07-12-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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4 involved in comprehensive planning were invited to this meeting. Many were in attendance. History The federal government began building subsidized housing as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. No new federal public housing has been built since the 1970s, when policy shifted to programs for private developers to create affordable housing. In Minnesota the number of lower-cost units constructed peaked in 2001 and has since declined. No publicly subsidized apartments have been built this decade in more than 80 suburbs and exurbs around Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to an analysis by Dougherty Mortgage, a firm that tracks the local apartment market. In 1974 the Housing and Community Development Act created a Section 8 Voucher Program for rental assistance to low income applicants. In the early eighties the federal government decreased its funding for rental assistance vouchers from about $10 billion to about $2 billion. Metropolitan Council researchers report that the number of households paying more than half their income for rent doubled between 2000 and 2013. MICAH estimates that $1.06 billion is needed in Minnesota to fill an existing affordable housing gap. Rep. Alice Hausman states that 41% of Minnesota renters are cost burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their income for rent. It’s become increasingly difficult for people of modest means to find housing. Developers, catering to more affluent clients, are purchasing and upgrading large apartment complexes, often forcing low-income renters to move. Current Challenges The major challenges for developing affordable housing in the five suburbs represented by the League are building costs and the need to find subsidies, according to Goetz (CURA). “We don’t have subsidies available; they aren’t funded adequately at the state or federal level, though we have one of the better state finance agencies,” he said. In addition to needing to secure scarce funding, it’s difficult to develop housing for a city’s poorest residents because their potential neighbors worry that it will reduce property values or damage quality of life. These people are called NIMBYs (Not in My BackYard). MICAH states that NIMBYism is often rooted in racism. In Minnesota, 25% of renters are white and 75% are people of color. According to Paul Fate, immediate past president of CommonBond, the Met Council hasn’t been as aggressive as they should be in promoting affordable housing. Dr. Ed Goetz says the Met Council could use their levers more aggressively.