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