Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-01 Ordinance Prepared by: Eleanor Dilkes,CityAtty.,410 E.Washington Street,Iowa City,IA 52240;319-356-5030 ORDINANCE NO. • An ordinance amending Title 17 of the City Code (Building and Housing) to establish a moratorium until March 7, 2020 on the issuance of new rental permits for single-family and duplex units in RS-5, RS-8 and RNS-12 zones within certain rental permit districts in the Rental Impact Area shown in Figure 17-1 of the City Code Whereas, in 2017 the State legislature adopted a law (HF 134) amending Iowa Code Section 414.1 to prohibit municipalities, after January 1, 2018, from adopting or enforcing any regulation or restriction related to occupancy of residential rental property that is based upon the existence of familial or nonfamilial relationships between the occupants of such rental property; and Whereas, regulation of occupancy based on familial status had been an important tool to promote peaceful habitation in residential areas of Iowa City for more than 50 years and the loss of the tool significantly threatened the stability of the neighborhoods in the City's single family zones; and, Whereas, after the passage of HF 134, the City studied how to mitigate the impacts of rental housing and increases in occupancy levels on neighborhood stability, housing affordability, public and tenant safety, urban congestion, blight, risk to public peace and order, conflicts between rental and owner-occupied housing, and excessive demands upon public safety, infrastructure and municipal services; and Whereas, after said study one of the tools the City adopted by Ordinance No. 17-4734 was a rental permit cap on single family dwellings and duplex units in neighborhoods included in a defined "Rental Impact Area", which ordinance is codified at Section 17-5-16E of the City Code; and, Whereas, on April 23, 2019, the State legislature passed SF 447 which prohibits cities from adopting or enforcing rental permit caps; and Whereas, the loss of the rental cap tool threatens neighborhood stability and requires that the City study alternative strategies to mitigate the impact of rental housing on neighborhood stability, housing affordability, public and tenant safety, urban congestion, blight, risk to public peace and order, conflicts between rental and owner-occupied housing, and excessive demands upon public safety, infrastructure and municipal services; and, Whereas, the Northside, College Green, Bowery, Longfellow, Mark Twain, Riverfront Crossings East, Riverfront Crossings West, Miller/Orchard, and Brookland/Roosevelt rental permit districts of the "Rental Impact Area" in Figure 17-1 of the City Code currently exceed the 30% cap; and, Whereas, during the course of this study, it is prudent to establish a moratorium until March 7, 2020 on the issuance of new rental permits (i.e., not renewals of existing permits) for single- family and duplex units in the neighborhoods that currently exceed the 30% cap. Ordinance No. Page 2 Now, therefore, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Iowa City, Iowa, that: Section I. Amendment. Title 17 "Building and Housing" of the City Code is hereby amended by adding a new Chapter 15, entitled "Moratorium", as follows: 1. Moratorium and Area of Applicability: For properties zoned RS-5, RS-8 and RNS-12 within the Northside, College Green, Bowery, Longfellow, Mark Twain, Riverfront Crossings East, Riverfront Crossings West, Miller/Orchard, and Brookland/Roosevelt rental permit districts of the "Rental Impact Area" in Figure 17-1 of the City Code, the City shall not issue a rental permit for any single-family or duplex dwelling unit unless: a. It has a current rental permit; or b. It has a rental permit that expired in the past twelve (12) months and has been granted a written extension; or 2. Definitions: For the purposes of this ordinance, the following definitions apply: a. DWELLING shall be as defined in Chapter 14-9 of the City Code: A building wholly or partially used or intended to be used for residential occupancy. b. DWELLING UNIT shall be as defined in Chapter 14-9 of the City Code: Any habitable room or group of adjoining habitable rooms located within a dwelling and forming a single unit with facilities used or intended to be used by one household for living, sleeping, cooking and eating meals. Multiple dwelling units exist if there is more than one meter for any utility, more than one address to the property, more than one kitchen, and/or if there is a lockable, physical separation between rooms within the dwelling unit such that a room or rooms on each side of the separation could be used as a dwelling unit. 3. Termination: This Chapter 15 shall be automatically repealed on March 7, 2020. Section II. Repealer. