HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance No. 2019-18 Access to Multi-Unit Housing Census-RelatedORDINANCE NO. 2019-18
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 22 OF THE EDINA CITY CODE
CONCERNING ACCESS TO MULTI-UNIT HOUSING STRUCTURES BY
UNITED STATES CENSUS BUREAU EMPLOYEES
THE CITY COUNCIL OF EDINA ORDAINS:
Section I . Chapter 22 of the Edina City Code is amended by adding Article 10 to provide as follows:
ARTICLE X. ACCESS TO MULTI-UNIT HOUSING STRUCTURES BY UNITED STATES CENSUS
BUREAU EMPLOYEES
22-310. Declaration; Purpose.
(a) The United States Constitution directs a decennial census count of all persons living in the United
States.
(b) Complete, accurate census data is of critical importance to all residents of Edina for equal political
representation, fair distribution of federal and state funding, and sound planning and investment in
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 households that have not
yet 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 an 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.
(g) 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 yet 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".
22-31 I. 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 residence, 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
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9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (local time) during the decennial census; and Be It Further
22-312. 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 nursing home may direct that
the materials be left at a central location within the facility; and Be It Further.
22-313. This ordinance does not prohibit (I) 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 I 44G.03,
subdivision 2; (3) limiting visits to a reasonable number of census employees; (4) requiring a prior
appointment or notification to gain access to the structure; or (5) denial of admittance to or expulsion
of an individual employee from a multi-unit housing structure for good cause.
Section 2. This ordinance is effective immediately upon its passage and publication.
First Reading: December 3, 2019
Second Reading: Waived
Published: December 26, 2019
Sharon II C y Clerk James B. ovland, Mayor
Please publish in the Edina Sun Current on: December 26, 2019
Send two affidavits of publication
Bill to Edina City Clerk
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