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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-PEDC-2021-12-08 Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting City of Ithaca Planning & Economic Development Committee Wednesday, December 8, 2021 – 6:00 p.m. Common Council Chambers, City Hall, 108 East Green Street Minutes December 8, 2021 Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting Committee Members Attending: Joseph (Seph) Murtagh, Chair; Cynthia Brock, Laura Lewis, Patrick Mehler, and Donna Fleming Committee Members Absent: Other Elected Officials Attending: Mayor Svante Myrick, Alderpersons Gearhart and Nguyen; Aaron Lavine, City Attorney Staff Attending: Lisa Nicholas, Deputy Director, Planning and Development Department; and Deborah Grunder, Executive Assistant Others Attending: Aaron Lavine, City Attorney Chair Seph Murtagh called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 1) Call to Order/Agenda Review One (1) announcement was added to the agenda. 2) Public Comment Theresa Alt, 206 Eddy Street, right to renew is up for discussion. Cornell forces to students to give up their housing in October. She reviewed Patrick’s ordinance which she feels just makes it worse. Public hearing funded by state and/or federal funds Barbara Anger finds problems for both tenants and landlords. She is a landlord that rents seven apartments. She believes tenants need to be protected. Small leasers Sonja Sandstrom, 324 North Plain Street, is a landlord in New Jersey but she lives in Ithaca. We give a 90-day lease renewal period. At 60 days a copy of the lease is Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting given to the tenants. At 30 days, they either must sign a lease or we’ll be showing the apartment. Pushing it to 180 days may be difficult for all involved. Ray Schlather, 200 East Buffalo Street, has lived in Ithaca for 50 years, is currently an attorney in Ithaca, and has been a member of the Board of Public Works and Common Council. He has also sent a letter to everyone which also states his thoughts. He thanked Chair Murtagh for all his work he has done on Council and this committee. Mary Shelley, 109 Park Place, is a landlord in Ithaca. She does not want to evict people. The current legislature is geared toward multiple properties landlords. Response from the Committee: Alderperson Lewis thanked all who spoke. She also thanked Chair Murtagh with the upmost work he has done on this committee and council. She also thanks Donna Fleming who also will be retiring from Council and PEDC. Alderperson Mehler stated he didn’t agree with Theresa Alt’s comment regarding the lease renewal being in October for Cornell students. As a Cornell student, I know this is not the case. Alderperson Brock also thanked everyone who has commented over the last many months. We have received a tremendous number of emails, correspondence, memos phone calls, and then of course speakers who have come to speak so she really wants to again express her gratitude to everybody who has provided their input on this. She did want to say very clearly, and we will be going into this in more detail in the agenda. The good cause legislation is not rent control. Rent control is the intentional setting of a level of rent that is below market value. This instead is something called rent stabilization which rather proposes a structure at which the rate of rent can be increased during a tenant’s lease. There is a distinction between rent control and rent stabilization and good cause implements rent stabilization. 3) Announcements, Updates, Reports Alderperson Lewis announced that once again the Ithaca Guaranteed Income Program accepts applications. This is very exciting news for residents in the city of Ithaca. The application period opens this Friday, December 10th at 9 00 a.m. and will run through Friday, December 17th. It is a very brief one-week window for an exciting program and opportunity for City of Ithaca residents to be selected to participate in this research project. There is detailed information on the Human Services Coalition website. It is a wonderful partnership with mayors for guaranteed income. University of Pennsylvania will be responsible for the research aspect of this program, but it will for those selected for the program give $450 a month for 12 months, no strings attached Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting The criteria include that a participant must be a caregiver of a child children, caregiver to an elderly person, caregiver to an adult with a disability, and must have a household income that is 80 percent or less of area median income. There are far more details on the website as well as assistance for anyone who may want assistance in filling out the application. The application will take about 45 minutes to complete. If people have questions about that they can turn to HSC. There was a press release the Mayor gave earlier today. 4) Discussion Items a) Prohibition of Eviction without Good Cause Chair Murtagh stated he had thought a lot about this topic since last month’s meeting. He did some reflection after the last meeting, and it does seem that we are juggling multiple versions of this. He realized that it had been confusing for a lot of people not just tenants who have been following this but also landlords who have been following this. He thinks that at the very least we should try to get some clarification tonight about which version of this we're looking at and just recognizing that for two of us here this will be our last meeting. He felt a little uncomfortable sending something so big and frankly controversial to a council where you know some of us aren't going to be there. He thought it would be a good idea just to include this as a discussion tonight. We can talk a bit just about the version. What he did is he took the conversation from last month and tried to update it as best as he could from what he remembers—the emotions that we had passed and discuss that. We can start with good cause and then we can move on to discussing Patrick’s Ordinance. We know Patrick that you had suggested the possibility that we could circulate this tonight. If the committee feels comfortable circulating, taking a vote to circulate Patrick's proposal