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July 8, 2025 St. Anthony Council Work Session - 4 <br />Councilmember Doolan wants to add a hardship provision as well. She does not know if a time period <br />needs to be added. Assistant City Manager Morello asked what the Council wants the cap to be. Mayor <br />Pro Tem Jenson suggested 4%. <br />Mayor Webster stated with 4% that would allow for 20 more rental properties. That 4% would apply to <br />each zone within the City. She would be comfortable going to 5% which would allow for 40 more rental <br />properties. This would allow some room for growth. If the cap is set too small Council may need to grant <br />several exceptions. <br />Councilmember Elnagdy stated that if it is set lower, it is easy to raise it in the future. Mayor Pro Tem <br />Jenson added he agrees. <br />Mayor Webster referred to short-term rentals that are operating without a license, 4% would still allow <br />those short-term property owners to shift to long-term rentals. Ms. Morello stated Staff does not know <br />the number of short-term rentals occurring in the City. <br />Code Compliance Official Sonterre stated he did some investigating on short-term rentals in the area <br />and found a total of 7 on VRBO and Airbnb. That is the minimum found in the City. <br />Mayor Pro Tem Jenson referred to Section B, where it states no individual owner or company can own <br />more than 4 single-family rental properties in the City. Ms. Morello stated that the Code states no more <br />than 4 properties can be owned by a single entity, and the Planning Commission proposed 15% of those <br />allowed in the City. Mayor Pro Tem Jenson asked what is easier to monitor, a number or a percentage. <br />Ms. Morello stated a number would be easier to monitor. Mayor Pro Tem Jenson stated that the <br />properties would be going from 4 to 11 at a 4% cap. There is a planning commissioner who owns more <br />than 4 properties. Mr. Yunker suggested using a number rather than a percentage. <br />Councilmember Doolan asked in adding that provision, what goal are we moving toward? Things are <br />happening in Columbia Heights, and she would like to understand more about what is happening around <br />us. She does not understand how much of a risk this is. Mayor Pro Tem Jenson stated that we are trying <br />to prevent it from becoming a runaway number. The fear is that private equity companies are <br />purchasing large numbers of homes. <br />Councilmember Elnagdy asked what constitutes many rental properties. She asked what the point of the <br />number itself is. Do we want individuals to be able to rent out their homes if they wish? <br />Councilmember Doolan stated that the Planning Commission discussed having some sort of boundary. <br />Councilmember Elnagdy stated that 11 properties seem like a monopoly. Ms. Morello stated that the <br />Planning Commission wanted property owners to retain their rights. They discussed 4 was low, and that <br />is how it evolved to 15%. Mr. Yunker stated that there were contacts if there was a cap put in place, and <br />whether the other cap was needed for common ownership. Mayor Pro Tem stated that if there is a <br />smaller cap, both caps may not be needed. <br />Councilmember Doolan asked if the current ordinance requires a property to be homesteaded before <br />the property can be rented. Ms. Morello stated Mr. Grittman would need to answer that. Mr. Sonterre <br />stated there is nothing in the Code that makes that requirement.