{"id":7442,"date":"2026-05-08T09:14:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:14:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7442"},"modified":"2026-05-08T09:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:14:14","slug":"zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-is-a-law-allowing-more-units-doomed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-is-a-law-allowing-more-units-doomed\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoning for Affordability in Minnesota: Is a Law Allowing More Units Doomed?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-style-rounded is-style-rounded--1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1400\" height=\"593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota.webp 1400w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-300x127.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-1024x434.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-768x325.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A new law to boost starter-home construction in Minnesota is \u201con life support\u201d now, media reports say. Its backers are scrambling to save it as the lawmaking session concludes this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Starter homes seem to be an endangered species. In the early 1980s, four in every ten new homes created were within the reach of first-time deed seekers. Now, not even one in ten new homes is a modest, financially accessible home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why? Restrictive zoning is part of the reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sliding Scale of Reforms, Based on City Size<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Minnesota\u2019s Starter Homes Act aims to make more kinds of housing available to planners\u2014wherever they might decide to site them. Cities would be able to pick out places where higher density housing makes sense. Under the bill, cities would:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Permit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/is-the-backyard-cottage-written-into-the-deed-or-recorded-separately\/#:~:text=allow%20applications%20for%20ADUs\">accessory dwelling units<\/a> or tiny homes to be added to residential properties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stop certain local design standards (rules mandating porches, minimum garage size, and other requirements that tend to favor bigger houses).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Loosen certain aesthetic rules and homeowners association (HOA) rules that ratchet up building costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Act\u2019s language also recommends 11 possible zoning changes for city governments to implement, such as dropping minimum parking spaces, and introducing subsidies. Large cities would need to adopt six of the options, and then there\u2019d be a scale downward. Small cities would only be expected to adopt three. And no local government would have to force development into places where infrastructure isn\u2019t up to the task. Areas could be preserved without further building to advance public health, or to support environmental or scenic values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, Minnesotans would get \u201cmore homes, more choices and more pathways to stability,\u201d writes Habitat for Humanity. The group says zoning reform is essential to enable volunteers, donated funds, and limited land to serve the needs and goals of working households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AARP, too, backs the Starter Homes Act as a well-crafted response to the pain caused by exclusionary zoning that sidelines so many hopeful deed holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Policy Debate, or Personal Experience?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, the Lakeville, Minnesota council hit the pause button on new home building applications. State Representatives Spencer Igo and Michael Howard publicly expressed concern that this action could erode affordability if other cities follow suit. But Lakeville council member Dan Wolter said it\u2019s just \u201ca minor administrative change\u201d in a city which has already approved three years\u2019 worth of housing creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the people of Minnesota \u201cdo not experience our housing shortage as a policy debate,\u201d say Habitat for Humanity organizations across Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>They experience it when rent rises, and there is nothing left to save for a down payment. They experience it when an older adult wants to downsize but cannot find a smaller home in the community they love. They experience it when a young family is ready to buy their first home but finds nothing within reach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These Minnesotans remain sidelined when local governments turn away from proposals for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/is-the-backyard-cottage-written-into-the-deed-or-recorded-separately\/#:~:text=%E2%80%9Cgentle%20density%20housing%2C\">gentle density housing<\/a>. The Starter Homes Act would change that problematic status quo. It\u2019s overdue, Habitat for Humanity believes. Hardly any starter homes can be found in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. That\u2019s just not workable, in a bustling metropolis that relies on the talents of every kind of worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who\u2019s Afraid of the Starter Homes Act?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>But now, the Act has been derailed. This and related zoning reforms have failed to stand up in a House committee meeting, and they\u2019ve missed important Senate deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, even the Starter Homes Act has been sidelined. And that bill was brought forward with support from both the Republicans and the Democrats. For years, Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota and many others have worked with state lawmakers (and willing local governments) to sculpt the language of this law. Now, the law may be dead on arrival\u2014as has already happened in previous years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But why would towns fear this bill? It was drawn up deliberately to be user-friendly. It presents a smorgasbord of zoning possibilities for cities and towns to adopt in their own ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Starter Homes Act (written up as House File 3895 and Senate File 4123) states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cities should approve new housing types\u2014duplexes, triplexes, and 8-plexes\u2014in more areas. When modest starter homes, townhouses, duplexes, accessory dwelling units and apartments are all allowed, so are more opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cities should loosen minimum lot size rules for homes. Where communities mainly zone for large homes on large lots, financially accessible homes do not exist. