Laserfiche WebLink
Item No: 03 <br /> Meeting Date: August 4, 2025 <br /> M0U__NDiJSVCEW: Type of Business: Council Business <br /> City Administrator Review NA <br /> City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> To: Mounds View City Council <br /> From: Evan Monson, AICP, Stantec, City Planner <br /> Item Title/Subject: Affordable Housing Discussion, (Continued from June 2, 2025) <br /> Request: Discussion Item <br /> Introduction: <br /> The City Council is currently discussing housing affordability as a part of their strategic planning <br /> for the city. City staff directed our team to collect information on affordable housing to help inform <br /> the Council during this discussion. <br /> Analysis: <br /> The issue of affordable housing can include a variety of programs, rules, and regulations. These <br /> vary by local jurisdiction, county, and state. <br /> Terms and Definitions <br /> Affordable housing, as referred to by the Metropolitan Council in their 2050 Housing Plan, is <br /> housing units that are affordable to households making 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). <br /> The Metropolitan Council requires jurisdictions to plan for new housing as a part of the <br /> comprehensive planning process — the city's 2040 Comprehensive Plan had a requirement for <br /> developing 59 total housing units by 2040. This included 27 units affordable to an AMI of 30% or <br /> less, 11 units at an AMI between 31% and 50%, and 21 units at an AMI between 51% and 80%. <br /> AMI is measured by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development using census data. <br /> The median AMI for a family of four in the Twin Cities is currently $132,400; 60% would be <br /> $79,440. For reference, the city's 2040 plan notes that 60% of AMI was $56,580 in 2018. <br /> Deeply affordable housing is typically defined as units that are affordable to households making <br /> 30% of the AMI. Metropolitan Council staff further calculated rental rates and home prices that <br /> are affordable based on different AMI levels —see figures 1 and 2 on the following page. <br /> Naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) is used to refer to residential rental properties <br /> that are affordable, but are unsubsidized by any federal program. The rents of these units are <br /> relatively low compared to the regional housing market. <br /> Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) is a policy that requires developers to build a percentage of <br /> housing units within market-rate developments that are affordable to low- and middle-income <br /> households. Jurisdictions will typically set requirements or thresholds that define what is <br /> "affordable" and how many units must meet said requirement. For example, an IZ policy could be <br /> that a multifamily development would have to provide 15% of units affordable to an AMI of 30%, <br /> and 10% of units affordable to an AMI of 50%. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis issued <br /> a quick facts sheet here in 2019 on IZ policies in the Twin Cities. <br />