"This is my land." A Minnesota Call to Action!
The Minnesota State Legislature has proposed a law that could change how YOUR land is used. Take action to stop it.
It’s time to speak up in Minnesota!
Sometimes it feels as though the tyranny from above is spreading to every level of government in this great Republic. And sometimes we feel overwhelmed by all these bad ideas and develop a sense that our voices do not matter. Well, your voice does matter.
Even in a state controlled by nearly completely by the Democratic Party, you still have a voice that needs to be heard, whether or not your representative wants to hear it. While your grandfather’s Democrat is sounding a lot like today’s Republican in many ways, we know the Democrats in office still require a vote to stay there. So, do not fall into the trap of believing your voice does not matter.
Your voice matters, and you can still effect change in your state. So, get engaged, and answer this call to action.
The Minnesota Housing Bill
Minnesota is offering up a Housing Bill (SF1370/HF1667) which if passed and signed into law could nullify municipal zoning laws. This is one of those cases where the Government that is closest to the people is the one that should be responsible for how citizens’ lives are impacted. Walter Hudson*, a represents District 30A in the northwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area in the Minnesota House of Representatives, which includes the cities of St. Michael, Otsego, and Albertville argues that municipalities look at managing zoning in terms of decades because they have to take into consideration long term growth and how that will be managed with regard to resources, etc. while officials on the State level are only looking as far as their next election. Is that a crass view, perhaps, but it is probably more accurate than not. Hudson goes on to argue that the bill in its current form would allow for homeowners to subdivide their property to Multi-Plex Housing with four or as many as 10 units on the same property.
Key Points to Raise to your Legislator
According to the Minnesota Reformer Online, some of the changes related to zoning:
Municipalities must allow at least one accessory dwelling unit, like a mother-in-law suite, above-garage apartment or other secondary home, on every residential lot.
Large cities — those with more than 100,000 residents — must allow at least four housing units on any residential lot, and at least six units on lots within a half-mile of a major transit stop.
Cities with fewer than 100,000 residents must allow at least two housing units on all residential lots, and at least four units on lots within a half-mile of a major transit stop.
Cities must allow even more units per lot — a minimum of six to ten units in large cities or three to eight units in smaller cities — for developments that are all-electric and energy efficient, or affordable, or both.
Why it matters: This poses a potential nightmare for local governments big and small and while some provisions of this bill are arguably needed like; All government agencies would have to respond to building permit requests within 60 days. If the Agency misses the 60-day deadline the permit is approved. There are also provisions for Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelters. The bill needs serious amendment or re-write before being sent to the Governor’s Desk.
The Call to Action
Minnesotans should be alarmed and contact their lawmakers to put an end to this bill in its current form. The State Legislature should not have the right to take away the legislative powers of their local communities where they vote for their representatives and pay local taxes. This is an overreach that is being paid for by someone, and it’s not your local neighborhood contractor.
*Representative Walter Hudson held a discussion on X (formerly twitter) that is known as a Space, March 22nd:
‘Legislative Lunacy in Minnesota - Religious Liberty Attacked and More’