'd start to uh get the word out to the um [1:13:06] community and then move forward with uh step two or phase two uh next year I'll [1:13:13] leave it at that and happy to answer questions or lean on my my colleagues here for responses as well great thank [1:13:20] you questions of Staff no [1:13:26] uh I do have a couple of questions so the crime-free drug-free [1:13:34] nuisance free uh language so we don't re could you go [1:13:40] back to what isn't isn't required crime-free drug-free disorderly [1:13:47] conduct language so leases or rental agreements will not be required to [1:13:53] contain that don't we have that backwards [1:13:59] don't so we're going to have the property owner take the class but it's not going [1:14:05] to be part of the lesie agreement to rent the place [1:14:13] correct yep similar to you know anybody checking out a a hotel room you don't [1:14:18] have to go through a background track or anything like that does the hotel staff have to go through the crime-free [1:14:25] drug-free and disorderly conduct class no but um the staff isn't owning [1:14:32] the property we feel like it's it makes sense for the property owner to do that if they're going to own and really you [1:14:38] know manage the the single family home or the mother-in-law apartment that they're going to rent out but what are [1:14:45] they going to so help me understand the class right because a the class is tough [1:14:50] to come by it it's not offered often it's not offered to everywhere sometimes [1:14:57] it's at Great distance um in order to get the license right you can get a [1:15:03] provisional license until you take the class so on and so forth [1:15:09] but what is that class teaching you that someone I mean now you don't even have [1:15:16] to be present to open the door and let somebody in you can have a code on a [1:15:21] doorknob so what are we expecting that class to teach teach someone who was renting their home for a [1:15:30] weekend that they would be able to enforce I guess is is my point because I [1:15:37] I agree we want safe lodging regardless of whether it's [1:15:42] for one night or if it's for 10 years but it has to make sense MH um I I'll uh [1:15:51] great question um I'm happy to re a little bit more detail about that [1:15:57] specific training session and then I think uh Chief Schultz can probably better answer some of those concerns [1:16:03] just generally but um the the training session really looks into uh how [1:16:10] Property Owners what they can do to prevent crime in general and then also working with the police who to call who [1:16:17] to contact what the standards rules regulations are they talk about crime [1:16:24] preven ition through environment design principles acronym known as seped that [1:16:30] that involves like oh where should you have lighting outside so it's not you know um so it's not a risk uh for folks [1:16:38] to gather you know next to another property or or whatnot talk about lease [1:16:43] agreements how those should be um uh developed and even and and how to [1:16:49] evict and then applicant screening and fair housing so really uh I would say proactive preventative measure [1:16:56] preventative measures to make sure that we keep you know essentially the bad people out of the um but we don't know [1:17:04] that so here's my problem with this I'm a I'm someone who's interested in coming [1:17:11] to WIS up I go on a website I found a home that I want to rent for the weekend [1:17:18] with my family I put in my dates I like the price I give my credit card information [1:17:25] information I never meet the owner so all of those [1:17:30] classes while they make sense if I live down the [1:17:37] street and I rent my house for a long period of time I I'm not even going to be able to [1:17:44] do anything I'm not going to be able to screen anybody I the last two points [1:17:49] that were just made are screening your tenants they're not screening anybody [1:17:55] nobody's screening anybody someone's agreeing to they're entering into a contract over a website so I guess in [1:18:03] theory that class makes sense but for a short-term rental I I don't see the the Nexus [1:18:11] between what I'm learning in that class and being able to be a good property [1:18:19] owner for a weekend rental or a one night rental mad mayor I'd say there's [1:18:26] still there still is screening that can be learned and takeaways from this type [1:18:31] of training that could be in how the um property owner ultimately leases [1:18:39] out their space you know security deposits for example uh very clear rules [1:18:46] and what happens if you don't follow the rules things like that um but to your [1:18:53] point I you know this the the ordinance as it's written doesn't allow for that type of