Minnesota, like much of the country, is facing a severe housing shortage. With too few homes available, everyone ends up paying more. Existing tax policies in Minnesota often reward land speculation in key areas primed for development. As a result, instead of new housing construction entire city blocks of space are taken up by unproductive land use.

Point Access Blocks allow more windows and balconies, more efficient floor plans, larger family-sized units, and better energy efficiency. They allow builders to shift space now mandated for corridors into a third or fourth bedroom. They are one part of removing barriers and lowering housing costs for families. We can build better quality homes, while reducing building and maintenance costs, by choosing to make more types of homes legal. 

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.

Yesterday the Minnesota Legislature passed a key provision that will ensure our environmental laws cannot be weaponized against building more needed homes. The provision ensures that comprehensive plans cannot be challenged under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, ending the lawsuit over the Minneapolis 2040 Plan and closing the door to similar lawsuits in the future.

Minnesota voters know that a lack of housing supply is driving up housing costs, and the majority of Minnesota voters want elected leaders to prioritize building more housing over concerns about “neighborhood character” and “local control.”

Today, Neighbors for More Neighbors and their coalition partners, including ISAIAH, Sierra Club, and Move Minnesota Action released a poll showing the critical importance of housing as an issue for Minnesota voters. The poll showed 85% of Minnesotans say that the cost of renting or buying a home in Minnesota is a major problem or somewhat a problem, while only 2% say it is not really a problem.

There’s nothing that FAR maximums accomplish that can’t be or aren’t already accomplished by some other regulation in our zoning code . In the context of home-building, FAR maximums prevent valuable livable space for people.