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. Section III. Severability. If any section, provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section, provision or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconstitutional. Section IV. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be in effect after its final passage, approval and publication, as provided by law. Passed and approved this day of , 2019. MAYOR ATTEST: - • CLERK oedt ,. ' 9-. act - l9 City Attorney's Office Ordinance No. Page It was moved by and seconded by that the Ordinance as read be adopted, and upon roll call there were: AYES: NAYS: ABSENT: Cole Mims Salih Taylor Teague Thomas Throgmorton First Consideration 05/01/2019 Vote for passage: AYES: Cole, Mims, Salih, Taylor, Teague, Thomas, Throgmorton. NAYS: None. ABSENT: None. Second Consideration Vote for passage: Date published Kellie Fruehling From: Mark Signs <marksigns@ruhlhomes.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2019 9:59 AM To: Council; Geoff Fruin; Barron Sara; McKinstry John; Carlton Jackson; Gavin Blair;Jennifer Kingland;John Goede; Kamps Mark; Hayes Monica; Karyl Bohnsack Subject: RE: Letter to Governor Late Handouts Distributed Attachments: Signs - Letter to Governor.pdf Good Morning! (Date) Attached is a copy of a letter I just emailed to Governor Reynolds asking her to veto the anti-home-rule rental caps bills recently passed by he Iowa Legislature. It is my understanding that she has not signed this bill? As you all know by now, I disagree with the stance that the local and state Realtor Associations have taken on this issue. Their stance relies on the premise that landlords, developers and investors will do the right thing and care for the neighborhoods and homes they invest in. Unfortunately,we have seen time and time again that this is not always true. Municipalities and government entities across the country have passed laws and made rules controlling the development and use of private property since the country was founded. It is done for the better good of our communities and their residents. Home rules states that LOCAL communities know best what is right for their communities. On this particular issue, half of a city council was ousted a few years back in great part to citizen outcry over these very issues. The citizens have spoken! Passing this bill is a direct attack on the concept of home rule. Let's be VERY,VERY clear on that! I support a city's rights to have policies and rules that protect neighborhoods and help control housing costs for its residents. I am sorry I will not be able to attend the special Council meeting today. Sincerely, Mark Signs 1825 Hollywood Blvd Iowa City, IA 52240 "The Big Guy" Mark A. Signs Manager, REALTOR® Rohl/Buhl REALTORS Coralville,IA 52241 Licensed to sell reel estate in the State of lows 1 May 1,2019 Governor Reynolds, I understand that you may not have signed the bill that strips local control of any rental cap provisions from Iowa municipalities. I am hoping you never will! First of all, let's be VERY,VERY clear:This is an attack(a 2nd or 3rd one, in fact, by this legislature)on Iowa communities being able to make their own decisions based on citizen wants and needs. This is as anti-home-rule as it gets! I thought home rule was one of the principle tenets of the Republican party platform. Apparently it is not when there is a "liberal" community on the other end of an issue?! A few years back the citizens of Iowa City voted in a new city council, in response to an attack on inner core neighborhoods by developers and property owners who were causing those core neighborhoods to deteriorate and change from the type of neighborhoods the residents wanted to have. It was a huge change in policy and direction for the city at the time-all in direct response to citizen outcry. So the new city leaders set out to create rules that would help protect historic and core neighborhoods,while also attempting to control drastically rising housing prices due largely to competition from the developers and investors. An investor could go into an existing neighborhood and purchase an existing single-family house that they could chop up into 3-5+single units that they could then rent to