extensive [1:18:59] background for the actual renters but I don't know Chief Schultz if you had anything to add on kind of best [1:19:06] practices and and what other communities are doing or anything else yeah Madam mayor and councel I think um you know [1:19:13] the crime-free drug-free disorderly conduct um nuisance ordinance that [1:19:18] you're referring to and and uh the state's certainly been a part of establishing that um that is geared more [1:19:25] toward the long-term rental where the apartment um the the landlord is [1:19:33] essentially um signing a longer lease um they are susceptible to [1:19:39] eviction restrictions and um need some sort of [1:19:45] empowerment to enforce their rules and regulations uh we as a police department [1:19:51] any local jurisdiction Police Department would work with those places those establishments those um [1:19:57] locations and offer that training um whether it's through us or through the state video or or those different types [1:20:03] of options and it also focuses on recognizing certain issues U many of [1:20:09] them uh city manager doll uh Illustrated but such as you trafficking uh signs of [1:20:15] trafficking um signs of illicit drug use um and then excuse me also like ways to [1:20:23] do background check without of course we require a background check for those long-term rentals our ordinance does [1:20:29] chapter 8:15 but um short-term rentals may be able to be empowered by something [1:20:35] similar to that maybe not quite that crime-free drug- free multi-housing uh class but something similar with you [1:20:42] know where is this person coming from are they coming from Plymouth and if so why are they looking at renting a [1:20:48] short-term rental one city away well history has shown that it's usually [1:20:53] parties it's usually things like that and then we can also offer them tools to [1:20:59] um I see us moving you know past the maybe further past the long-term um [1:21:06] crime- free drug- free multi-housing uh sessions by teaching them about opportunities to use um deciel readers [1:21:14] in their home to determine you know if they've got two people that are renting a a a three-bedroom home um and that [1:21:21] their lease states that you can only have those two people if that's what you're renting it for if the decimal [1:21:27] levels rise louder than that we can then deem that a party and come in and [1:21:32] mitigate that a lot of cities do that um so I look at what we would offer them [1:21:38] not exactly a crime-free drug- free ordinance uh disorderly conduct [1:21:44] ordinance that we would have them watch the exact same video that the long-term rentals do but gear it more towards an [1:21:50] educational process of you have a short-term rental these are the things to look for for um to keep your tenant [1:21:56] safe and to keep your property safe but also to abide by our regulations and then phase two May incorporate a process [1:22:05] where we um you know hold the the the lease the the the [1:22:10] landlords responsible if we get X number of violations within let's say a 12-month period um the crime free drug- [1:22:19] free uh ordinance does that with long-term rentals right now um and then [1:22:25] it also empowers the landlord to be able to enact those termination processes if [1:22:31] they get those those complaints so the videos are I was going to go through the [1:22:38] process but there was I think like you could go to Brooklyn Park or you could go up to Blaine I mean it was not [1:22:45] exactly next door and it was a full day um which is tough also for people who [1:22:51] have to work do we offer other Sol Solutions like online where you can take [1:22:58] the class now that maybe wasn't offered a year or two ago yeah Madame mayor um [1:23:03] our department has a crime-free multi multi-housing coordinator I am not that [1:23:09] person I'm not as educated in the process uh but officer Vogal is and uh [1:23:15] he actually goes out to the the establishments and and has discussions with the management and and walks them [1:23:21] through the process and and does the site survey is with you know um environmental security concerns things [1:23:28] like that uh we could in the future uh fashion a more intimate um interaction [1:23:34] with the homeowners that are choosing to be short-term rental landlords in that in that [1:23:40] fashion I think that would be great I would be supportive of something like that that we have a [1:23:45] more um concentrated effort you know [1:23:52] on guidance it's about guidance and education more than anything and and [1:23:57] part of this first phase Madame mayor is really just to understand kind of how many do we have and what are the kind of [1:24:05] issues that we can see so anything that we do now