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• Land use and sewered household data pages V -9 through V -33, and page VIII — 3, all March, 2001 Draft The plan includes data that examines the demographics and housing stock in Ramsey through the late 1990's. This data includes an examination of population changes, housing starts, age distribution, households, household income, poverty status, education and major employers in the city. The housing stock information includes an analysis of the age of the city's housing units that reveals that more than 90 percent of its units have been built since 1970, and nearly half of its units have been built since 1980. It also addresses housing values and diversification of type in housing, revealing an almost exclusive single - family detached housing type, most of which was affordable to moderate income households in the 1990's. The plan acknowledges the "limited" nature of its current life -cycle housing opportunities and states that although most new homes built in the city in the late 1990's were still affordable, they were out of reach for prospective buyers earning the typical wages paid by employers in the city. The plan includes the city's Livable Communities Act affordable and life - cycle housing goals negotiated with the Council in 1998 (see below). It also includes several general housing goals that call for "a balanced supply" of housing for households at all incomes and the provision of a variety of housing types, sizes and styles to meet life -cycle housing needs. These goals express support for attempting to eliminate barriers to affordable housing production in Ramsey, and the preservation of existing affordable housing. The plan's policies support the attainment of these goals of diversification of type, cost and tenure in areas throughout the city by working with entities like the Anoka County Community Action Program, Anoka County HRA and the Council, and through its own land use regulation. Its policies acknowledge that the special housing needs of the elderly and disabled should be addressed, and that property owners should and will be expected to maintain their homes. The implementation portion of the comprehensive plan includes a delineation of the housing actions, programs and resources the city will consider using to achieve its housing goals. These include revised zoning requirements to allow greater diversification of housing type and tenure; specific senior housing efforts; re- examination of official controls that affect development costs, including lot size, floor area and the review process. The city will use resources available through MHFA, the Council, and the Anoka County HRA for housing maintenance, rehabilitation and first -time homebuyers' efforts, and for affordable unit production as a part of larger PUD projects. The permitted residential development densities identified in the plan for medium and high density housing can facilitate the development of affordable and life -cycle ownership and rental housing at seven and 15 units per acre, respectively. The plan does guide a sufficient amount of land for new medium and high density residential development through 2010 to accommodate the city's affordable and life -cycle housing goals. As Ramsey continues to urbanize it will experience increased market pressure for more attached housing and more intense residential development than it experienced pre -1997 when less than four percent of its 4800 housing units was anything other than a conventional single family detached home. Town homes and apartments will be proposed in the city during this decade and the city's plan reveals that there will be land available to accommodate this type of housing at densities that will permit it to happen. 17