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<br />owners and tenants. I-Ie is not sure how the City would go about controlling this; if they tried to <br />implement an ordinance of some sort there would be legal battles concerning that. Touching on <br />the issue oftaxes, it is his understanding that a $400,000 house breaks even on taxes to pay for <br />the services they require, and anything under that price does not. <br /> <br />Commissioner Strommen stated Commissioner Look's comments would need to take into <br />account the size of land the houses are located on. <br /> <br />Commissioner Look stated his comments refer to the average of what people require for service. <br />This also relates to discussions of large tracts of land and people that are questioning their tax <br />base and taxes going up. Spending should be in line to kecp taxes from increasing due to <br />ullilecessaryexpenditures. <br /> <br />Commissioner Gamee stated as much as the City maintains stable taxes, when valuation <br />increases it really hits the taxes. He believes this should level off this year. He believes people <br />look at density in that a $400,000 home creates a tax base, and if that $400,000 home is on a % <br />or Y2 acre lot, to make up that amount you put more houses on that lot. The change and the <br />difference in the people and their opinions and ideas is amazing in the time he has lived in <br />Ramsey. There are people that want a roomy lot, and he has also talked to young people that <br />were so happy with being able to be close to the bus service and not having to cut their lawn. He <br />thinks Ramsey offers the best of two worlds. It is true what is happening with the cost of land; it <br />is a frustrating time to put it together, especially for Ramsey with rural and large lots. <br /> <br />Commissioner Elvig stated he has done a tremendous amount of research about the cost of <br />density versus large lots, and it flies in the face of Commissioner Look's statements. As he looks <br />at this information, he does not know that is what they should be deliberating as much as that the <br />City cannot control things such as rental property. He agrees the City cannot control that; it is a <br />slippery slope, but they can influence it, which is what they are looking at. The Council is here <br />to try to direct. They have an obligation with the Comprehensive Plan work that is coming up, <br />and this is a wonderful tool to show what the people want. He noted they may need to start to <br />restrict more where townhomes and rental is available, which fEes in the face of whether there is <br />greenspace. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen commented in hearing things like density and multi-family <br />townhomes, there is an image of what they have in Ramsey today. There are examples of other <br />types of density which are very attractive. With these discussions they should be careful about <br />the language and focus on images. They need to understand in this the underlying community <br />values people are saying are important. There needs to be an understanding of what the tradeoffs <br />are as they try to meet different objectives. This information is a base for starting to understand <br />some of that. <br /> <br />Chairperson Olson commented some of the housing in Ramsey has not been optimal. Looking at <br />the foreclosure page in the Anoka County Union appalling, and the number of foreclosures will <br />really impact the City's bottom line. <br /> <br />Housing and Redevelopment Authority / February 27, 2007 <br />Page 3 ors <br />