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Work Session - September 26, 2023 Page 3 of single family rental units that could occupy any block to a maximum of 30%. The City noted that the overconcentration of rental units had been observed to have a negative impact on housing maintenance, and other observable conditions in areas dominated by rental occupancy. Winona withstood a legal challenge, despite some sympathetic challengers. The case went to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which ruled that because the City could identify specific benefits to protecting public health, safety, and welfare, the regulation was justifiable. Because this is the general standard of review for land use cases, the Court’s determination is likely to be applicable to other similar regulations. In the past, the generally applicable rule in land use was that a city could not discriminate between rental- and owner-occupied housing. The essential element was the land use and its density, not the identity of the residents. The Winona cases have turned this over in some ways. Because the State Supreme Court dismissed a subsequent appeal due to the original affected complainants no longer being in ownership by the time the case got to that Court, it is unclear if there is any further legal challenge to Winona’s approach. Thus, if St. Anthony wished to adopt limiting regulations as to the number of single family rentals, there is a path to creating those regulations. Because “owner-occupied” housing can take many forms, there are not likely to be other ways to distinguish between occupants. Corporate ownership occurs occasionally to allow owner-occupants to include their housing in estate planning options. This is same as trust-ownership or family-member ownership (both of which can qualify as “homestead” properties under Minnesota’s real estate tax policy. Large-Scale Single Family Rental Development. A related single family rental issue that get attention includes development-designed single family rental projects. This development style creates single family homes on a large, coordinated scale. These projects are designed to be rented and managed by a common owner. Woodbury and Albertville, for example, are two locations in the Twin Cities area where this development style has been proposed. Because this model is occurring on undeveloped lands, this development pattern is not likely applicable to St. Anthony. The issues are the same as other non-owner occupied housing however. Short-Term Single Family Rental (AirBnB, VRBO, etc.). A separate issue often raised in the SF Rental discussion is that of short-term (“Vacation”) rental. This is defined by the State of Minnesota as rental periods of less than 30 days. Short-term rental is not considered a residential use of property, but rather is technically a lodging use. While the State of Minnesota regulations commercial lodging, they are not currently enforcing their licensing provisions on short-term rental housing. Many local communities have chosen to separately regulate license short-term rental housing, with some communities prohibiting the use in residential zones. The latter approach is based