How the candidates for Minnesota governor would tackle shortage of affordable housing
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Minnesota’s major party nominees for governor have yet to debate one-on-one in their race but they did have a chance Wednesday to dig in on an issue of importance: Housing.
DFL nominee Amy Klobuchar and Republican Lisa Demuth appeared separately but back-to-back at the State Fair to discuss housing construction, rental property affordability and workforce housing needs.
KARE 11 partnered with housing construction advocacy groups to conduct half-hour conversations with the potential next governor.
Klobuchar, a U.S. senator, has made housing a central tenet of her campaign while Demuth, the Minnesota House speaker, includes housing in her larger affordability agenda.
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Klobuchar told Danny Spewak of KARE 11 that to achieve her plan of building 100,000 new homes she’d streamline regulations, maximize federal dollars coming from a new housing law and support factory-built housing.
“Modular is a faster, less expensive way to build,” Klobuchar said, noting Minnesota’s short construction season. A modular house is a type of prefabricated home built in sections in a factory and then assembled on-site.
Klobuchar also repeatedly brought up the Manufactured Home Park Residents’ Bill of Rights, a bill that failed in Minnesota’s tied House this spring. It would have capped lot rent — the rent for the land underneath a home — curbed out-of-state park buyers and made it easier for park residents to buy and run their parks as cooperatives.
“The House Republicans, who my opponent leads, didn't allow that bill to get through the committee. And that bill actually has some really smart ideas,” Klobuchar said.
Demuth said housing regulations, including environmental regulations, are keeping costs high and things like paid family leave and higher property taxes are making it harder for Minnesotans to afford those costs.
“Top two priorities is making sure that we have the number of houses that we need. I'm not going to say the number out there, but making sure we have a good supply and that we bring down the costs,” Demuth said.
Demuth said she’d like the Legislature to pass about $150 million in property tax relief.
Both candidates said there are things that they would support in the failed Starter Homes Act considered by the Legislature this year, but both said lawmakers must ensure the law meets the different needs of metro and greater Minnesota communities. The bill would have legalized more non-traditional forms of housing and limited local authority over zoning.
