Rental housing proposal would hit hardest near WSU
By Brian Voerding / Winona Daily News

A proposed ordinance that aims to limit city rental properties would affect nearly 75 percent of the blocks near Winona State University, according to a new map produced by the city’s planning office.

About half of the affected blocks have between 50 and 80 percent rental properties, significantly higher than the proposed ordinance limit, which is 30 percent. The planning commission will discuss the ordinance today as they get closer to making a final recommendation to the city council.
The ordinance is the product of the Parking Advisory Task Force, which was formed earlier this year to address issues of parking and rental units around Winona State. The task force recommended the ordinance as a way to curtail run-down properties and ensure that neighborhoods retain a blend of residents.

Winona State students have argued it will push rental problems farther into the city. There are about 5,500 Winona State students living off-campus, according to the school’s Residential Life office.

The highest percentages of rental properties in Winona are all around Winona State, generally bound by Olmstead Street on the west side, Franklin Street on the east, the railroad on the south and Fourth Street on the north. About 34 percent of all housing citywide is rental units, said Assistant City Planner Joe Barbeau.

If the ordinance passes, there won’t be immediate change, because current rental properties would be grandfathered in and not affected until they’re either sold or re-zoned.

The City Council imposed a rental moratorium on Dec. 20 to give the Planning Commission time to revise ordinances relating to both rental properties and parking. Unless the City Council votes to extend it, the moratorium will expire on the same date this year.

A St. Paul council member made a similar attempt in 2002 to limit rental properties by proposing a 350-foot distance between them, but the measure failed to garner support.

The proposed ordinance to limit rentals is one of 14 ordinance changes the task force has recommended. Others include reducing the number of unrelated adults living together from five to three, and several changes to street and residential parking.

The Planning Commission will make a final recommendation on rental housing limits, as well as the other ordinance changes, at its Nov. 14 meeting. The City Council is expected to vote on them on Dec. 19, one day before the rental moratorium expires.

Ordinance opinions

What: Proposed ordinance to limit rental properties to 30 percent per block. Other proposals include reducing the number of unrelated adults living together from five to three and changing parking rules.

When: The first public hearing on all proposed ordinance changes will be at the planning commission meeting at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 14. If the commission recommends the ordinance, the council will hold a public hearing Dec. 5, and vote on the ordinance Dec. 19.

Reporter Brian Voerding can be reached at (507)-453-3514 or brian.voerding@winonadailynews.com.

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