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Brooklyn Park City Council adopts emergency 30‑day pre‑eviction notice for residential and commercial tenants
Summary
At a special meeting the Brooklyn Park City Council adopted emergency ordinances requiring landlords to provide 30 days’ pre‑eviction notice for unpaid rent or other lease financial obligations for both residential and commercial tenants; the emergency orders take effect immediately and may be extended while staff pursues a permanent ordinance.
The Brooklyn Park City Council on Wednesday adopted emergency ordinances requiring landlords to provide 30 days’ advance notice before initiating eviction action for unpaid rent or other lease‑related financial obligations for both residential and commercial tenants.
A senior planner presented the proposal, describing two paths: an emergency ordinance effective immediately for 30 days (with council authority to extend) and a permanent ordinance process that would include a two‑week public review and a second reading before becoming effective. The planner said the proposal would expand the residential pre‑eviction notice period now in state statute from 14 to 30 days and would create a parallel 30‑day notice for nonresidential leases that is not mandated by state law.
"We're proposing an expansion from 14 to 30 days," the senior planner said, describing the additional time as intended to give tenants an opportunity to secure payment or assistance before an eviction filing.
Council member Konowski moved to waive the reading and adopt the emergency residential pre‑eviction ordinance; Mayor Winston seconded. The council recorded the residential emergency ordinance as adopted by voice vote (recorded in the meeting as 5 to 0). Konowski then moved to adopt a matching emergency ordinance for commercial tenants; Mayor Winston seconded and the council adopted that measure as well (recorded as 5 to 0).
Mayor Winston cautioned against making a permanent ordinance "in perpetuity" without careful strategy, saying the city learned from earlier long‑running policies that had unintended effects on some apartment complexes and raised concerns about crime and quality of life. The city attorney advised the council that the city charter does not limit the number of emergency ordinances but that any emergency ordinance must respond to the emergency situation cited.
Under the adopted emergency ordinances, the measures will be in force for 30 days from adoption; council may choose to extend them while staff continues work on a permanent ordinance that would follow the standard ordinance timeline (first reading, public review period, and second reading).
