Agenda - Council - 03/25/2025 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7550 Sunwood Drive NW • Ramsey, MN 55303 City Hall: 763.427.1410 • Fax: 763.427.5543 www.cityoframsey.com March 14, 2025 Governor Tim Walz 130 State Capitol 75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55155 Re: Retention of City Zoning Authority Dear Governor Walz, We, the City Council representatives of Ramsey, Minnesota are writing to you to convey our support and commitment ensuring every individual and family can find their home and hope it is within Minnesota. We do want to share our deepest concerns at what we see as the exceptionally ill-advised and harmful efforts presently circulating in the legislature that seek to eliminate or reduce the role of cities in zoning decisions. We are the level of government that most impacts our citizens. We are the first level of government that protects the health and safety of Minnesotan, as well as their property and the livability of their communities. While we appreciate the efforts being made to address the housing crisis, we also believe the proposed legislation being considered does not align with the unique needs and challenges faced by local communities across the state. We always have taken seriously our role in community planning. Our zoning codes and enforcement practices serve as models not only for other communities in our own state, but across the country. If passed in any form, the current proposed legislation will cause grievance and undue hardship for our cities by changing local control on setbacks, limiting parking requirements, mandating types of housing on residential lots, authorizing subdivision of residential lots, mandating local minimum densities, controlling replacement of affordable housing while simultaneously commandeering the use of private property and removing both the public and elected officials from the review process among many other detrimental items in the legislation. The special interest groups, not answerable to any communities in the state, are seeking to reap unrestricted profits for themselves while ignoring the financial impact and potential danger their projects and their efforts will have on the citizens of a given community. This legislation does nothing to guarantee or increase affordable housing but may in fact increase the unaffordability and unattainability of home ownership by mandating and prioritizing efficiency over affordability.