‘Minnesota Starter Home Act’ wins approval in housing committee

A new exotic baseball stat line 38/2,500/100,000 is not.

They are numbers Rep. Spencer Igo (R-Wabana Township) used to illustrate the depth of a housing shortage in Minnesota. The median age for a first-time homeowner is 38, the median mortgage payment is $2,500 per month and the number of new homes needed in the state is more than 100,000.

“There's no one who can say we don't have a problem,” said Igo, who sponsors HF1987. The so-called “Minnesota Starter Home Act” would put restrictions on some local zoning ordinances and development agreements to allow smaller homes and increased density.

The House Housing Finance and Policy Committee approved the bill as amended Tuesday on a split-voice vote and sent it to the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee.

Rep. Spencer Igo and Rep. Michael Howard introduce HF1987 to the House Housing Finance and Policy Committee March 11. The “Minnesota Starter Home Act” would establish land use requirements and procedures for municipalities. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)

Municipalities would be prohibited, per the bill, from excluding single family homes, duplexes and accessory dwelling units — for example tiny homes or mother-in-law apartments — from residential zones. It would also put some limits on other local zoning ordinances such as setbacks for townhomes, minimum parking requirements, required construction materials or forced homeowners’ associations, which can increase the cost of a home by thousands of dollars.

“The bill is getting at how we used to do things,” Igo said, lauding a post-World War II housing boom that allowed families to buy a home, raise a family and start building generational wealth. “It is so core to what we believe in as Minnesotans and Americans.”

While supporters say the bill would eliminate red tape that delay builders, detractors say local communities need control over new developments that will impact their sewer, drinking water and stormwater systems, public works departments and traffic patterns.

They also say zoning ordinances are not a major barrier to more development.

For example, Jill Hutmacher, Eagan’s community development director, said the city approved a large development that is now on hold because of interest rates and supply chain issues.

Amendments offered by Rep. Andrew Myers (R-Tonka Bay) that would limit the scope of the bill to cities larger than 10,000 people and by Rep. Wayne Johnson (R-Cottage Grove) that would delete the prohibition on parking requirements failed to get committee approval. In opposing the latter amendment, Rep. Michael Howard (DFL-Richfield) said developers won’t build houses without garages because no one would want to buy them.