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But now, those who fear the law are regrouping and backing away from reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where\u2019s the Pushback Coming From?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Some city officials and state legislators say the Act is overreaching on the part of the state government. They say the state shouldn\u2019t be pushing \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d zoning rules on every local government in the state. They say cutting into local planning authority deprives cities of the ability to responsibly address growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And they say it wouldn\u2019t necessarily cool hot markets. Local officials often argue that the real estate market is why homes cost so much\u2014that it\u2019s not the fault of city planners. Basically, they reply: Why should local governments be saddled with paying for the work hours and outside expertise that the new law would impose upon them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis legislation would also remove the ability of residents to have a meaningful voice in how their communities develop,\u201d wrote a group of 14 Minnesota mayors to <em>The Minnesota Star Tribune<\/em> in late April. These 14 city leaders also insist that many cities are already modifying zoning ordinances and codes, incentivizing density, and carrying out other work to promote affordable housing. The Act could disrupt good work in progress, they insist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And So It Goes\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After extensive debate, public commentaries, and testimony, the Starter Homes Act lost a vote in its first House committee. Seven out of 12 committee members registered \u201cno\u201d votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can the Act, or at least parts of it, be salvaged? The last day of this year\u2019s session is May 18. Supporters are, right now, working on putting segments of the Act into larger, omnibus bills before that date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cities all over the country will be watching what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-accent-5-background-color has-background has-small-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<p><strong>Supporting References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leaders of Minnesota Habitat for Humanity organizations (multiple authors) for <em>The Minnesota Star Tribune<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/affordable-housing-crisis-starter-homes-mortgage-rent-costs\/601828819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guest Commentary \u2013 Minnesota Families Need More Homes. Cities Cannot Solve This Alone<\/a> (May 4, 2026). \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mayors of Apple Valley, Austin, Blaine, Chanhassen, Cottage Grove, Detroit Lakes, Edina, Ely, Little Canada, Monticello, Plymouth, St. Peter, Woodbury, and Worthington, Minnesota for <em>The Minnesota Star Tribune<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/mn-affordable-home-crisis-rent-mortgage-cost-of-living\/601791737\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guest Commentary by Fourteen Minnesota Mayors \u2013 Overriding Local Zoning Won\u2019t Create Affordable Housing<\/a> (Apr. 23, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Lawson for \u201cThe Builder&#8217;s Daily\u201d column in <em>HousingWire,<\/em> by HW Media, LLC: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.housingwire.com\/articles\/minnesota-zoning-reform-starter-homes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Minnesota Zoning Reform Push for Starter Homes Falters \u2013 Bills Would Legalize Duplexes, Triplexes and ADUs; Supporters Cite a 100,000-Home Shortage<\/a> (Apr. 27, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Margaret Stevens for the Minnesota House of Representatives (Saint Paul, Minnesota): <a href=\"https:\/\/www.house.mn.gov\/sessiondaily\/Story\/18936\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supporters Say Renovations to \u201cStarter Homes Act\u201d Would Expand Housing Options, Allow City Choice<\/a> (Mar. 3, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as linked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More on topics: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/u-s-housing-affordability-politics-what-is-still-possible\/\">Affordability politics<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/nimby-or-yimby-heres-where-people-stand-on-rezoning-for-more-housing\/\">Nimby or Yimby? Where people stand on rezoning for more homes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/senate-passes-road-to-housing-act-builders-housing-advocates-weigh-in\/\">What the federal ROAD to Housing Act means for buyers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pexels.com\/photo\/bushes-in-front-of-an-apartment-building-5784538\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clay Elliot<\/a>, via Pexels\/Canva.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new law to boost starter-home construction in Minnesota is \u201con life support\u201d now, media reports say. Its backers are scrambling to save it as the lawmaking session concludes this month. Starter homes seem to be an endangered species. In the early 1980s, four in every ten new homes created were within the reach of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1567,603,536,3648,3643,3082,417,3644,3649,3646,3645,2101,3647],"class_list":["post-7442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minnesota","tag-aarp","tag-accessory-dwelling-units","tag-affordable-housing","tag-duplexes","tag-exclusionary-zoning","tag-habitat-for-humanity","tag-housing-affordability","tag-local-zoning-control","tag-minneapolis-st-paul-housing","tag-minnesota-starter-homes-act","tag-minnesota-zoning-reform","tag-starter-homes","tag-triplexes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Minnesota Starter Homes Act Faces Zoning Pushback<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Minnesota\u2019s Starter Homes Act aims to expand housing choices, but local zoning concerns and legislative delays may stall the reform effort.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/zoning-for-affordability-in-minnesota-is-a-law-allowing-more-units-doomed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minnesota\u2019s Starter Homes Act Hits a Zoning Wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minnesota\u2019s Starter Homes Act was designed to make modest homes, ADUs, duplexes, and other housing options easier to build. 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