VI.1. Second Reading Ordinance 2021-1173 Amending the Hopkins City Code Related to Reasonable Accommodations; RiggsDOCSOPEN\HP145\78\758394.v2-10/28/21
CITY OF HOPKINS
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Scott Riggs, City Attorney
Date: November 3, 2021
Subject: Second reading of Ordinance 2021-1173 Amending the Hopkins City
Code Related to Reasonable Accommodations
_____________________________________________________________________
Purpose
In compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1988, the City is required to provide
reasonable accommodations to persons with a disability, as defined by Federal law,
where such accommodations are necessary to afford equal opportunity to housing. Sta ff
has worked with the City Attorney to draft an ordinance which could be adopted by the
City Council and implemented should the city receive a request for accommodations to
zoning, land use or any other standards that relate to fair housing. While the Ci ty is not
legally required to have a formal process established, it is legally required to respond to
and process reasonable accommodation requests. As previously discussed, the purpose
of adopting an ordinance to establish a formal process for handling s uch requests is to
provide uniform treatment to all applicants and to ensure that the City is properly carrying
out its legal obligations related to processing such requests.
Background and History
In 1988 the Federal Fair Housing Act established a requi rement that municipalities
provide a reasonable accommodation in the application of zoning and other regulations
for qualified persons with disabilities seeking fair and equal access to housing . This
can be understood as flexibility in city regulations su ch as zoning, land use, or other
policies which may include the modification or waiver of certain rules to eliminate
barriers to fair housing.
Staff and the City Attorney have developed a policy which outlines a process for the
City to abide by this Federal regulation. The full policy is included as an attachment to
this item. In summary, the policy allows a Qualified Person such as a person with a
disability or their representative to seek a reasonable accommodation from the City’s
appointed Accommodation Specialist. A decision to approve or deny the
accommodation would be made by the Accommodation Specialist based on a review
of the following items:
(1) Special need created by the disability;
(2) Potential benefit that can be accomplished by the requested accommodation;
(3) Need for the requested accommodation, including alternatives that may provide
an equivalent level of benefit;
Administration
(4) Physical attributes of and any proposed changes to the subject property and
structures;
(5) Potential impact on surrounding uses;
(6) Whether the requested accommodation would constitute a fundamental
alteration of the zoning regulations, policies, or procedures of the city, and/or
nature of the area in which the accommodation is being requested;
(7) Whether the requested accommodation would impose an undue financial or
administrative burden on the city;
(8) Whether the requested accommodation is likely to have any negative impacts
on the health, safety, or general welfare of members of the community, and
(9) Any other factor that may be determined to have a bearing on the request.
The ordinance also provides that the applicant may appeal the decision of the
Accommodation Specialist to the City Council. Appeals must be submitted in writing
within 30 days and should be acted on by the City Council.
If the ordinance is approved, PeggySue Imihy Bean will be app ointed to serve as the
Accommodation Specialist by the City Manager per the ordinance.
At the October 19, 2021, City Council meeting, the ordinance was approved for a first
reading subject to the ordinance including a notice of the request for reasonable
accommodation being provided to surrounding properties. The revised ordinance for
second reading includes the following revisions:
1. Notice of such reasonable accommodation request shall be mailed within fifteen
(15) days of receipt of a completed reasonable accommodation request
application to each owner of affected property and property situated wholly or
partly within 500 feet of the property to which the reasonable accommodation
request relates.
2. Any person providing comments regarding the reasonable accommodation
request must provide such comments to the Accommodation Specialist within
14 days of the date of the notice.
Next Steps
1. Vote to approve the second reading of Ordinance 2021-1173. By approving the
second reading of this ordinance, this application to establish a reasonable
accommodations ordinance will take effect as of November 3, 2021.
2. Vote to deny the second reading of Ordinance 2021-1173. By voting to deny
the second reading of this ordinance, this application to establish a reasonable
accommodations ordinance will not move forward and the city will not have a
reasonable accommodations ordinance in accordance with the Federal Fair
Housing Act of 1988. Should the City Council consider this option, it must also
identify specific findings that support this alternative.
3. Continue for further information. This item should be continued if the City
Council finds that further information is needed.
CITY OF HOPKINS
Hennepin County, Minnesota
Ordinance No. 2021-1173
An Ordinance Adding Hopkins City Code, Chapter 1, Section 1-21, Related to the Establishment of
a Process to Consider Reasonable Accommodation Requests
The City of Hopkins does hereby ordain:
Section 1. The Hopkins City Code is hereby amended by adding the following Section 1-21 to Chapter 1:
Sec. 1-21. Reasonable Accommodation Requests.
(a) Purpose. It is the policy of the city, pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988
to provide reasonable accommodation in the application of zoning and other regulations for qualified
persons with disabilities seeking fair and equal access to housin g. Reasonable Accommodation means
providing a qualified person with flexibility in the application of land use, zoning and other regulations or
policies (including the modification or waiver of certain requirements), when it is necessary to eliminate
barriers to fair housing opportunities. The purpose of this article is to establish a process for making and
acting upon requests for reasonable accommodation.
(b) Definitions.
Accommodation Specialist: City staff appointed by the city manager or their designee to coordinate
and administer the reasonable accommodation process outlined in Hopkins City Code Section 1-21.
Qualified Person: any individual with a disability, their representative, or a developer or provider of
housing for an individual with a disability.
Disability: those disabilities which are recognized under applicable federal law.
Reasonable Accommodation: process by which the city may provide a qualified person flexibility in
the application of land use, zoning, or other regulations.
