Building a Better Future for Housing in Minnesota

This year, Neighbors For More Neighbors volunteers and partner organizations rallied at the State Capitol for affordable and abundant homes for all Minnesotans.  As the dust settles on the 2024 legislative session, we want to share our wins and accomplishments, and why we will continue to fight for pro-housing policies in 2025.

At the beginning of the session, we set out to defend the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan and to pass statewide housing policy for affordable, abundant homes. Building on ideas from our state policy summer camp, we championed bills to legalize: single stair egress; missing middle housing; parking reform; transit oriented development; land value tax. Every week, our group of amazing volunteers contacted lawmakers, wrote letters, tracked and influenced bills, and built a coalition of partners like Sierra Club, Unidos, ISAIAH, SEIU, and Sustain St Paul.

We wrote. We called. We showed up. Here are our big accomplishments this year – and a preview of what’s to come.

Pictured above: the Sundial Building, a 23 unit apartment building in Northeast Minneapolis that was made legal by the Minneapolis 2040 plan. Source: https://www.footprintdev.com/

Pictured above: multifamily apartment building in Stillwater. Source: https://www.apartments.com/the-miller-stillwater-mn/xfk91xq/

We Defended Comprehensive Plans

• The “Comprehensive Plan Clarity” bill effectively ends the litigation against the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
• This bill allows cities to plan for increased housing density on already-developed land and prevents the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA) from being co-opted to block housing.
• It maintains the ability for environmental defenders to challenge individual projects under MERA.

One Step Closer to Safe, Affordable, Single Stair Buildings

• We passed a Single Egress Study bill, which instructs the Department of Labor and Industry to study three story to 75 ft tall apartments with a single egress. 
• Single egress buildings have one exit. Also known as “Point Access Blocks”, they are safe, mid-rise buildings common world-wide. 
• Minnesota building code currently requires every multifamily apartment building to have two sets of stairs. However, a single stairway exit for medium-sized buildings is safe, allows more family-size apartments, and makes it easier to build apartments on a smaller lot. This results in more homes for lower cost. 
• The study will compare results in Seattle, New York, and internationally, and provide recommendations for new building code updates. 
• This bill lays the groundwork for safer, more efficient housing solutions. 

Pictured above: a single stair building in Seattle that adds 4 units, maximizing efficiency on a small footprint. Source: https://www.buildllc.com/projects/602-flats

Key Bills Gain Momentum, But Legislature Failed to Act

While celebrating these victories, it's important to recognize that Minnesotans continue to face barriers to affordable homes. The legislature needs to act to remove these barriers. Several key housing bills gained momentum, but ultimately did not pass into law:

• The Land Value Tax bill progressed to the conference committee stage, indicating promising momentum for this innovative approach to incentivizing equitable development.
• The Missing Middle bill and Multifamily by Right in Commercial Zones bill passed two committee hearings, with bipartisan support. Despite backing from a broad coalition that included advocates for social justice, transit, housing, environment, and more, the proposal could not overcome opposition from suburban DFL members. Read more about its untimely demise in this MinnPost article.
• The People Over Parking bill received committee hearings and press time, signaling a growing awareness of the interconnected issues surrounding high parking mandates, the lack of available land, and affordable housing. 

Given that 85% of Minnesotan voters support pro-housing legislation, it is troubling that the legislature did not pass these bills. We will continue fighting in future years to remove housing barriers and ensure safe and affordable homes for all. Consider supporting our mission by volunteering or donating.

Looking Ahead: Major Wins and More to Do

Let’s take a look at the State Policy Task Force Wins by the numbers.

Bills Passed: 33%
Volunteers Mobilized: 74
Bills Receiving a Hearing: 5 out of 6
Coalition Partners Assembled: 19

Numbers cannot quantify our most significant wins: the coalition we built and strong relationships we formed with legislators and fellow volunteers. We want to thank Representatives Mike Howard, Liish Kozlowski, Larry Kraft, and Sydney Jordan, as well as Senators Omar Fateh and Lindsey Port, for working tirelessly to champion our bills. Additionally, we have immense gratitude for our volunteers, supporters, and partners, who make our work possible. Neighbors for More Neighbors remains committed to our mission of ensuring secure, abundant homes for all Minnesotans. There is still much work to be done, and we look forward to continuing this work in 2025 and beyond.