Letter to the Editor SPOTLIGHT: Legislators are unifying to find a fix
This LTE was originally published in The Minnesota Star Tribune on January 27th, 2025 in response to the article "Minnesota is in a housing shortage. Legislators are unifying to find a fix".
I’ve been a renter in Minneapolis for almost 10 years, and have grown to love the many styles, sizes and price points of homes in my neighborhood of Kingfield. So I was encouraged to read the recent piece about state lawmakers’ bipartisan efforts to address the housing shortage in Minnesota (“Legislators unite to find housing fix,” Jan. 27).
I live in a nine-apartment building constructed in the 1930s (it has a lot of character) surrounded by single-family homes, duplexes and other apartment buildings. This makes it possible for my neighbors to find a home that works best for their lifestyle, family size and income. Unfortunately, in most Minnesota neighborhoods, restrictive zoning laws make it illegal to build anything but detached single-family homes. This has driven up living costs statewide due to an artificially low number of homes in the places people want to live. Families have to make tough choices: choose a neighborhood they love and struggle financially? Or move to a cheaper community with a longer commute, farther from family and friends?
As state Rep. Jim Nash says in the article, this is not a Democratic or Republican issue — the housing affordability crisis affects everyone, from the Twin Cities to rural Minnesota. To ensure every Minnesotan has a safe and affordable place to call home, we need state action to ensure that more kinds of homes can be built in more places.
Connor Carroll, Minneapolis
