Property Maintenance Appeals Board

The purpose of the Board is to hear appeals of decisions of the Building Official in regard to the Ames Rental Housing Code, Chapter 13 of the Ames Municipal Code.

Board Members 

Board members are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. Membership consists of:

  • 1 small / medium property landlord (owns fewer than 50 rental dwelling units)
  • 1 large property landlord (owns 50 or more rental dwelling units)
  • 2 neighborhood resident owner-occupants with no financial interest in residential rental property
  • 1 long term tenant (non-student renter for more than 5 years)
  • 1 student tenant (full time post-secondary student renter)
  • 1 general contractor - with financial interest in not more than 6 rental properties

Current Board Members

  • Patti Engelman - Large Property Owner
  • Vacant - General Contractor 
  • Matthew Sullivan - Small/Medium Property Landlord 
  • Eric Fralick - Long Term Tenant 
  • Michael Lauer - Neighborhood Resident Owner-Occupant 
  • Kristin Dillavou - Neighborhood Resident Owner-Occupant
  • Lauren Neal - Student Tenant 

Basis for Appeal 

An appeal must be based on a claim that:

  1. the true intent or rules of the code have been incorrectly interpreted, or
  2. the provisions of the Code do not fully apply, or
  3. the requirements of the Code can be met by specific proposed alternative equivalent actions, or
  4. there are specific fixed conditions that make strict compliance with the Code impracticable, or
  5. required actions cannot be completed within the time limit specified by the Building Official

Appeal Application(PDF, 27KB)

(PDF, 109KB)CURRENT-AGENDA.pdf(PDF, 109KB)

Meetings 

The first Thursday of each month is reserved for Board meetings. However, meetings do not occur unless an appeal has been filed or other business requires Board action.