City Council Meeting Date: October 7, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
City Administrator
From: Justin Wagner, Utilities Manager
Title
Second Reading of Ordinance 1085 establishing standards for water utility submetering in the City of Northfield.
Body
Action Requested:
Consider second reading of Ordinance 1085 establishing standards for water utility submetering in the City of Northfield
Summary Report:
On September 9, 2025, the City Council heard the first reading to Ordinance 1085. The proposed ordinance is related to submetering at multi-family residents for water utilities. Submetering is the process of property owners installing meter and billing tenants for their water usage.
Under Minnesota Statute 327C.04, manufactured home communities are allowed to submeter for water, however, property owners cannot legally charge higher than the total cost the City charges the property owner.
History
This issue was initially brought forward by residents at the Viking Terrace manufactured home community, owned and operated by Lakeshore Communities, Inc., a private operator of manufactured home communities in nine states in the fall of 2024 when Lakeshore Management notified residents at Viking Terrace that they would be installing individual water meters for each home. Previously, potable water and sanitary sewer charges were included in the lot rent.
The proposed submetering ordinance requires compliance with state law as well as requiring that residents are billed in the same unit that their City bills residents. For Northfield, residents are billed in cubic feet while bills in Viking Terrace are being billed in gallons. The proposed ordinance change will require Viking Terrace residents to be billed in cubic feet. Additionally, the proposed ordinance allows for residents to be able to ensure their water meters are accurate through testing of water meters at the request of the resident.
Additionally, at the September 9, 2025 City Council meeting, it w...
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