doesn't mean doesn't preclude us from enhancing the program and the [1:24:11] ordinance and the restrictions down the road thank you yeah yes City attorney uh Madame mayor I I do have a [1:24:19] thought so you know section 81505 which is on P page 119 of the [1:24:26] packet is the provision that requires the crime-free drug-free training and [1:24:32] the language does say that every owner or property manager of a rental dwelling and no carve out for other than [1:24:39] short-term rentals must attend phase one crime- free d crime free training or [1:24:45] similar City approved program so I think it kind of contemplates what Chief Schultz is talking about that if we if [1:24:51] we do develop a city approved program or we can identify one that's more appropriate for short-term rental [1:24:57] property owners the ordinance would allow us I think to accept that I mean that would probably something we'd want [1:25:03] to set by policy um but I just would point that out that that the way it's worded now we would have that [1:25:09] flexibility okay [1:25:15] okay excellent other questions or concerns no no all right thoughts of the [1:25:23] council thank you Chief Madame mayor I guess I'll start [1:25:30] here um I'm glad we're doing this I think it's something we need um and I'm [1:25:37] I'm generally in favor of this the only thing that I have an issue with is the [1:25:43] um exemption of a short-term U renter or leie language for [1:25:49] crime-free du drug free uh those are behaviors that we don't want in our community whether they're homeowners or [1:25:56] hotel residents or long-term lessers we don't want that behavior I don't see why [1:26:02] we can't require that it be included on these me check into a hotel to me checking into a hotel is not quite the [1:26:08] same as renting a house for a week or two um they're just not the same and a [1:26:14] lot of times we sign forms they have all these legal disclaimers on it most people just skip over it and sign it anyway um and maybe that's what the [1:26:21] realm would be here too but I see no reason why we should shouldn't put these in the lease agreements uh I don't see [1:26:28] any downside for doing that other than reinforcing the fact we don't want this Behavior so with that one change I would [1:26:35] be supportive of the rest of the U motion here very good thank you um just [1:26:40] a clarifying question the language would not it says it would not [1:26:45] be included right in the lease okay mayor uh could I add um excuse me [1:26:53] something we talked about internally of why we did not include that that's because often these leases are signed [1:26:59] through VRBO or Airbnb or one of these other ones and are you know it's a [1:27:05] pretty standard uh interaction trying to add why is it a specific language to that [1:27:13] that yeah third- party business would be pretty tough yeah absolutely mayor while [1:27:20] this topic is up can I I think the back and forth on this is confused me a [1:27:25] little bit um they're required to take the class but yet the language isn't in [1:27:32] the agreement that you would learn from the class is that how are those two things connected I guess well so my [1:27:40] understanding is the lease right so if if you were to come and lease a room [1:27:46] from me in my condo my lease does not have to include [1:27:51] that um that language that crime-free drug-free disorderly conduct [1:27:59] language but it's predominantly because if you're going through a third party [1:28:05] like a VRBO or an Airbnb there is no lease that you can [1:28:12] amend to your personal circumstances in the city of wetta okay [1:28:18] so they're not dependent on on each other the class and the language okay I [1:28:23] I um I think I back to understanding and I just [1:28:29] thought you should know I think there's a public comment yes didn't know that okay I just want to make sure okay thank [1:28:36] you uh so this is true for any short-term rental then even if it's [1:28:45] somebody who's renting out their basement for less than 30 [1:28:50] days yeah yes their agreement it's how it's defined in the ordinance uh and I I [1:28:56] don't have that right in front of me but Madam mayor so so any any shortterm [1:29:02] rental lease would not be required to have the same crime-free drug-free and disorder conduct language that any lease [1:29:10] for more than 30 days would be required to have okay great thank you all right [1:29:16] um Casey sherack uh [1:29:26] evening again council member and members and staff Casey sherack at 231 Manitoba [1:29:32] um I'm two for two tonight on topics so pretty excited about that um I am uh and [1:29:37] have taken this class and have been a license owner of of rentals in wetta for [1:29:42] probably 30 years