HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Ordinance 2020-01CITY OF PLYMOUTH
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE N0. 2020-01
ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 20 OF THE CITY CODE CONCERNING
ACCESS TO MULTI -UNIT HOUSING STRUCTURES BY UNITED STATES
CENSUS BUREAU EMPLOYEES (20191 13)
THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH ORDAINS:
follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 20 of the Plymouth City Code is amended by adding Section 2005.29 as
2005.29. Access to 'Multi -Unit housing Structures 'by United States Census Bureau 'Employees.
Subd. 1. Declaration and Purpose:
A. The United States Constitution directs a decennial census count of all ipersons
living in the United States.
B. Complete„ accurate census data is of critical importance to all residents of
Plymouth for equal ,political representation, fair distribution of federal and state
funding, and sound planning and investment infrastructure., real estate, business
development, and public policy and programming.
C. During the decennial census, the United States Census Bureau conducts Non -
Response Follow-up Operations (NRFU), when employees of the United States Census
Bureau visit hour. eho!Ids that have not vet submitted a census form.
D. Renters and others who live in multi -unit housing structures have historically
been at higher risk of being undercounted in the decennial census., with the number of
renter households in an area being the most influential variable affecting in area's
census self- response rate; in other words„ the more renters in an ,area, the lower the
self -response rate of that area.
E. The risk of an undercount is compounded in areas with high concentrations of
communities that have been consistently undercounted in the past and who are more
likely to be renters, including low income households, communities of color, Native
American/American Indian communities, immigrants and refugees., and young people.
F. Multi -unit housing structures can be difficult for Census 'Bureau employees to
enter due to security barriers.
O. It is critical that Census Bureau employees have access to multi -unit housing
structures during the decennial census, so they can reach households that have not vet
participated.
H. 13 U.S. Code § 223 authorizes Census Bureau employees to access "any hotel„
apartment house, boarding or lodging house, tenement, or other building".
Subd. 2. It is unlawful for a ,person, either directly or indirectly, to deny access to an apartment
building, dormitory, nursing home, manufactured home park, other multi -unit structure used as a
re_s_idence, or an area in which one or more single-family dwellings are located on private roadways, to
employees of the United States Census Bureau who display current, valid Census Bureau credentials and
who are engaged in official census counting operations during the Census Bureau's standard operational
hours of 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (local time) during the decennial census.
Subd. 3. Census Bureau employees granted access must be permitted to leave census materials
in an orderly manner for residents at their doors, except that the manager of a nwrsing home may direct
that the materials be left at a central location within the facility.
Subd. 4. This section does not prohibit: 1) denial of admittance into a particular apartment,
room, manufactured home, or personal residential unit; 2) denial of permission to visit certain ,persons
for valid health reasons, in the case of a nursing home or a Registered Housing with Services
Establishment providing assisted -living services meeting the requirements of Minnesota Statutes,
section 1440.03, subdivision 2; 3) limiting visits to a reasonable number of census employees; 41
requiring a prior appointment or notification to gain access to the structure; or 5) denial of admittarce
to or exipulsiion of anindividual employee from a multi -unit housing structure for good cause.
Section 2. Effective Date. This amendment shall take effect immediately upon its passage.
ADOPTED by the City Council on January 14, 2020.
R'
Jeffry Wosje, Mayor
ATTEST:
"a,"
Sandra R. Engdahl, CitC rk