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ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 29A TO INCORPORATE EXISTING PARKING REQUIREMENTS FROM THE UDC DIRECTLY INTO THE CITY’S HOUSING, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, AND RENTAL CODE.
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CITY PROPOSAL:
The city of Duluth does ordain:
Section 1. That Chapter 29A, Article II, Section 29A-27, of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-27. Definitions.
(a) Except as defined in items (b) through (e) of this section, Tthe definitions contained in Sections 201 and 202 of the year 2000 edition of the IPMC, as adopted by Section 29A-1 of this Chapter, shall apply to this Article;
(b) For purposes of this Article, the phrase “one-family dwelling” shall have the meaning ascribed by Chapter 50, Article VI; mean a building containing one dwelling unit designed for exclusive occupancy by one family and occupied exclusively by one family, except that the structure may also contain an accessory dwelling unit where expressly authorized, and that is constructed on compliant and permanent footings or foundation. This definition includes a manufactured or modular home that meets this definition and the requirements of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. Sections 5401 et. seq.).
(c) For purposes of this Article, the phrase “two-family dwelling” shall have the meaning ascribed by Chapter 50, Article VI; mean a building containing two dwelling units, neither of which is an accessory dwelling unit, designed for exclusive occupancy by two families and occupied exclusively by two families. A twin home is a two-family dwelling where each unit shares a common vertical wall and where a side lot line exists on the common wall extending to the front and rear lot lines, but is on two separate lots.
(d) For purposes of this Article, the phrase “multiple-family dwelling” shall have the meaning ascribed by Chapter 50, Article VI; mean a building containing three or more dwelling units, none of which are accessory dwelling units, that is not a townhouse;
(e) For purposes of this Article, the phrase “dwelling unit” shall mean a habitable unit in a dwelling providing sleeping, cooking, eating, living and sanitation facilities designed for and occupied by one family only, occupied by the owner or by another family for periods of occupancy exceeding one week, and that is physically separated from any other habitable unit that may be located in the same building;
(ef) Rental unit means any dwelling that is occupied by any tenants. For purposes of any fees under this Article, each bedroom in dwelling constitutes a rental unit;
(fg) Residence means the primary dwelling where an individual lives and usually sleeps;
(gh) Except as otherwise provided in Section 29A-27(gh)(1)-(3), tenant means any adult person or emancipated minor who is occupying a dwelling under any agreement, lease or contract, whether oral or written, and for a period of 30 or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days in any year, whether or not such occupancy requires the payment of rent, the payment of utilities or the provision of services, for the use of the dwelling;
(1) A tenant shall not include any owner of record and an owner’s natural children, adopted children, foster children, spouse, other blood relations, any significant other and any other dependent minors, residing with that owner as a family unit; significant other means romantic partner;
(2) A tenant shall not include a tenant’s natural children, adopted children, foster children, spouse, other blood relations, any significant other and any other dependent minors, residing with the tenant as a family unit; significant other means romantic partner;
(3) A tenant shall not include members of a housing cooperative duly organized pursuant to Minnesota Statues Chapter 308A, provided the housing cooperative is the owner of record.
Section 2. That Chapter 29A, Article II, Section 29A-32, of the Duluth City Code be amended as follows:
Sec. 29A-32. License conditions.
All rental units are subject to the following conditions:
(a) No license shall be transferred to another rental unit;
(b) At the principal exterior entrance to a rental unit that is not owner-occupied, an informational notice shall be posted that complies with the following requirements:
(1) The notice shall be displayed in a conspicuous place;
(2) The notice shall indicate the name, e-mail address and telephone number of the owner or managing agent;
(c) If there is a change in ownership of a rental unit, the new owner shall apply for a transfer of the license within 30 days of the change and pay the license transfer fee. If the rental unit is sold pursuant to a contract for deed, the purchaser shall be responsible for applying for the license transfer and providing a recorded copy of said contract for deed from the St. Louis County recorders office. A new license shall be issued for the remainder of the license period;
(d) If there is a change in managing agent, the new managing agent shall notify the code official in writing within ten days of the change;
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, all rental units licensed since March 13, 2011, shall provide a minimum of two off-street parking spaces. In addition, for each additional bedroom in excess of three, there shall be provided one additional off-street parking space. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in an additional nonconformance fee per parking space, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines is able to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking. All one family or two family dwellings that were unlicensed on March 14, 2011, and subsequently converted to a licensed rental unit shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking;
(1) The city council shall establish a parking nonconformance variance application fee pursuant to Section 29A-30;
(f) All off-street parking spaces shall comply with the design standards and other applicable standards for off-street parking provided for in the City Code. Chapter 50 of this Code. The number of required off-street parking spaces shall be determined by the applicable code official at the time of licensure. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in an additional nonconformance fee per parking space, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines has space on the rental property to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking. The owner shall ensure that all required off-street parking spaces are cleared of snow to at least the required dimension of off-street parking spaces within 72 hours after the end of every snowfall;
(1) All one-family or two-family dwellings, licensed on September 1, 2007, may continue to be licensed even though the property does not conform to the off-street parking provisions of this Section. The rental unit shall be treated as a lawful nonconforming use; however, the nonconformance parking fees provided for in this Section shall apply, except that effective August 1, 2017, each licensee that the code official determines has space on the rental property to provide or construct the required off-street parking space(s) in conformance with this Code shall provide the off-street parking spaces required in this Section at its own cost, and the licensee shall not be entitled to tender payment of the nonconformance fee in lieu of providing the required off-street parking. If the license for the nonconforming use is revoked or lapses for any period of time, all nonconforming use rights related to off-street parking requirements shall terminate;
(2) The off-street parking requirements shall not apply to a short-term license;
(g) Except as provided in this Section 29A-32(h), the maximum number of bedrooms in a rental unit that can be occupied by any tenant under new rental licenses, short-term licenses, and rental license renewals shall be based on the number of bedrooms on record in the city assessor’s office on the date of rental application;
(3) The number of tenants cannot exceed the number of bedrooms that can be occupied under this Code and Minnesota Law
(4) In no case shall a bedroom be allowed that does not comply with all applicable state and city building and housing codes;
(5) If the rental unit is a one-family or two-family dwelling, the maximum number of bedrooms that can be occupied by any tenant shall be based on the lesser of the number of bedrooms on record in the city assessor’s office and verified or corrected by the life safety division on the date of the rental application or four bedrooms. The four bedroom limitation shall not apply to multi-tenant one-family or two-family dwellings licensed on July 26, 2012, or those properties that have a valid purchase agreement as of June 9, 2012; instead, the number of bedrooms that may be occupied shall be the greater of the number of bedrooms authorized by the license in effect on July 26, 2012, or four bedrooms, except those properties which are larger than 2,500 square feet as of August 1 2017, may be allowed up to the maximum of five legal bedrooms.
Section 3. That this ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its passage and publication.
Statement of Purpose
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This ordinance amends sections of Chapter 29A, the city’s Housing, Property Maintenance, and Rental Code, to accompany changes to Chapter 50, the Unified Development Code (the” UDC”). The existing ordinance language provides for cross-references between the requirements of Chapter 29A and the UDC. Because there are significant changes proposed to the UDC related to minimum off-street parking requirements, this amendment fully decouples the two sections of city code.
Though the proposed UDC changes would modify off-street parking requirements under zoning, no changes are proposed under Chapter 29A for off-street parking associated with rental housing licenses. The existing license requirements ensure that there is off-street parking provided for licensed properties where required under ordinance.