now or however long it was in and I am in favor of it I think [1:29:48] the endgame and the details you're talking about just from my feedback are important but more importantly I think the city needs a list of where the [1:29:54] rentals are that are shortterm this will engage that so that you have to register your rental now the details on the [1:30:01] Finish Line can be worked out over time and yes you do take this and it's um very difficult to incorporate but what [1:30:07] you learn at this class is important I went with open eyes but I learned more than I signed up for I thought it was [1:30:13] very intriguing and causes an open eye to some things that maybe you weren't looking for before so I I think the [1:30:18] class is very good Airbnb and vbo they have embedded in their uh things you sign online that you can't be a drug [1:30:25] dealer you can't do violent things you can't be a troublemaker and all that stuff because you can be kicked off the um the venue and not use and you will be [1:30:32] not permitted to use that venue anymore to lease and to rent out homes so there is a self-governing thing in embedded in [1:30:39] Airbnb and vbo which was stated by staff it's already there as far as the fluidity of it and it does work just so [1:30:45] you know um so the other thing that I think is important by triggering this at least starting to registration license [1:30:52] PR are the inspections you people should not be staying in these homes unless they've been inspected there's proper handrails the steps fit right the grades [1:30:58] are proper there's smoke detectors appliances don't leave gas I mean I could list them off for you every you [1:31:04] know and the staff here would need to know that that's coming um but if you list them off it would be good to know [1:31:09] that there's 30 of them and then of the 30 maybe half of them are already being insed because they're part of what [1:31:15] either the long-term rentals are going to be going into short term because you can kind of Bounce them around depending [1:31:20] on how you want to do it as a as a land owner but just you know the list and the availability of knowing where they are [1:31:26] and what they are is as is as important as the details of the finish line so I am in favor of the licensing in the [1:31:32] permitting to get it started so that staff knows when there's a complaint to the police department oh yeah that's one [1:31:38] of the houses and if it's not it should send up a really big red flag immediately for the city so thank you [1:31:44] for allowing me to go two for two thank you thank you appreciate the comments [1:31:51] all right um yeah if I can then expound on what I was [1:31:57] saying before uh first off thank you Mr sherack for that because that actually addresses a question I had or push back [1:32:04] on the staff which was the reason I heard that you didn't include this was for um ease of implementing an Airbnb or [1:32:13] vbo contract which he just said that language is already in there but there will be places here perhaps that are not [1:32:18] part of that Network so why wouldn't we want to include that language so I'm going to go back and say I will assist [1:32:24] that we have that language in these leases which we don't have to do much because vrb already has them in there [1:32:30] but for those that are not part of that Network we put that in so I I'm going to insist that those actually be included [1:32:37] in the leases with the rest of it I'm I'm fine Madame mayor uh and City attorney [1:32:43] schelzel is that something that we can refine tonight um and kind of Meet the [1:32:50] intent of what council member plish is saying where as as long as the property [1:32:56] has those safety nets you know I don't I don't know what the language needs to be but I I I don't think we're too far away [1:33:02] but the devils in the details Madame mayor and city manager [1:33:09] yeah the I would be reluctant to try and make that tweak on the Fly for a couple [1:33:14] reasons I think in essence I agree with the public comment we heard about Airbnb [1:33:20] and VRBO having terms that are similar but I don't know that they're all the same um and you know if we say that [1:33:29] these particular terms with these words have to be in it and there's any discrepancy or Airbnb and vbo can update [1:33:38] their terms from time to time what if one of these disappears I'd need to think through all of that to make sure [1:33:44] it was okay the second thing is I'm not sure that every short-term rental has a [1:33:49] formal lease agreement an agreement in writing I think sometimes those arrangements are done without a written [1:33:55] lease and that would create another issue uh if we impose this you know does that make them have to have a