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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.09.19 Minutes f Oshkosh RENTAL HOUSING ADVISORY BOARD MINTUES JANUARY 9, 2019 PRESENT: Margy Davey, Timothy Ernst, Linda Jevaltas, Lori Palmeri, Matthew Stenerson, Cheryl Hentz EXCUSED: Matt Mugerauer STAFF: Allen Davis, Community Development Director,John Zarate, Chief Building Official, Andrew Prickett, Building Systems Inspector, Casey Koelbl, Housing Inspector, Kathy Fredrick, Weights and Measures/Code Enforcement Clerk CALL TO ORDER Ms. Hentz called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. CITIZEN STATEMENTS Donn Lord, 743 W. 11th Avenue, Oshkosh, WI 54902, reported the Winnebago Apartment Association received a presentation by the Oshkosh Police Department regarding a new alert system in which landlords could provide an email address to the police department and receive alerts whenever an issue occurred at one of their properties. He stated the Wisconsin Apartment Association (WAA) would hold the 2019 WAA Landlord Education Day and Trade Show at the Oshkosh Convention Center on March 23rd. He requested that the Residential Rental Housing Advisory Board place as a future agenda item to discuss the benefits of the ten year combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector. He also requested the housing inspector attend a future Winnebago Apartment Association meeting to answer questions from landlords and educate them on how to prevent the most common minimum housing code violations. Ms. Hentz stated she preferred the ten year combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector and recommended they be tested annually or biannually. APPROVAL OF MINUTES-December 12,2018 The approval of the minutes from the December 12, 2018 meeting was deferred until the February 13th RHAB meeting as Ms. Jevaltas requested clarification of the discussion held during the agenda item, Mapping-Districts. (Ernst-motion to approve withdrawn) (Jevaltas/Davey) SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE Ms. Hentz reported the RHAB Facebook page continued to be viewed and that viewers were making comments. She encouraged board members to keep sending items to post. f Oshkosh RHAB Minutes Page Two Ms. Palmeri suggested the new short term rental ordinance be posted on the RHAB Facebook page. Mr.Davis stated he thought posting the new short term rental ordinance on the RHAB Facebook page was a great way to get the information to the public. INSPECTIONS-Tenant Letter Update Ms.Jevaltas stated she approved of the tenant letter,however she felt information should be added stating the landlord may request to be present at the inspection. Mr. Davis stated tenants had the option to invite anybody they wanted to the voluntary inspection. Mr. Ernst stated landlords could be invited to the inspection, but weren't required to be notified per the ordinance. Ms. Davey asked for clarification as long as the tenant was present anyone could attend the inspection. Ms. Palmeri noted the tenant could also decline having the landlord present at the inspection. Mr. Ernst reiterated the tenant was not obligated to inform the landlord about the inspection. Ms.Jevaltas asked if the City was obligated to inform the landlord regarding the voluntary inspection. Mr. Ernst replied the City was not obligated to inform the landlord regarding the voluntary inspection. Ms. Hentz asked if no tenant was available for the inspection, could they designate the landlord to be present. Mr. Davis stated the inspector required the tenant to sign the checklist allowing the inspection to take place. Mr.Prickett concurred with Mr. Davis adding the inspector would not enter the bedroom of a tenant who was not present and provided a signature of consent. Mr.Davis stated inspections would be easiest if the dwelling was vacant and the landlord was present for the inspection. Ms. Davey asked if City staff was comfortable with the content of the tenant letter. Ms. Fredrick stated she was comfortable with the revised tenant letter as the content of the original tenant letter was still intact,just shifted around. f Oshkosh RHAB Minutes Page Three Mr. Prickett stated he was fine with the revised tenant letter. Motion by Ernst to approve the revised tenant letter/seconded by Davey Motion carried 6-0 Ms. Fredrick asked for clarification if changes could be made to letter without approval from the board. Mr. Davis replied if significant changes were made pertaining to the content of the tenant letter, approval from the board would be