on. Chair Murtagh thinks we should do that, but for now it is just listed as discussion on the agenda. Starting with good cause, we did adopt some language last month that makes it clear that we were talking about 120 days from the end of the lease. Murtagh updated that but is not sure if there are any other comments. It has been talked about a lot, and it does seem at this point like it will be passed to the next Council. He doesn’t know if there are any further comments on this or if anybody has any questions. Alderperson Brock stated she thinks we were specifically talking about ‘9a’ Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting which was included last month. She continues to interpret this language very differently than what has been proposed. She does think that it is highly restrictive with regards to the amount of time that would be available to negotiate the rent, and she strongly urges keeping the original language of the September draft versus the language that is in red in this draft. She asked to just quickly be reminded, or her memory refreshed the concern with it. Is it that you said it's too restrictive? The way that you had presented it was that the landlord and tenant could negotiate the renewal of the lease at any time during the lease term, but the language says, and I quote, “the proposed written lease must have been offered to the tenant in writing on at least two occasions at least two weeks apart but not sooner than 120 days before the end of the lease term.” This might be in writing, or you know about renewing but according to this the tenant wouldn't even be able to see the renewed lease until 120 days before the lease term and then presumably have another period to negotiate that lease and then may still ultimately reject it which would then leave the landlord with very little time towards the end of the lease to start advertising and showing the unit which, I think when you consider for some of the population which are gone during the summer, it means that there's a limited time for them to see the unit before they leave for summer break. That is why I think that this language is too restrictive It really pushes everything up to the end of the lease. Alderperson Mehler stated that wasn't his intent. He meant the intent was to basically allow landlords and tenants to sign leases and show apartments throughout the year because that's something that he had heard from both tenants and landlords. That was important. Maybe there's some clarification or the language just needs to be cleaned up or something to make that clear but, the idea is that it would be 120 days from the end of the lease at that point. If there is a tenant who for whatever reason was refusing to give an answer about whether they wanted to renew the lease or whether they're moving out, there would be some mechanism in there that allowed the landlord to rent the apartment to a third party or move forward with an eviction. If that's not clear maybe it just needs to be clarified and go back to the removed portion. The October version gives more clarification. He thinks that is what is trying to be achieved, and absolutely supports it. Alderperson Fleming stated she agrees with Alderperson Brock. Presenting at least no sooner than 120 days before the end of the lease doesn't allow much time for either party. The old version was unclear too. The old version said something about the notice the landlord’s attention to pursue it or pursue eviction within 120 days, but it doesn't say 120 days of what Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting Somebody needs to just think about what the intention is, what a reasonable time frame is and then to write the language as clearly as possible to allow both parties opportunity time to make good decisions yet not to pressure tenants to renew before they're ready. Alderperson Brock stated that the clause is part of subsection ‘a’ which says its 120 days of notice. You know that you're providing the lease, and then two weeks apart and then in that lease it the written offer must include a notice that they will pursue eviction if the tenant rejects the proposed written lease, so it is 120 days of that proviso of or of that providing of the renewal lease. Chair Murtagh asked if there were any other comments or questions before we move on to the next item. Alderperson Brock stated she had some other comments. We were instructed by Ari in a previous meeting that this legislation, although adopted by the City of Albany, is under a challenge in the legal system in Albany. The New York State Attorney General’s Office has indicated that they intend to issue an opinion on the City of Albany’s good-cause legislation and at root of that opinion, as I understand it, is to address the question if local municipalities have the authority to pass such legislation pertaining to evictions and contract law. She thinks it makes sense currently to wait for that opinion, and then if it is determined that the power is vested within the state then we as legislators, those of us who do support good cause, it would be incumbent upon us to reach out to our state legislators to urge their support and the adoption of good cause and if it is determined that local municipalities do have the power to enact legislation of this nature, I think that would be an opportune time for the City of Ithaca to engage in a vacancy study to be able to determine the level of need we have with regards to vacancies with regards to the rate of rent increases that people are experiencing, That would provide the foundation to indicate to our landlords and to the community that purpose of enacting good cause would enable the City to achieve a larger societal goal which is the opportunity to expand rent stabilization to all renters in the City of Ithaca and to reduce the housing instability that she thinks we all anecdotally feel, and many reports have indicated, We haven't really done a vacancy study to prove that is the case. If we do the vacancy study, it gives a larger opportunity for an exchange with landlords and tenants to perhaps do working groups or other opportunities to explore the impacts of this legislation in a more thoughtful conversational manner. Council Chambers or zoom meetings are a great way to have an exchange of ideas or throw ideas back and forth, explore different complexities of the language, and so on. We would have the time to address it then. Her other point attaches to Patrick’s items. That is her thoughts in terms of what she would like to see happen with this legislation in the future. She anxiously waits to hear from New York State and the Attorney General's Office their determination of our jurisdiction to enact good cause. Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting Chair Murtagh thanked Alderperson Brock for her comments. This is a good reminder that we do have that opinion coming forward, and he thinks it does make sense to kind of hear what the Attorney General's Office is going to say about it. Chair Murtagh asked if there are any other comments on this or should we move on Patrick’s revised ordinance. Murtagh asked if Alderperson Mehler wanted to say a little bit about this or maybe it makes sense to give you the floor to kick this off. Alderperson Mehler stated that this topic is not a voting item, but just a discussion item. He does want to hear people's thoughts on it, but in short, he stated what the bill basically, says is it gets rid of the waiver that currently says that landlords and tenants can waive their day minimums and it also increases the dimensions from 60 to 180. There's a couple of things he wants to talk about. One being how he got to the numbers. His first thought when going through the good cause stuff was a month or two ago. It was 120 days from the back of the lease so 120 days from the back at least puts you at 240 more or less from start of the lease. He remembered to speak with City of Ithaca Attorney, Aaron Lavine, especially about two of the concerns of contract infringement and things like that, but the reason for the 180. He particularly talked with Lavine as to how much rent we are about to lose and how many renters there are that do not rent from the City of Ithaca but go with Cornell instead. He spoke to some Cornell folks this morning, and he plans to speak with more tomorrow and Friday. He would like to hear the rest of what they have to say and hear more from tenants as well. The biggest thing that concerned him was that starting in 2015, all freshmen are required to live on campus, so they no longer live in the City of Ithaca but pay to live with housing contracts in Cornell-owned buildings. There are approximately 4,000 freshmen students that live in campus housing. If you keep going with the math and spin it all around, the University gets about 105 million dollars’ worth of rent. It is not actually rent; it is housing contract; and there are all the sort of legalese behind the university which he learned this morning. Even though it's not technically rent, it is still money that would pay for housing that is not going to people in the north campus and it's like the thirst in off-campus areas in college town and even down to the commons. The point sort of all of this is that we're about to lose another 2,000 students with this mandate for sophomores. It is starting a trend of less housing that the students will use in Collegetown and surrounding areas. He thinks that hurts for a couple of reasons. One, he does not think there are some sophomores who are still in off- campus housing, and two, less housing will be used by the students in college town and surrounding areas. Alderperson Brock stated that she fills the language is too restrictive. Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting b) Ordinance to Amend Chapter 258 (Rental Housing) of Part II (General Legislation) of the Code of the City of Ithaca in Relation to Notification of Tenants Alderperson Mehler stated why the change to 120 days. Cornell University has always made freshmen live on campus. Starting the new academic year, sophomores will also be required to live on campus. The housing requirement also brings with it an on-campus meal plans. This takes from the housing inventory as well as the local restaurants. Alderperson Fleming stated that she has always thought that Cornell University needed to provide more housing. They now are. Alderperson Brock is in favor of this, but it favors Cornell students. Alderperson Lewis agreed with Alderperson Fleming that Cornell building more on-campus housing is a good thing. It is her hope that there will not be some downward pressure from the greater availability of housing mostly in college town but in other parts of the city as well With more students living on campus, there is a possibility that it will open other housing for grad students, etc. Alderperson Mehler thanked all for their comments. Alderperson Brock stated that there is a great deal of invasion of privacy because the units can be shown to new tenants whenever the landlords would like to. Chair Murtagh stated that this topic is down for discussion but asked whether committee members would be in favor of circulating this for next month. Alderperson Fleming stated she is in favor of circulating. Alderperson Brock is also in favor of circulating keeping the first and last whereas. Alderperson Mehler moved to circulate with just the first and last whereas; moved by Alderperson Brock. Carried unanimously. Chair Murtagh stated that this will make a huge effect on Collegetown housing. 5) Review and Approval of Minutes a) March 2021 Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Fleming. Carried Unanimously. 