HomeMy WebLinkAboutA035 - Memo from City Attorney dated July 31, 2018 MEMO
Pmes Legal Department
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To: Mayor Haila and Ames City Council
From: Mark Lambert, City Attorney
Date: July 31, 2018
Subject: Proposed Amendment re: bona fide rentals (Item#42 on 7/31/18 agenda)
In my July 26, 2018 memo to you, which was in the Council packet, I included a
sentence as a proposed amendment to the ordinance to allow a property owner
with a roomer (who would not be required to have an LOC) to be eligible to
obtain and maintain a Letter of Compliance (LOC) under the Rental Cap
Exception. The Council directed staff to draft such language, for consideration
prior to third reading.
The language I suggested is the underlined language below:
13.300(10)(a)(v): Upon receipt of a Letter of Compliance for the property, a
Letter of Compliance may not be renewed after twelve months from the original
approval if the property is not used as bona fide rental property. Each
subsequent renewal of the Letter of Compliance after the initial twelve months is
subject to the property's continued use as a bona fide rental property. A bona
fide rental property includes an owner-occupied dwelling with a non-owner
occupant who pays rent.
Upon further staff discussion, it was noted that the Rental Code includes a
definition of "Owner Occupied Dwelling" which is at Ames Municipal Code Sec.
13.201:
OWNER-OCCUPIED DWELLING UNIT: Any townhouse, condominium, or detached dwelling that is
occupied as a dwelling by the owner or owner's relative within the first degree of consanguinity(mother,
father,daughter, son, sister, brother); and may include a live-in nanny; live-in nurse; one live-in exchange
student; or one roomer. If there is more than one roomer, nanny, live-in nurse or live-in exchange student
living in the unit, the unit will be considered a rental unit, and not an owner-occupied dwelling unit.
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So, the net effect of the proposed amendment I drafted is that the definition of
"owner-occupied dwelling" would be incorporated into the "bona fide rental"
language. I don't believe that was the intent of the motion (and wasn't my
intent in drafting the proposed amendment). This language would mean, for
example, that a person who owned a property and their college-student child
lived there with one roomer would be eligible to obtain and maintain an LOC
under this exception. Again, I don't think that was the intent.
So, I am suggesting the following language for a proposed amendment. It's a
slight re-wording, but avoids using the phrase "owner occupied dwelling":
A bona fide rental property includes a dwelling which is the owner's primary
place of residence, with a non-owner occupant who pays rent.
think this more accurately reflects the motion that was made, but of course if
the Council decides to adopt such an amendment, which version would be a
policy choice.