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Housing & Economic <br />Development <br />L------- j <br />Policies 3-A to 3-I: Introduction <br />While the provision of housing is predominantly a private sector, market-driven activity, <br />all levels of government — federal, state and local — have a role to play in facilitating the <br />production and preservation of affordable housing in Minnesota. <br />Adequate affordable housing is a significant concern for the metropolitan region and <br />effective approaches require participation from all levels of government, the private <br />sector and nonprofit groups. <br />3-A City Role in Housing <br />In the state of Minnesota, the provision of housing is predominantly a private sector, <br />market-driven activity. However, all cities facilitate the development of housing via <br />responsibilities in the areas of land use planning, zoning ordinances and subdivision <br />regulations. Cities should have sufficient authority and flexibility to promote housing <br />types that are best suited to meet local needs, public purposes and goals. <br />While local government financial resources constitute a relatively small portion of the <br />total costs of providing housing, many cities take on a significant administrative burden <br />by providing financial incentives and regulatory relief, participating in state and regional <br />housing programs and supporting either local or countywide housing and redevelopment <br />authorities and community development agencies. <br />Cities are responsible for much of the ground -level housing policy in Minnesota; <br />including land use planning, code enforcement, rental licensing, and often times the <br />packaging of financial incentives. Cities are also responsible for ensuring the health and <br />safety of local residents and the structural soundness and livability of the local housing <br />stock via building permits and inspections. It is the responsibility of cities to periodically <br />review local requirements such as land use regulations and ordinances to ensure that they <br />are consistent with these purposes. <br />Metro Cities strongly opposes any effort to reduce, alter or interfere with cities' <br />authority to carry out these functions in a locally determined manner. <br />2016 Legislative Policies 19 <br />