(c) Initiation of Reasonable Accommodation Request. Any qualified person who requests a reasonable
accommodation in the form of modification in the application of a zoning or other regulation which may
act as a barrier to fair housing opportunities due to the disability of existing or proposed residents, may do
so on an application form provided by the city’s Accommodation Specialist. The application shall include
a detailed explanation of why the accommodation is reasonably necessary to make the specific housing
available to the person(s), including information establishing that the applicant is disabled under applicable
laws, as well as other information required by the Accommodation Specialist to make the determination. If
the project for which the request is being made also requires an additional land use review or approval, the
applicant shall file the request concurrently with the land use review. Notice of such reasonable
accommodation request shall be mailed within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a complete reasonable
accommodation request application to each owner of affected property and property situated wholly or
partly within 500 feet of the property to which the reasonable accommodation request relates. For the
purpose of giving mailed notice, the Accommodation Specialist may use any appropriate records to
determine the names and addresses of owners. A copy of the notice and a list of the owners and addresses
to which the notice was sent shall be attested to by the Accommodation Specialist and shall be made a part
of the records of the proceedings. The failure to give mailed notice to individual property owners, or defects
in the notice shall not invalidate the proceedings, provided a bona fide attempt to comply with this notice
requirement has been made. Any person providing comments regarding the reasonable accommodation
request must provide such comments to the Accommodation Specialist within 14 days of the date of the
notice.
(d) Accommodation Specialist; Required Findings. The Accommodation Specialist, in consultation
with other appropriate city staff, shall have the authority to consider and act on requests for reasonable
accommodation. The Accommodation Specialist shall issue a written decision in which the request is
approved, approved subject to conditions, or denied. In making the decision as to whether an
accommodation is reasonable, the following factors shall be considered:
(1) Special need created by the disability;
(2) Potential benefit that can be accomplished by the requested accommodation;
(3) Need for the requested accommodation, including alternatives that may provide an equivalent
level of benefit;
(4) Physical attributes of and any proposed changes to the subject property and structures;
(5) Potential impact on surrounding uses;
(6) Whether the requested accommodation would constitute a fundamental alteration of the zoning
regulations, policies, or procedures of the city, and/or nature of the area in which the
accommodation is being requested;
(7) Whether the requested accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative
burden on the city;
(8) Whether the requested accommodation is likely to have any negative impacts on the health,
safety, or general welfare of members of the community, and
(9) Any other factor that may be determined to have a bearing on the request.
Any approval issued under this section may include such reasonable conditions that the Accommodation
Specialist deems necessary to mitigate any adverse impacts that the granting of such reasonable
accommodation may produce or amplify.
(e) Notice of Decision. The written decision of the Accommodation Specialist shall be mailed to the
applicant and any person providing comments pursuant to paragraph (c) of this ordinance within five
business days of such decision being made. All written decisions shall give notice of the right to appeal a
decision of the Accommodation Specialist pursuant to Section 1-21. The decision of the Accommodation
Specialist shall constitute the final decision of the city, unless appealed according to the procedures and
within the time limits provided in Section 1-21. Only the aggrieved applicant of the written reasonable
accommodation determination has a right to appeal the decision.
A reasonable accommodation approved under this section shall become effective on the first calendar
day following expiration of the right to appeal.
(f) Applicability. Any approved request shall constitute a limited license which shall allow the
property owner or occupant to continue to rely upon such accommodation only so long as they own or
occupy the property. Approval of a reasonable accommodation does not constitute a property right, does
not run with the land, and does not provide future owners or occupants any rights to rely upon such
accommodation approvals. Only the person who applied for such reasonable accommodation, and who is
specifically named in the city's approval of such accommodation, shall be entitled to the benefits and
protections thereof. The holder of an approved reasonable accommodation license hereunder shall, on or
before January 1st of each year, provide the city with an updated affirmation that the reasonable
accommodation is still necessary. In the event that the Accommodations Specialist has reasonable cause
to believe that the factors supporting the original approval of a reasonable accommodation have changed,
the Accommodation Specialist may request additional information from the license holder. Failure to
annually reaffirm the need for the reasonable accommodation, or failure to provide information reasonably
requested by the Accommodation Specialist shall result in automatic termination of the reasonable
accommodation upon written notice by the Accommodation Specialist.
(g) Conditions and Guarantees. Prior to the issuance of any permits relative to an approved reasonable
accommodation request, the Accommodation Specialist may require the applicant to record a covenant
acknowledging and agreeing to comply with the terms and conditions established in the determination.
(h) Appeals. Any decision reached by the Accommodation Specialist pursuant to Section 1-21 shall
be subject to appeal to the City Council by those persons with a right to appeal as provided herein. All
appeals shall be initiated by submitting a notice of appeal, in writing, to the Accommodation Specialist
within 30 days of the date upon which the decision was made. Upon notice of appeal, the city manager or
their designee shall present such appeal to the City Council for action within 30 days. The Accommodation
Specialist shall also serve notice of such appeal on all parties entitled to receive notice of a decision issued
under Section 1-21. Following a hearing on such appeal, the City Council shall issue its findings, in writing,
within 30 days.
Section 2. The effective date of this ordinance shall be the date of publication.
First Reading: October 19, 2021.
Second Reading: November 3, 2021.
Date of Publication ______________________
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: ______________________
_______________________________
Jason Gadd, Mayor
___________________________
Date
ATTEST:
_________________________________
Amy Domeier, City Clerk