needed. Ms. Palmeri questioned why the Board was asked to review the tenant letter as it was an administrative piece. Mr. Prickett stated staff had made revisions to the tenant letter and felt it was appropriate to have the RHAB give their input for education and outreach purposes. TENANT LETTERS—Educational Insert Update Ms.Fredrick provided each board member with a copy of the general information brochure to be inserted with the tenant letters with the approved changes from the December 12th RHAB meeting. Ms. Hentz suggested under"Parking" adding the phrase"unless permission is granted from the Oshkosh Police Department" to the first bullet point. Ms. Palmeri suggested under "Parking" adding the verbiage that calls to the OPD requesting to park on the street from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. must be made after 8:00 p.m. Motion by Davey to approve the tenant letter educational insert with the aforementioned changes/seconded by Ernst Motion carried by voice vote VACANT RESIDENTIAL RENTAL BUILDING REGISTRY AND INSPECTIONS Mr. Davis reported City staff was in the process of researching cities in Wisconsin which had vacant property or foreclosed property registration ordinances. Mr. Prickett stated he had studied a number of vacant/foreclosed property registration ordinances passed by other cities in Wisconsin and found that some ordinances went in to great detail. f Oshkosh RHAB Minutes Page Four Ms. Palmeri asked how a vacant/foreclosed property registration ordinance would benefit the City. Mr. Prickett stated a vacant/foreclosed property registration ordinance would benefit the City as it would offer a layer of protection and place the responsibility of property upkeep on the mortgage companies. Ms. Palmeri stated she felt a vacant/foreclosed property registration ordinance would also encourage turnover of properties to be redeveloped instead of sitting vacant for years. Mr.Davis stated City staff including Community Development and the police and fire departments would meet to discuss a potential vacant/foreclosed property registration ordinance. Mr.Prickett stated he would provide the Board with the links to the vacant/foreclosed property ordinances he had researched. Ms. Davey stated she would rather wait until the City departments met and came up with a synopsis before she gave the idea any attention. Ms. Hentz concurred with Ms. Davey, however she stated she would like to review the links forwarded by Mr. Prickett. ACTION PLAN UPDATE Ms. Palmeri reported she had submitted the RHAB Action Plan to Council. She stated given the fact the short term rental ordinance was new to the City, the Board should consider adding to the action plan educational materials to the public regarding the ordinance as a separate piece. She stated she was asked by Council to expand on the bullet points of the action plan and make them measurable as the mayor wanted to know if the RHAB was making any progress. The Board discussed the RHAB accomplishments over the past year and Ms.Palmeri suggested Ms.Hentz attend the quarterly meetings held by the mayor with the heads of all the boards and commissions. Ms. Davey stated she would revamp the action plan with statements rather than bullet points and bring it to the February RHAB meeting for review. The Board discussed the topics of the action plan and decided to add a page detailing fulfilled accomplishments. Ms. Hentz stated Mr. Davis and Mr. Zarate appeared on her show, "Eye on Oshkosh", and she felt the show was successful and informative. f Oshkosh RHAB Minutes Page Five Ms. Jevaltas, referring to a Power Point presentation given by Mr. Davis back in November, asked for clarification on whether the landlord would be notified of a voluntary inspection. Mr.Davis clarified at the time of the Power Point presentation Ms.Jevaltas was referring to,City staff were attempting to create a parallel program in addition to the statutory program in which the landlords were a part of the process. He stated City staff had not had a chance to meet with the apartment association to determine what the apartment association had in mind as to what extent the landlord would be involved in the voluntary inspection. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Vacant Residential Rental Building Registry and Inspections Action Plan Update Short Term Rentals Landlord Program for Voluntary Inspections CO Detector/Smoke Detector Education-Donn Lord ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m. (Davey/Stenerson) Respectfully submitted, Allen Davis Community Development Director