1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to metropolitan government; providing for the 
  1.3             establishment of housing goals for the metropolitan 
  1.4             area and instituting methods for achieving the goals; 
  1.5             requiring a report to the legislature; proposing 
  1.6             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 473. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [473.198] [HOUSING POLICIES AND 
  1.9   IMPLEMENTATION.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL POLICY.] The council shall work 
  1.11  with local communities in the metropolitan area to meet the 
  1.12  range of housing needs of people at various life-cycle stages; 
  1.13  broaden locational choices and access throughout the region for 
  1.14  people of all income levels; and support use of public funds to 
  1.15  help achieve these goals. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [LIFE-CYCLE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS.] Within 
  1.17  three months of the effective date of this section, the council 
  1.18  shall adopt goals for life-cycle and affordable housing by 
  1.19  municipality.  The council's goals must be based on the housing 
  1.20  profiles of individual communities developed by the council, and 
  1.21  the local, subregional, and regional housing markets.  In 
  1.22  developing the goals, the council shall identify barriers to 
  1.23  development of life-cycle and affordable housing within each 
  1.24  municipality. 
  1.25     Subd. 3.  [DENSITY STANDARDS.] The council shall establish 
  1.26  density standards for municipalities in the metropolitan area in 
  2.1   order to increase the density along transportation corridors the 
  2.2   council identifies, and to help achieve the council's goals for 
  2.3   life-cycle and affordable housing in the region. 
  2.4      Subd. 4.  [REGIONAL INVESTMENT PRIORITY; DISCRETIONARY 
  2.5   FUNDING DECISIONS.] The council shall review local comprehensive 
  2.6   plans and plan amendment requests to determine if the council's 
  2.7   housing goals for life-cycle and affordable housing are being 
  2.8   met within the municipality.  The council shall give priority 
  2.9   for regional infrastructure investments or expenditure of public 
  2.10  dollars to communities that have implemented plans to provide 
  2.11  their share of the region's low- and moderate-income housing 
  2.12  opportunities.  In addition, the council shall make 
  2.13  discretionary funding decisions in light of the affected 
  2.14  municipality's progress in meeting the council's life-cycle and 
  2.15  affordable housing goals. 
  2.16     Subd. 5.  [OTHER ACTIONS.] (a) The council shall advocate 
  2.17  the use of public funds for development and rehabilitation of 
  2.18  owner-occupied and rental housing to achieve housing and density 
  2.19  goals. 
  2.20     (b) The council shall examine state property tax laws to 
  2.21  recommend changes to laws that discourage improvements to rental 
  2.22  properties without imposing undue additional burdens on 
  2.23  homesteaded and commercial-industrial properties. 
  2.24     (c) The council shall work with local governments within 
  2.25  the urban service area to revise their local comprehensive plans 
  2.26  to plan for a diversity of housing types and costs. 
  2.27     (d) The council shall work with the housing finance agency 
  2.28  and the United States Department of Housing and Urban 
  2.29  Development to target public funds for rental housing production 
  2.30  and rent assistance for low- and moderate-income households to 
  2.31  areas that do not have concentrations of poverty and that do 
  2.32  have transit service and employment opportunities. 
  2.33     (e) The council shall coordinate with the cities of 
  2.34  Minneapolis and Saint Paul to implement sections 504.33 to 
  2.35  504.35 relating to replacement housing. 
  2.36     Subd. 6.  [MONITOR AND EVALUATE.] The council shall report 
  3.1   to the legislature by January 15, 1997, on the results of 
  3.2   municipalities' implementation of the council's life-cycle and 
  3.3   affordable housing goals and recommend legislation the council 
  3.4   determines is needed, if any, to accomplish its housing goals 
  3.5   for the region.  The report must include information on local 
  3.6   housing conditions and information on the number, type, and cost 
  3.7   of housing units built or rehabilitated, zoning in effect and 
  3.8   proposed changes, and other information the council determines 
  3.9   is relevant or useful. 
  3.10     Sec. 2.  [APPLICATION.] 
  3.11     Section 1 applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, 
  3.12  Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.