Minnesota thrives when everyone has a stable home in a community that welcomes them.
Our state is experiencing a housing shortage, and it is impacting our families. As elected officials, we hear about the impact the housing shortage has on neighbors every day — whether it’s an unsustainable rent increase, or young people who can’t move back to Coon Rapids to find a home near their families, or seniors who can’t afford to downsize into an accessible home.
We routinely hear from people who worry they can’t live in Coon Rapids. This includes mechanics, nurses and firefighters — all of whom have good-paying jobs. We meet parents who are hoping their adult children can get their own place, but right now it’s unaffordable, forcing grandparents to live far away from their grandkids. Our goal is to make sure their grandkids live close by so they can have Sunday supper together with grandma and grandpa.
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Monthly costs in Coon Rapids today are approaching $2,000 for a home mortgage or rent payment. For families in Minnesota, for families in Coon Rapids, that’s more than most can afford. The system we have today isn’t working for anyone, and the homes being built today are simply out of reach. Who can afford a home of $400,000 or more? Some cities are even considering saying no to any new homes at all, period. When cities, or their mayors, say no to new homes — or only allow large, expensive homes on large expensive lots — families are the ones who suffer the consequences of these shortsighted policies.
We both know there is more we can do as a state to help make sure we’re helping our neighbors find homes. Here in Coon Rapids, we are part of the Twin Cities housing market — what happens in Minneapolis or St. Paul or Golden Valley impacts home prices in Coon Rapids, and when we don’t build enough housing in these cities, families have to move away to find a home they can afford. Our housing challenges don’t stop at city borders, and we need solutions that work for everyone.
For the past several years, the Legislature has been hard at work to try to encourage local governments to allow more homes to be built, whether it’s a backyard cottage, or allowing smaller homes to be built, or allowing more apartments near jobs and shops for younger people. Those are the types of homes we need today as Minnesotans.
In Coon Rapids, we’ve both seen resistance to new housing during our respective tenures on City Council. And our council has demonstrated limited interest in being part of a metrowide solution. Today we have a nearly empty strip mall that could have been turned into new homes, but our council rejected a proposal a few years ago, preferring vacant blight over more housing.
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We want to think about the families that live here today, but we also need to plan for how their kids and grandkids will continue to thrive here, too. Whether it’s your first home, your last home, or somewhere in-between, we want everyone to have the dignity to live the American Dream. And your kids and grandkids deserve it, too. Our slogan in Coon Rapids is “Community strength…for generations,” but we don’t see anyone planning for our kids and grandkids. They won’t have the Coon Rapids we had unless we do something different to make housing more affordable.
We want every Minnesota family to be able to plan for and dream about that day like we had when we cobbled together money for a downpayment. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time for the Legislature to step up and set clear and consistent rules that simply allow a few more American dreams.
Peter Butler is a Coon Rapids City Council member, and Rep. Kari Rehrauer represents Minnesota House District 35B.
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