The Richfield City Council on Sept. 9 approved a second reading and summary publication of an ordinance restricting temporary outdoor portable storage containers and heard a public comment urging clearer, equitable enforcement.

The ordinance, as amended at earlier meetings and reflected in the second reading, allows up to two containers not to exceed 16 by 8 by 8 feet combined, permits containers to remain on a property for 60 consecutive days and caps use at 90 days per calendar year, and prohibits human or animal habitation in the containers. Council member Hayford O'Leary moved approval; the motion was seconded and approved.

Why it matters: Portable storage containers (often called "pods") have generated growing neighbor complaints in Richfield when used for long periods, the council said. The ordinance aims to balance short-term needs for moving or remodeling with neighborhood aesthetics and safety concerns such as blocked sight lines.

Resident Candice said the draft ordinance leaves unclear whether the 90-day annual limit applies to a property or to an owner, and she urged clarification so successive owners could not effectively extend limits. "If I have a storage container for the maximum allowable period of time and then I sell my house, if the next owner comes behind me within a matter of weeks and puts a storage container there for whatever they need to do, is that going to cause issues for neighbors?" she asked.

A staff member explained how enforcement would work: the city looks up the owner on the Hennepin County property website and directs enforcement to the named owner. "So if there are two different owners of the property in a year, it's addressed with that owner," the staff member said, clarifying that a change in ownership would not automatically transfer the prior owner's used days to a new owner.

Candice also said she received a citation on April 9 for a container that had been on her late mother's driveway for 29 days and was cited under "9 2 5 dot o 1," which she said was characterized on the citation as "accumulations of refuse." She told the council the rust stains cited predated her mother's ownership and said she believed enforcement in that instance reflected bias: "This incident for me raises very serious questions about bias, and the lack of equity and the enforcement of the city's policies."

Council discussion noted changes previously requested at an Aug. 26 meeting — increasing allowable on-site time to 60 days from an earlier 30, clarifying the combined size limit, and explicitly disallowing habitation. After debate, the council approved the ordinance and separately approved a resolution authorizing summary publication of the ordinance.

Ending: The ordinance will be published in summary form as authorized by the council; attendees were told the city will apply the code to the owner listed on county records when complaints are investigated and that staff included language changes discussed at the prior meeting.