written [1:34:01] lease um so those are just two thoughts but both of them lead me to conclude that I think if you wanted to make a [1:34:07] change to that um I'm not sure I'd be prepared to do that tonight on the [1:34:12] Fly we' bring it back um at a future council meeting after we yeah Madame mayor we [1:34:20] could do it at a future counsel meeting or it could be a part of phase two if if we wanted to start get something on the [1:34:25] books today um uh and discuss that and other you know uh significant amendments [1:34:32] down the road so what in effect would we be passing today if [1:34:39] not the the ordinance as it's drafted in your packet which would uh [1:34:44] essentially um you know commence the registration and inspection of [1:34:50] short-term rentals as it is defined in the dra um it would as it is in the packet it [1:34:57] would leave out that the drug-free Crime Free language for the [1:35:05] Lei okay and the training [1:35:10] yeah so mam mayor so we could vote on this the way it is and it requires how [1:35:19] many to pass three three I believe so yes okay so have a few more comments yes [1:35:25] please um so just um a bit of a side comment but I've also heard from other [1:35:30] landlords who were Skeptics of taking this class that they were appreciative um of the class and they [1:35:37] learned more than they thought they might so to hear a couple people um confirmed I think is a very positive [1:35:44] thing um I also had a little bit of concern about the not including this [1:35:49] crime free drug free and disorderly conduct language in the lease and I understand um councilman pic where [1:35:56] coming from conceptually I agree but I think practically it's just not [1:36:02] practical I mean these leases and terms and condition exist all now and for one [1:36:09] city to come and try to alter that uh I think is just not practical so I'm I got [1:36:16] comfortable with um the way it's it's written now um this has always been a [1:36:22] high priority for me is the kind of issue of the short-term rentals uh I [1:36:28] think um there is a concern among our citizens of kind of altering uh [1:36:33] neighborhood character so I'm glad we're addressing it I think this ordinance is [1:36:39] appropriate and uh look forward to moving on to phase two where we can address additional regulations great [1:36:46] thank you any other comments sure thank you mayor uh I just wanted to express my [1:36:54] support for this um first reading of ordinance 841 I think it's important to [1:37:00] start counting these and be able to identify which ones are out there and [1:37:07] also um just have a more informed decision if we're going to be [1:37:14] um you know fixing a problem that actually exists or if not so very good [1:37:22] thank you okay um well I too um am in favor of [1:37:28] this I think it's important I want to make sure that um the um that the [1:37:35] city eliminates any barriers to taking the class as possible so I don't know if [1:37:42] they can we can find one that's online or you know the it felt very Antiquated [1:37:49] when I was learning I had to like drive across town sit in the classroom all day for eight hours and um I didn't end up [1:37:57] doing it because I never wanted my place but um I thought wow I would hope that [1:38:03] we would have a a different uh option available to [1:38:08] folks but I think this is good this is a good first step there's more to look at um and so uh I'm glad that uh we're at [1:38:17] the point where we are so uh we have a proposed Motion in front of us someone [1:38:25] care to make that and that is to approve the first reading of ordinance 841 adding short-term rentals to chapter 815 [1:38:32] rental dwelling licenses so move Madam mayor thank you [1:38:37] in a second second it's been first and seconded any further discussion yes [1:38:43] Madam mayor uh I am going to be voting in favor of this I'm not opposed to this at all even though I'm I was insisting [1:38:50] that we add the language it I just might like to make the note that we can look [1:38:55] at that specific thing for phase two and um and I wasn't suggesting and I don't [1:39:01] think it's even in here um uh that a specific language be included so that [1:39:07] would have to mirror what is in VRBO or Airbnb rather that the concept of that [1:39:13] be included it doesn't matter to me how the words are and it could be different between the two as long as it's included [1:39:19] then I'm I'm I'm okay with that but I'm not going to hang up on on voting this is not a hilt di on so uh with that [1:39:25] caveat I will be voting in favor of this all right good thank you okay uh we have [1:39:30] a motion that's been first and seconded uh all those in favor signify [1:39:35] by saying I I opposed