Politics & Government

Country Village And Its Residents Granted Small Reprieve

Council members say they wanted to spare residents from a forced move.

Country Village Apartments—and its residents—have been granted a reprieve, for now.

The Burnsville City Council stopped short of revoking the license outright, though the owner, Lindahl Properties LP, failed to complete an overhaul of the dilapidated complex by a deadline council set in . At that time, council suspended Lindahl Properties' license for 2011.

According to the city, Lindahl Properties has completed about 70 percent of the corrections ordered by the council. The company has hired a full-time contractor and claims it has already put $400,000 into the property.

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“I would like you to approve our license today. I think it’s only fair," said Paul Lindahl, part owner of the company. "I think everyone involved has been going as fast as they possibly could since this began.”

However, a significant portion of the work remains undone, said Deputy City Manager Tom Hansen. Over the last two months, the complex has been cited for 119 new violations, a third of them concerning fire and safety hazards, said Fire Chief B.J. Jungmann. 

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In light of what she called "half-hearted" efforts, Council Member Mary Sherry lobbied to revoke Lindahl Properties' rental license, effective Jan. 1, 2012. In such a scenario, all residents would have to move within 30 days. 

"I want to make it clear that this is not intended to punish any of the people who live there, but to show that we have these policies and we intend to enforce them," Sherry said. "We have worked hard and long and we have been ignored since May. I don't want to give them another minute."

Council Member Dan Kealey urged that, if possible, the council should spare residents the pain and expense of relocation.

"If we weren't talking about the forced move of people's lives, this decision would have been made 45 minutes ago. I can't do that," said Council Member Dan Kealey. "It's wrong. We have to figure out a way to get to the source of the problem and not hurt innocent people."

City and county officials suggested that Burnsville and neighboring communities may not have enough rental property, if the council ultimately pulls the license, to accommodate an exodus from Country Village. At present, affordable rental housing in Dakota County is scarce. Vacancy rates are 1.9 percent, the lowest in 10 years, said Eric Grumdahl, Housing Director of  Dakota County Community Services. 

Furthermore, many of the residents are unwilling or unable to move, said County Commissioner Liz Workman. Some residents can't afford it. Others would be barred from other properties because they couldn't pass a criminal background check. Still others are concerned that a move may draw attention to their immigration status.

Under conditions imposed by council, the 40 Country Village apartments deemed habitable will remain under a valid rental license. The rest—nearly 100 units—will be revoked. As the contractors complete their work, the license will be extended to individual units that have been brought into compliance with code.

In addition, the company will face total revocation if it fails to repair all fire doors and alarms by Jan. 15, 2012—the first of a series of deadlines imposed by the city.

The city has already sunk 750 hours and $22,000 into inspections at Country Village. City employees now face the mammoth task of reviewing the property on a unit-by-unit basis.

"The dates are workable. It will be much more difficult for us to expel people out of individual apartments," Hansen said. "You're still kicking the can down the road."


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