6) Farewell to Chair Murtagh – You will be missed! Chair Murtagh stated it’s been a blast folks. He further said he really appreciates the opportunity to chair this committee for so many years and especially working with, JoAnn Cornish, who unfortunately was not in attendance, but perhaps she can watch this part of the meeting He has really appreciated over the years chairing this committee. It has been amazing to serve with all the the different folks on council, and he knows and sees the changes that have happened in the city from the rebuild of the commons to the repair of so many miles of sidewalk in the city and the zoning changes that have happened in the new housing and you now 210 Hancock and all the great changes that that have been made. He gave a huge thanks to the planning staff for all their work with our complicated, sometimes bewildering, debates in this committee and sticking by us for all these years. He also thanked Debbie for her diligence and preparing agendas and getting the minutes prepared. We could not do this without your absolutely essential work. Thank you for all your service over the years I have been chair of this committee. Lisa Nicholas, Planning and Development Acting Director, stated she can definitely speak on behalf of the whole planning staff that it's been an absolute pleasure working with you He also gave a big shout out to Donna Fleming too. Knowing that we are both departing members of the committee and Council. Alderperson Brock expressed her gratitude to Murtagh. He has been an incredible Chair of the PEDC. We have handled some incredibly complex, incredibly controversial issues whether of not we are talking about the Community Gardens, Carpenter Business Park, or parking requirements and that have garnered a lot of community attention, has involved incredibly complex legislation. There are many of the things whether we're talking about the comprehensive plan or neighborhood plans that have gone through years of work in terms of community outreach. One thing she really appreciated is that you've really worked to create a structure environment that is supportive of Staff, of council members, of the public clearly outlining next steps. Giving people an opportunity to speak and be heard in a very deliberative and even-keeled fashion. it is not an easy thing to do. You have done it well. I really appreciate how you can take complex issues and come up with a summary that is clear and easy to understand and succinctly summarizes what the key issues and concerns are that are in front of your mind and bring them Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting to the forefront. She just really wants to express her appreciation for that, and you've really helped her model how she chairs her committees. She keeps her action in mind as she tries to steer her own complex committees through their iteration, so she thanks you for that. She thanked the staff that she will continue to work with. And, Donna, you have always thought very clearly through all again complex issues with an incredible sense of humor that just makes it fun and engaging and really brings both a pointedness-like look that really gets down to the brass tacks of what we're doing here and what the issues are. You are always direct and straight to the point. You do it with grace and with humor and with intellect and with professionalism. I have so enjoyed working with you and the thing that she wants to express is she really admires your courage. There have been times where people have been called out and made to feel very uncomfortable or compromised in some way and you have always been very quick and the first person to stand up for someone who has been unfairly targeted. Alderperson Fleming thanked Alderperson Brock for her very kind words. Alderperson Mehler although not having spent as much time as Cynthia and Laura have with yourself as Chair and Donna on the committee, offered his sincerest thanks for welcoming him not just to Council but into your homes and with meals with you. He felt very welcomed and appreciate the Council for being so inclusive of those of us that are new. It’s a shame to see you go, but I think as Svante said at the Council meeting, you might be leaving Council, but there is no way you are getting too far away. You will still be doing one or two things with us hopef ully. Alderperson Lewis stated she is so appreciative of the ability to engage with members of this committee and share your instrumental in setting the tone and tenor for our debates and our discussions. We have as has been mentioned, discussed, and addressed some very challenging and difficult issues on which we may not all agree. She thinks of a few of them in her term on this committee but when she thinks of our discussions around, for example where we had differing views and most recently on some of the issues we have discussed, we have done it with as she thinks Cynthia has mentioned and others have commented in the past, we have done it with great respect for one another and the ability to disagree with one another but to do so by disagreeing with a position and not with a person. She thinks that is rare and really appreciates your leadership in establishing that tenor for our committee over the time we have been on this committee so again thank you Seth for your chairing. Alderperson Fleming thanked Alderperson Lewis for saying such nice things about me. That is very meaningful. The whole time on Council has been deeply meaningful. She repeated expression of thanks to the Planning Staff. Everybody that she has met in the Planning Department has been extraordinarily helpful, patient, and committee toe the goals of the City. She has had personal meetings and personal phone calls with all the planners. They have always been willing to explain things to me like for the third time, so she really Approved at the January 19, 2022 PEDC Meeting appreciates that. She has learned a lot and it has been a pleasure to work with the with the planning staff. She might just hang out up there every now and again to see how things are going. She further stated that working with this committee has been a wonderful experience. Yes, she and Seph have disagreed over some stuff, but she added he has set the tone for being respectful and civil and for engaging in debate that puts forward our reasons and doesn't slam anybody personally. She really appreciates that tenor and thinks that it is a model for government around the world. She thanked all again for the opportunity to work with you and good luck next year. Chair Murtagh stated he is glad the Brock brought up the community gardens. That was a was a big one. We actually got that done. He never thought we would. Murtagh noted that Brock is reminding us about the minutes which we don't want to forget those. Is there a motion on the minutes? Moved by Alderperson Brock; seconded by Alderperson Fleming. Carried Unanimously. 7) Adjournment Moved by Alderperson Fleming; seconded by Alderperson Lewis. Carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p.m.