motion [1:39:40] passes and we will move on now to our consent agenda item D that was pulled [1:39:50] for further discussion that is approval of the local climate action Grant agreement with Minnesota Pollution [1:39:56] Control agency city manager thank you Madame mayor um happy to answer any questions that the council [1:40:03] has here this was uh this grant is a result of a um [1:40:10] uh I guess a u application that the council supported uh earlier this year [1:40:16] it's consistent with the uh work plan of the energy and environment committee and [1:40:22] ultimately will be just focused on City operations uh to to ultimately get to a [1:40:28] point where we can further reduce our our carbon footprint and be a better uh partner with um mother nature [1:40:38] and uh it'll have some uh recommendations associated with that and that will ultimately come back to the [1:40:44] council for review so happy to answer any questions that you may have very [1:40:49] good thank you council member plees yeah um I wanted to pull this because uh you just want to clarify some things I may [1:40:56] not vote for this I may not vote in favor of it but I I may too so uh when [1:41:01] we applied for the grant uh it is my understanding that we had a general idea of what this money would be used for but [1:41:08] we didn't know specifically what it would be used for until we got it back with the stipulations in in the project [1:41:16] is that correct yeah I think so yeah okay and um [1:41:21] there are a couple of items that the uh uh mpca sent back to us that I really am [1:41:26] skeptical about uh that's um and most of these are fine it's City oriented but [1:41:31] the ones that I'm skeptical about are analyze greenhouse gas data and identify [1:41:36] strategies for resilience adaptation and greenhouse gas emissions reduction which [1:41:43] sounds like it's part of a much larger agenda and it would be pushing us toward [1:41:48] uh a mandate to do certain things we may not want to do we may not be capable of doing doing we may not have the budget [1:41:55] to do uh and yet what comes out of this we're pretty much mandated to do is is [1:42:00] the way I read this and if we don't um there are a number of stipulations here [1:42:05] that says they can pull the funding and even though most of the funding would come from them if they pull the funding [1:42:10] we're on the hook for it uh this is not something we have to do uh it's something we applied for but I don't [1:42:16] like the details of what came back uh so um you unless I'm convinced otherwise [1:42:22] I'm going to vote against it because we don't have to do [1:42:30] this can we point to the language where um in the grant [1:42:37] agreement that is concerning please you asking me yes okay on page uh [1:42:44] 44 uh there's a section called termination and under there it's got a [1:42:50] variety of different ways that the state can terminate and put us on on the hook uh there is termination by the state [1:42:56] without cause that means they can just come in and say okay we don't like what you're doing uh there is uh termination [1:43:02] with cause uh and there's termination by the commissioner of administration so [1:43:07] again if you read through this carefully it sure looks to me like this is part of a global agenda with which I don't agree [1:43:15] and so if the city ends up not doing this precisely as they would like or if we acques to things then they can [1:43:22] terminate and then were on the hook for the money uh and again this is not something we have to do we just um [1:43:29] applied for it now we know we would were going to be required to do and I'm not in favor of that okay thank you uh city [1:43:36] manager I was just going to say mam Mar I I know that this contract was reviewed by the City attorney and to me this all [1:43:43] seems fairly straightforward and what type of termination Clauses are in most of these types of agreements um you know [1:43:51] that without causes based on if the state runs out of money like they're not obligated to fund the project um which [1:44:00] we wouldn't then do um and then with cause [1:44:05] um there's language here that the state finds that there has been a failure to comply with the provisions of this grant [1:44:11] contract um it's really about the grant contract which is putting together the plan which is not the implementation of [1:44:18] the plan so I just want to make that very clear and I don't know City attorney shelz if he had anything else to add [1:44:25] there yeah city manager and and mayor and council member pish I I I would [1:44:30] agree with what the city manager just related uh you know if if State [1:44:36] contracts terminates the contract uh in the funding goes away we can stop uh [1:44:41] they're