05-13-2020 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Keis and Members of the City Council FROM: Heidi Heller, City Clerk DATE: May 13, 2020 RE: Rental Housing Licensing Update Since the February Council Workshop discussion about changes to the rental housing licensing program, staff has drafted the amendments to City Code Chapter 3200, and is proposing a few additional changes to the program. Proposed Program Changes: License period: The rental license period for all properties is proposed to be 1-year and run from October 1 to September 30. Initially staff planned that the single-family, condos and duplex licenses would be for a 3-year period, but have opted for all licenses to be annual. By having all licenses on the same schedule, staff does not have to keep track of which properties need a license each year, and since the status of single and two-unit rentals tends to change more often, an annual license would allow current information to be collected every year for every property. This timing is also more in line with the work load for the Code Enforcement/ Housing Inspector since code enforcement is busy during spring and summer, and the focus can then shift in the fall and winter to rental housing and conducting the license inspections. All rental property owners would be required to submit a license application and fee every year no later than October 1. Currently the license period begins on July 1, but due to the COVID-19 situation, moving the license period to start three months later will also be helpful to the rental property owners. Once the initial inspection of a single-family home, condo or duplexes is satisfactory, those units would then not need an inspection for three years, unless there was a reason one would be needed. Larger apartment complexes would have 25% of the units inspected each year so that every unit is inspected every four years. License Fees: There are no changes to the initial proposed license fees other than the 3-year, $180 license fee for single-family, condos and duplexes, would instead now be $60 annually.