Minneapolis could vote on rent stabilization this fall

[TexasTowelie]

Minneapolis voters could decide this fall to limit rent increases in a city where more than half of residents are renters.

City Council President Lisa Bender along with Council Members Jeremiah Ellison and Cam Gordon announced on Thursday their plan to put a charter amendment on the 2021 ballot to give the city the power to control rent increases. Voters in November will also be electing a new city council and mayor and could be deciding on another initiative to dismantle the police department and replace it with something else.

Over the past several years, the City Council has passed a slew of ordinances aimed at helping renters, especially the one-third who are “cost burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on rent. They are much more likely to be people of color.

To increase supply, the city has invested in new affordable housing developments, decreased off-street parking requirements which drive up development costs and, most notably, abolished single-family zoning to allow up to three units to be built on any piece of land.

Read more: https://minnesotareformer.com/2021/01/14/minneapolis-could-vote-on-rent-stabilization-this-fall/

[geardaddy]

1. Good news, but...

Umm, there have been very few affordable housing developments. I'm on board for the charter amendment, but the amount of development in my area has been high end housing. Also removing off-street parking to make it easier for wealthy developers to make more money off these high end developments just causes more problems for everyone else. Not to mention that they've removed so much on street parking in my area that it is making it more difficult to find places to park during snow emergencies.