students for outrageous prices. What was a$1,200/month single family rental becomes a$2,000-$2,500 a month cash cow, making the prices of these homes out of reach for young families,single parents, and citizens on fixed incomes. Iowa City(and a handful of other Iowa communities)for years had a familial status rule that kept some of these single family homes from being overtaken by slumlords. (Familial status guidelines are commonly used across the nation to protect at-risk neighborhoods and older housing stock.) After 2016,the state legislature stripped that local control from those cities. In response,a few of the communities looked for other ways to protect their neighborhoods and help control rising housing costs. Iowa City came up with a rental cap system for evaluating development proposals in certain at-risk neighborhoods. Now the state legislature is trying to take away our home rule rights again?! The concept of home rule says that local communities are uniquely suited to decide and determine what is best for that community. Citizens express their desires and goals in through public process and input, and at the ballot box in municipal elections. LOCAL elected officials are then charged to make policy and rules to best meet the citizen mandate. Please veto this very politically-charged bill and let communities continue to decide what's best for them! Thank you for your consideration. Mark Signs 1825 Hollywood Blvd Iowa City, IA 52240 Cell:319-325-7750 7i Kellie Fruehling From: Schwalm, Leslie A <leslie-schwalm@uiowa.edu> Late Handouts Distributed Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 6:23 PM To: Council Subject: Moratorium on rental permits (Date) Dear City Council members, I live in a neighborhood that thrives or dies based on residency caps in rental units. In my block alone, I believe the number of residents exceed the legal limit in at least four houses. This matters, because of the increased noise, increased demand for parking, the unaddressed wear and tear on the rental houses, and the overall degradation of the neighborhood. I've been an owner occupant for 25 years, and in that time four houses in my block have converted from owner-occupied to rental units. Landlords have paved over green areas in order to have parking that they can rent out to renters but also to commuters; the alleyway has dramatically eroded from increased traffic; and in general, I fear my neighborhood becomes less and less inviting to families who might wish to enjoy the newly-renovated Mann school in our neighborhood. Please do what you can to help those of us who live in and love the North Side keep landlords from exploiting an aging housing stock to provide inexpensive housing to transient tenants. I am very fearful that with the new construction downtown, the older housing stock of my neighborhood will be increasingly used until it is useless, with landlords seeing their inability to compete with newer construction, and thus unwilling to invest in such basics as paint and mowing. Sincerely, Leslie Schwalm 819 E. Market St. Iowa City, IA 52245 v Kellie Fruehling From: Thomas Agran <thomasagran@gmail.com> Late Handouts Distributed Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2019 9:47 PM To: Council Subject: Permit Moratorium 3-- 1 - / 9 (Date) Dear Council Members, My family lives in the Northside on Van Buren Street. I urge you to enact a rental permit moratorium during your May 1st meeting so that City Staff has plenty of time to thoughtfully consider the optimal policy/code solutions for our neighborhoods, including time to permit community comment and neighborhood dialogue. Thank you, Thomas Agran 512 Van Buren St. www.thomasagran.com 1 Kellie Fruehling From: R. Michael Hayes <rmhayes@belinmccormick.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2019 8:39 AM To: Council; Rockne Cole; Susan Mims; Mazahir Salih; Pauline Taylor; Bruce Teague;John Thomas; 'jim-thr0gmorton@iowa-city.org'; Kellie Fruehling Cc: moliveira@prestigeprop.com; 'P0764_0002_Iowa City ordinance changes affecting residential rental property_Prestige Properties_ L_L_C_ Documents' Subject: Item 2 on the Agenda for the May 1, 2019 Special City Council Meeting [BMC- Belin.FID66107] Attachments: May 1, 2019 Letter to City Council on the Moratorium Ordinance,Item No. 2.PDF Honorable Mayor Jim Throgmorton and Members of the City Council and to the City Clerk: We respectfully request that you review and consider the enclosed letter as part of your deliberations of the proposed moratorium ordinance, Item 2,on today's special city council meeting. R. Michael Hayes Late Handouts Distributed 666 Walnut Street, Suite 2000 Des Moines, Iowa 50309-3989 Direct Dial: (515) 283-4647 5- / -1 q Cell: (515)537-6207 E-mail: rmhayesbelinmccormick.com (Date) BELINMCCORMICK ATTORNEYS AT LAW Confidentiality Notice:THE EMAIL AND ANY ATTACHED DOCUMENTS CONTAIN INFORMATION FROM THE LAW FIRM OF BELIN MCCORMICK,P.C., WHICH MAY BE CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR LEGALLY PRIVILEGED. THESE MATERIALS ARE INTENDED ONLY FOR THE PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL USE OF THE ADDRESSEE IDENTIFIED ABOVE. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT OR AN AGENT RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING THESE MATERIALS TO THE INTENDED RECIPIENT,YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT ANY REVIEW,DISCLOSURE,COPYING,DISTRIBUTION OR THE TAKING OF ANY ACTION IN RELIANCE ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS TRANSMITTED INFORMATION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS EMAIL IN ERROR,PLEASE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE SENDER OF THIS MESSAGE. THANK YOU. 1 BELINMCORMICK ATTORNEYS AT LAW R.Michael Hayes Direct Dial: (515)283-4647 Direct Fax: (515)558-0647 E-mail: rmhayes@belinmccormick.com May 1, 2019 E-MA ILED Honorable Mayor Jim Throgmorton and Members of the City Council of Iowa City, Iowa City Hall 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Re: Agenda Item 2 on the May 1, 2019 Special City Council Meeting I lonorable Mayor and City Council Members: Our firm represents Prestige Properties, LLC and its affiliates. They own existing rental housing and existing single family housing that recently was acquired to be used as rental housing, and may hereafter acquire additional rental housing and single family housing that may become rental housing in the Low Density Single-Family Residential Zone (RS-5), the Medium Density Single-Family Residential Zone (RS-8), and the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential Zone (RNS-12). Item 2 of the May 1, 2019 City Council Agenda proposes action on an ordinance to amend Title 17 of the City Code to establish a moratorium on the issuance of rental permits for single family and duplex houses for properties zoned RS-5, RS-8 and RNS-12 within certain designated Neighborhood Association areas of the Rental Impact Area for a period ending March 7, 2020. As such, this moratorium ordinance will divided the City into subdistricts and amend, supplement or change the regulations and restrictions applicable to allowable uses in the affected portions of these three zoning districts during the moratorium period. According to the Iowa case law, Iowa Code Section 414.4 and the Iowa City Code section 14-8D-5, this moratorium ordinance therefore constitutes a zoning ordinance and an amendment to the zoning ordinance applicable to the affected property and can only be adopted after referral to the Iowa City Plan and Zoning Commission for its recommendation and report and then after notice and a public hearing before the City Council. Furthermore, according to Iowa Code Section 414.2, this moratorium ordinance can only be valid if it is applied uniformly throughout these three zoning districts and not just to selected portions of these three zoning districts. You need to follow the procedural requirements for adopting a zoning ordinance before you can lawfully adopt this moratorium. 556 6V Inut Street Suitt 2000 Des Winos,Iowa 50309 515.243.7100 BelinMcCennr.k,com May 1, 2019 Page 2 Furthermore, Senate File 447, that was adopted by the Iowa Legislature on April 23, 2019 and is awaiting the Governor's signature and becomes effective immediately upon the Governor's signature,provides: "A city shall not adopt or enforce any regulation, restriction, or other ordinance related to residential property rental permit caps on single-family homes or duplexes." This proposed moratorium is a rental cap of zero rental permits for single family homes and duplexes within the affected areas of the City. As such it will not be legally enforceable after the date the Governor signs SF 447. We respectfully request that the City not adopt this ordinance. Very truly yours, RJA (kr R. Michael Hayes For the Firm cc: City Clerk, Mike Oliveira 13elin\P0764\0002\5-1.19 Letter on Moratorium Ordinance(3274302.1).DOC 606 Walnut Street Suite 2000 lies Moines,Iowa 0030U l5.243.7100 BeliriNcCuimick,cum