obligated to pay us for services that have been performed um I guess the question I would have for for council [1:44:47] member plish just so I'm on the same page is the is the concern subtab ask to [1:44:53] see analyze greenhouse gas data that you saw there pretty much yeah yeah I don't [1:44:59] know if this will give you comfort or not but the way I read that is all that the city is obligated to do is complete [1:45:05] an inventory and analyze that data and provide a draft summary um doesn't [1:45:12] obligate the city to sign on to any larger plan or do anything that addresses it's just basically an inventory and Analysis so I don't know [1:45:19] if that gives you comfort or not but that's the way I read subtask 2C I'll [1:45:25] still say I think it's part of a larger agenda with which I don't agree and there is one sentence in here in recital [1:45:31] where the it says the state is in need of the Yetta City operations climate [1:45:37] adaptation and resiliency plan project my question is why why do they need us [1:45:42] to do this they don't so I I just it the whole thing just doesn't feel right to me I don't think it's something we need [1:45:49] to do so I will vote against it okay all right thank you thank you any other [1:45:54] thoughts or comments on this item from the council no okay uh then uh would someone [1:46:04] care to make a motion to approve [1:46:09] um the local climate action Grant agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control [1:46:21] agency so moved m mayor thank you and a second second any further discussion all [1:46:28] those in favor say I I I opposed nay motion [1:46:33] carries all right and then uh last up this evening [1:46:39] is the city manager's report thank you Madame mayor a couple quick things one just wanted to uh thank [1:46:48] uh our fire department our police department and everybody who came out [1:46:53] our public works department that came out yesterday for our city Showcase from 4 to 6 beautiful weather hundreds of [1:47:00] people there A lot of kids was great to see them all around getting uh demos from all of our cool equipment our big [1:47:07] trucks uh a couple demonstrations by both fire and police our canines were [1:47:12] out there um it was just a great evening and I really appreciate not only the city staff and volunteers that puts a [1:47:20] lot of time and energy into it uh deputy chief Baker over there I know she she spent many hours uh making sure it all [1:47:27] happened um and then just the community for coming out too because they really did come out I think we ran out of hot [1:47:33] dogs once again um and then two other events coming up that I just want to [1:47:39] reiterate and inform the community about one is the uh American Legion is [1:47:44] throwing uh a chicken dinner fundraiser for the W wetta Fire Relief [1:47:51] Association uh that's Friday October 11th so this Friday from 5:30 to 8:00 [1:47:56] p.m. they do chicken well over there so I'd encourage everybody to go down there and get some and if you want to donate a [1:48:03] little extra more to the Fire Relief Association that's cool too um also [1:48:08] pullet day is coming that's October 17th that's Saturday uh 8:30 a.m. we meet at the [1:48:16] panaway plaza now we we rally the troops we've got Donuts coffee and then our [1:48:22] Public Works staff brings out community members to uh different planting locations throughout the city and we [1:48:29] pull all the flowers we pull all the perennials and no I don't even I always get the perennials and annuals we pull [1:48:36] the annuals because it's we have to do that annually so I should remember that um and uh really save it's a fun it's a [1:48:44] fun task because you get to let out some aggression but you really help the city and help our public work staff we've got [1:48:50] a lot of really nice C nice kept areas in town and by and large they're they're [1:48:57] kept nicely because of the community members and this is kind of the it's bittersweet because it means cold [1:49:03] weather's coming but it's a funny event so I'd encourage you uh if you're listening or watching or uh interested [1:49:09] in meeting some more neighbors and providing some value go down to the panaway plaza at 8:30 a.m. on October [1:49:17] 17th that's all I have thank you fantastic October 17th yeah yes that's is that a Saturday [1:49:24] should be a Saturday um so that's the 19th I'm sorry 19th [1:49:30] okay that's what I was going to ask you my bad uh October 19th [1:49:36] Saturday thank you you're welcome anything else from the council no and [1:49:42] how about a motion to adjourn so move Madam mayor thank you [1:49:48] and a second second further discussion all those favor say I I I oppos motion [1:49:56] carries we are adjourned