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Landlord proposal receives criticism
By Lesley Christianson
Community and university groups backing the proposed Landlord Responsibility ordinance have met some resistance from city officials and Southside property owners.
Members from St. Cloud Historical and Neighborhood Preservation Association (SNAPA), Neighborhood University Community Council (NUCC) and other area groups drafted an ordinance in January to address the issues concerning landlord and student/tenant relationships.
The ordinance received resistance from health and safety inspectors. Therefore, members of NUCC and SNAPA met March 9 to gather opinions of the changes from community members.
SCSU student and NUCC president Garner Moffat said the organizations are waiting for a response from the Crime Free Multi Housing association to find out if the proposal meets its approval. The groups will then meet to discuss potential revisions.
"We haven't scheduled a meeting yet, but I expect it to be sometime next week," Moffat said.
Proposed Changes
As it stands, the ordinance proposes increased fines and penalties to landlords whose tenants violate any of the city nuisances, including noise violations, large outside gatherings, possession of kegs without a permit and disorderly conduct.
Currently, landlords are notified and given a written warning the first time a tenant violates one of these laws.
The second violation in a year will result in the landlord writing a report to the Health and Inspections Department which will review which actions have taken place to prevent further disruptions.
If a third violation occurs during a one year period, the landlord can be fined up to $500.
A fourth violation would result in another $500 fine and a potential loss of the property owner's rental license.
The Landlord Responsibility ordinance follows a three-step penalty process. The first violation would still result in a warning, but the second offense would include a $500 fine. The third would result in a $5,000 fine and a loss in the owner's rental license for a specific period of time.
Official Reaction
City Planning Director Matt Glaesmann said the city has reviewed the initial ordinance, but does not know how far it could go if some of its proposals remain unchanged.
"There are a couple of different concerns we have with the proposed ordinance," Glaesmann said.
Glaesmann said enforcing some of the regulations may require more police staffing than St. Cloud is prepared to handle. He added that some of the fines may not be appropriate or legal and the proposal will have to undergo a revision process.
"At some point the ordinance will come back to us (city staff) and we will have to give some input to the revision," Glaesmann said.
Glaesmann said the city and community members should develop alternative methods to address student housing concerns. He said there are some educational approaches that could replace the landlord ordinance such as notifying students of their rights and responsibilities as tenants and making sure landlords know their rights as well.
"I'm just not sure making the landlords responsible is the best approach," Glaesmann said.
Landlord Reaction
McDonald Property Management representative Dan Bogert said if move-in day and homecoming of recent years had not received so much publicity, these ordinances would not even be presently debated.
"How do you gauge an entire year by a one-time event?" Bogert said.
Bogert said the dollar amount the proposed ordinance seeks from landlords whose tenants violate certain regulations is unreasonable.
He also said the pressures from community members living in the campus area have resulted in ordinances like this before and that those expectations are too high.
"I think that if they pass this new ordinance, people are going to get fed up. They'll say, 'Enough is enough.' You push people too hard and they may just rebel against the establishment," Bogert said. "I'm frustrated and I've given up trying to accommodate some of the city residents' expectations."
Bogert said his dealings with student tenants have, for the most part, been respectful and above his expectations.
"Personally, I think student behavior has improved over the years. Life in the campus area has become better than I had ever expected. I think students have been pretty responsible and respectful, and I have a very high opinion of 90 percent of my tenants," Bogert said.
"I just don't see a need for additional modifications to the ordinance. The one in place right now is reasonable the way it is. Through all of the increased fines and penalties in the ordinance, I have never had a tenant have a third violation," Bogert said. "You can do your best and there will always be some minor problems. But other than move-in day, which was a bit chaotic, I think student behavior is better than expected."
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