West St. Paul City Council Recap: May 13, 2024

Thanks to Clothesline Laundromat and FoodSmith for their support.

The West St. Paul City Council spent considerable time discussing rental housing, including health and safety, power imbalance, and lack of engagement. Council also declared Arbor Day on May 17.

The Open Council Work Session (OCWS) had a different setup on Monday, reminiscent of their pre-pandemic roundtable layout in the conference room. The new design is a pilot and only used for the OCWS meetings, but the hope is it will help encourage productive conversation.

Renters Rights

The OCWS focused almost exclusively on the strategic planning pillar of improving housing this week. This manifested in a few main improvement concepts for renting in the area. No official motions passed, as the goal for this session was only to obtain recommendations from council members.

• Health, safety, and well-being: The council discussed the current standards for rental properties upheld by the city and whether they should make any adjustments. While Council members considered most current physical standards up to par with what should be expected of rental properties, the Council did raise concerns about keeping management information updated.
• Power imbalance: The Council discussed what action to take on the city’s end to help alleviate any tenant-landlord power imbalances that may exist within the city. A significant point discussed was the implementation of a non-retaliation ordinance that would allow renters to make any reports about properties to the city without being subjected to harsh treatment by the landlord—notably eviction. Ultimately, rental agreements are private contracts between the landlord and renter, so the city can only know if there is an issue if they receive a report.
• Lack of engagement from renters: The council noticed a need for more participation in city-centered surveys and activities from renters compared to homeowners. They aim to increase involvement with the community by hosting at least six engagement events at multi-family homes by the end of 2024. They also plan to implement a renter’s resource guide as an easily accessible source for renters to learn their rights. They hope building trust and reliability with renters will increase their willingness to voice their thoughts and concerns.

Other Items on the Agenda

• Arbor Day proclamation: The Council reinstated a long-standing tradition and proclaimed May as Arbor Month and May 17 as Arbor Day in West St. Paul. The city has been a Tree City USA for 22 years. There will be a tree planting to celebrate at the Environmental Explorer’s Fair at Garlough on Friday.
• Xcel franchise agreement: The final reading for the renewal of the Xcel franchise agreement passed unanimously. There was a public hearing, though no community members voiced concerns.
• Consent agenda: The consent agenda passed unanimously this week and included proposal requests for Americorps VISTA volunteers for the fall of 2024–2025.
• Legacy Commons concern: Former Council Member Dick Vitelli complained about the newly built senior housing on Butler Avenue during citizen comments. Vitelli claimed the complex admits people under the specified age requirement. He said these “hoodlums” have run the relatively new establishment into the ground. Mayor Dave Napier said staff would look into the issue and report back.

Engage

• Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
• Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.

We believe in government transparency and provide these West St. Paul City Council recaps with the support of our members.