[Mpls] This Week in The Minneapolis Observer

[Craig Cox]

T H E  M I N N E A P O L I S  O B S E R V E R
A Weekly Digest of All Things Minneapolitan
www.mplsobserver.com
Vol. 4, No. 12
October 25, 2004

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THIS WEEK IN THE OBSERVER:
* Council Moves to Curb Rental License Application Abuse
* Peebles Hurting Morale, Critics Charge
* Eastgate Makeover Gets Neighborhood Approval
* Health Partnership Boosts Options for Jordan Residents
* Southeast Neighborhood Debuts Rainwater Resource Program
Plus: Downtown's candid cameras, school closings in the past, and 
Pawlenty's big tax increase
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COUNCIL MOVES TO CURB RENTAL LICENSE APPLICATION ABUSE
The City Council on Friday passed a measure that advocates say would 
protect renters from "predatory" landlords who charge exorbitant and 
often nonrefundable application fees.

The move, sponsored by Council Members Gary Schiff (Ward 9), Paul 
Zerby (Ward 2), Don Samuels (Ward 3), and Dean Zimmermann (Ward 6), 
amended the city's licensing ordinance to require:
* that landlords disclose to applicants the criteria on which they 
are being judged;
* that landlords allow the applicants to choose the method by which 
their application fee would be returned should they not be accepted 
for the unit;
* that landlords notify all applicants within 14 days after their 
application was rejected and explain the reasons for the rejection;
* that landlords refund the application fee of any applicant who was 
rejected for any reason not listed in the written criteria and that 
the refund be made within one business day after the applicant had 
been notified of his rejection;
* that landlords may not cash or deposit any application fees 
collected for a unit until that unit has been rented.

The action was taken in response to complaints by people who often 
are expected to pay exorbitant application fees for apartments with 
no idea of the criteria used to judge the applicants and no guarantee 
that a unit was even available. "It's an issue of affordability, an 
issue of access, an issue of justice," said Schiff. "People are 
paying immense fees just to apply for an apartment in this city."

Schiff and other council members have been working with tenants' 
rights groups as well as property owners for the past several months 
to try to hammer out a measure that would be satisfactory to all 
sides in this issue. Friday's outcome left some property owners, 
including Steven Schactman of Steven Scott Management, feeling less 
than delighted.

Schactman, a member of the city's Rental Dwelling License Board of 
Appeals, said after the meeting that the ordinance represented "some 
progress," but added that the one-day time limit for returning 
application fees was not something they had discussed with council 
members. "It was not what we agreed to," he said.

City attorney Henry Reimer explained to Schactman and other property 
owners that the one-day time limit kicked in only after the tenant 
was informed he or she would be rejected for the unit. That relieved 
some of the property owners, but Schactman remained slightly 
skeptical. "I don't think this is going to solve the problem, but 
we'll see," he said.

The ordinance will go into effect December 1.

PEEBLES HURTING MORALE, CRITICS CHARGE
New Schools Superintendent Thandiwe Peebles has driven several 
administrators and some teachers away from the district with her 
"shaming and blaming" approach to school reform, according to 
critics. The situation has become so serious that some employees have 
been requesting the School Board rescind its decision to hire the 
former Cleveland administrator.


EASTGATE MAKEOVER GETS NEIGHBORHOOD APPROVAL
Upscale condos and retail stores, including a new Lund's grocery 
store will be replacing the aging Eastgate Shopping Center at 
University and Central in Northeast Minneapolis.

HEALTH PARTNERSHIP BOOSTS OPTIONS FOR JORDAN RESIDENTS
Community leaders in the Jordan neighborhood are collaborating with 
North Memorial Health Care to provide new care options for the 
troubled North Side neighborhood.

SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD DEBUTS RAINWATER RESOURCE PROGRAM
With the city now charging property owners for the cost of managing 
stormwater runoff, homeowners in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood  are 
experimenting with innovative ways to capture and control rainwater.

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FOR THESE AND MORE LOCAL STORIES AND FOR THE FULL OCTOBER PRINT 
EDITION OF THE OBSERVER, VISIT www.mplsobserver.com
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