HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form July 13, 2018 CITY OF MEMO
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To: Mayor Haila and Ames City Council
From: Mark O. Lambert, City Attorney
Date: July 13, 2018
Subject: Eligibility of duplexes for a rental Letter of Compliance—Item No. 6
At the July 10, 2018 Council meeting,the Council approved a motion directing staff to
draft an amendment to the Rental Cap Ordinance regarding the ability of duplexes to
obtain Letters of Compliance despite the 25% rental cap. Attached is the ordinance.
For ease of seeing the proposed changes, I provide the paragraph below,which takes
the original language adopted in May, and indicates the changes. (Deletions are
indicated by strike-throughs, additions by underlining). The relevant paragraph is from
Ames Municipal Code Sec. 13.300(9):
Rental dwellings in a Rental Concentration Cap Neighborhood with a
rental registration or Letter of Compliance in place as of the date of
establishment of a Rental Concentration Cap Neighborhood will be
allowed to remain as registered rental properties and may renew their
Letters of Compliance even if the number of rental dwellings is above the
25% cap. Additionally,the owner of a dwelling constructed as a duplex
th.,t has obtained ., better.,F!'.,.,,.,lianee on a leg l!y established unit
of ax may register and obtain a Letter of Compliance on one or
both units the other legally established„ni of the duplex, regardless of
whether the 25%cap is exceeded in the neighborhood. If a registered
rental dwelling that was not constructed as a duplex ceases to operate as
a licensed rental dwelling,the owner cannot subsequently register,.-the
dwelling if the registration would cause the ratio of rental dwellings to
other dwellings to exceed 25%. Transitional Letters of Compliance may
be issued regardless of the 25%cap.
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As staff discussed this matter,the issue came up of duplexes that were constructed as
duplexes versus single-family dwellings that have been converted into duplexes. Although
Council did not specify such, staff believed that the Council's intent was to ensure that
duplexes that were constructed as duplexes would be eligible to obtain LOCs, because such
buildings are primarily built to be rentals. Therefore, rather than saying that all duplexes could
obtain an LOC for one or both sides,staff drafted the ordinance to say that duplexes
"constructed as"duplexes were eligible to obtain LOCs despite the 25%rental cap. If Council
would like the ordinance to apply to all duplexes, including former single-family homes that
were converted to duplexes,Council can move to amend the ordinance.
For your information,the City's Zoning Ordinance allows existing two-family homes to be torn
down and rebuilt, but does not allow new two-family homes to be established in the RL or
UCRM zoning districts. Therefore,we do not face the issue of a single-family home in a Rental
Cap Neighborhood being demolished and rebuilt as a duplex that wouldn't be subject to the
rental cap.