HomeMy WebLinkAboutA029 - Staff Report dated February 19, 2019 ITEM: 16
Staff Report
PROPERTY SALE HARDSHIP EXCEPTION
February 19, 2019
BACKGROUND:
After placing a 25% rental cap on certain neighborhoods in 2018, the City Council
determined that there needed to be a way to help citizens who were negatively affected
by the cap. The Rental Concentration Cap Exception and the Property Sale Hardship
Exception grew out of this discussion and were adopted on August 28, 2018. Citizens
wanting to take advantage of the Rental Concentration Cap Exception were allowed 30
days from the effective date of the ordinance to apply to be a rental. That exception is
no longer an option since the specified timeframe has passed.
The Property Sale Hardship Exception does not have a timeframe attached to it. If
approved for this hardship, a property owner would be given six months to obtain a
Letter of Compliance (LOC) and to sell the property. The initial LOC would be issued for
one year and could only be renewed by the new owner, not the owner obtaining the
hardship. Property owners found to have been renting illegally prior to obtaining this
hardship are ineligible for the exception.
A request for a Property Sale Hardship Exception has been submitted by Robert Howell
for the property he owns at 107 S. Riverside. Mr. Howell currently resides in South
Carolina and has a Transitional Letter of Compliance that allows him to lease the
property. The property was owner-occupied until last year when the Howell's needed to
move for a job transfer. They have had the property listed for sale since that time, but
have been unable to sell the property.
This request is the first of this type that Council has reviewed. Sec. 13.300(11) requires
staff to review the submittal documents for completeness and then to turn the request
over to Council for the decision. Council must determine that both of the following are
true, in order to approve the request:
1 . The advantages to the neighborhood and the City of allowing the property to be
registered as a rental property to facilitate its sale outweigh the disadvantages to
the neighborhood and City of exceeding the rental concentration cap.
2. The sale of the property would have been possible at a reasonable market value
as a single family dwelling, but for the existence of the rental concentration cap.
1
f
SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS:
Property owners applying for the hardship are required to submit very specific
documents in order for the City Council to approve the request. The criteria, as required
in Sec. 13.300(11)(a) of the Municipal Code, are listed below and attached to this
document. A check mark is shown for each item that has been submitted as part of the
application for the property at 107 S. Riverside:
✓ Proof that the property abuts rental properties on 3 sides
✓ Proof that the property was purchased prior to 10/27/17
✓ Proof that the property has been listed for sale by a licensed realtor for 9 months
✓ Owner must disclose any declined offers
✓ Owner must submit the original purchase price and date
✓ Owner must submit an appraisal by a licensed appraiser
✓ Owner must submit proof of a home inspection
✓ Owner must have completed a rental pre-sale inspection and be able to show the
cost they would incur in order to comply with the rental code
OPTIONS:
1 . Approve the Property Sale Hardship Exception application for 107 S. Riverside,
allowing the property to become a rental in order to facilitate the sale of the
property. Should this property become a rental, the LOC could only be renewed
by the person purchasing the property. The property could then remain a rental
as long as the LOC is maintained. This LOC would be transferrable.
2. Deny the Property Sale Hardship Exception application, prohibiting the property
from being eligible for a LOC in order to sell the property. The property could
continue to be rented until the Transitional LOC currently in place expires.
3. Refer the application to staff or the owner for more information.
STAFF COMMENTS:
The property owner at 107 S. Riverside has fulfilled all the submittal requirements to
apply for a Property Sale Hardship Exception. Council may now approve the application
if it finds that both of the following are true, in accordance with Sec. 13.300(11):
1. The advantages to the neighborhood and the City of allowing the property to be
registered as a rental property to facilitate its sale outweigh the disadvantages to
the neighborhood and City of exceeding the rental concentration cap.
2. The sale of the property would have been possible at a reasonable market value
as a single family dwelling, but for the existence of the rental concentration cap.
2