OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting Summary - October 22, 2025

Budget Committee — Wednesday, October 22, 2025
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionBudget Committee
DateWednesday, October 22, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:25:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

Here.

0:02

Yang.

0:03

Six present, one absent.

0:05

That is Commissioner Kim.

0:07

Staff reports.

0:08

Item number one, staff report 25-223 presentation on new dwelling toolkit.

0:16

Adding a housing unit to your St.

0:18

Paul property.

0:20

All right.

0:21

Well, I'm looking forward to this presentation.

0:24

I also see congratulations is in order.

0:30

I'm like, I know there was some conversation over there as well, but from one expected mother to another, congratulations.

0:37

And welcome.

0:38

Thanks.

0:39

Yeah, good afternoon, Chair and Commissioners.

0:41

My name is Emma Brown.

0:42

I'm a city planner and PED, and I'm excited to provide an overview of the newly completed new dwelling toolkit.

0:51

All right, so this document is a resource to help property owners plan for, design, and build another housing unit on their property.

1:00

This could be an ADU, accessory dwelling unit, or a standard principal unit.

1:06

And these are in the H1 and H2 zoning districts that I'll talk about in a second.

1:11

Meant to be a living document to be updated continuously.

1:16

We want to really make this clear and easy for people to understand.

1:34

All right, so I mentioned that we are focusing on the H1 and H2 zoning districts, that these are the most prominent zoning districts.

1:41

You can see the yellow and kind of the darker yellow.

1:45

These were implemented in 2023 with the one to four unit housing study.

1:51

So it is now a lot easier to add a housing unit to properties in these zoning districts.

1:58

Need a mid-on lot size of 2,000 square feet or 3,000 square feet for two principal units, and then also it's very easy to add up to two ADUs for each single family home on a lot.

2:11

Alright, so starting with the introduction section, this provides a lot of helpful background information about uh zoning code terms.

2:20

So we have a lot of terms like principal and accessory, um, so that would be buildings, uses, and dwelling units.

2:27

So this helps lay out all of that.

2:30

Um help you choose between an ADU accessory dwelling unit or a principal dwelling unit.

2:38

All right, so this is a flow chart, um kind of like in those magazines, maybe not as maybe not as fun.

2:44

Um, but it does help you determine um if you should build an ADU or a principal unit on your property.

2:51

Uh so the unit types do differ in their maximum height and square footage, and uh whether you can sell the unit separately, and also the the occupancy limit.

3:01

So this walks you through which property type would or which unit type would be appropriate for your lot.

3:08

All right, uh looking at an overview of the process stages for getting your housing unit constructed.

3:13

So this walks you through planning to move in, and there's a section for each of these one through seven in the in the guidebook.

3:25

All right, so in the getting started section, uh walks you through the process of thinking about what you want for this unit, looking for inspiration, doing a sketch of your property, uh also discusses things to consider early on, uh like your neighbors, sharing your space with someone new, historic district rules, uh parking, and then also um considerations for connecting to utilities, which is a really important thing that needs to be looked at early on.

3:54

All right, learning the rules.

3:55

Uh, this section helps you understand the basics of your property, how to figure out the area of your lot, uh, the zoning district of your lot, and all the zoning standards for accessory dwelling units and principal dwelling units.

4:09

Uh also talks about other important regulations like design standards, parking, uh, fire safety, utility connections, short-term rentals, also variances.

4:20

So these things are likely to come up with your uh construction of your unit.

4:27

Budgeting and finance.

4:29

Uh the section lays out options for um for financing the construction of your new unit, um, summarizes different loan options, uh, has links to different types of loan programs that you might consider for building these types of units.

4:47

Section four, uh designing your unit.

4:49

This lays out options for designing your housing unit, talks about um purchasing a pre made plan set, different construction methods like site build or prefabricated modular housing.

5:03

Also talks about the different types of professionals that you might hire, an architect, contractor, different engineers.

5:10

Just to give people an idea about that.

5:14

Also the basic stages of designing your housing unit.

5:20

All right, permitting and approvals.

5:22

So this section discusses DSI's processes for building plan review, the permitting process through poly and site plan review, if that does happen to kick in, although it's more likely for larger projects.

5:42

This summarizes the process for hiring a contractor, what to include in the contract, the construction stages, and the inspection process.

5:53

Move in and rental.

5:55

This is a good resource to help landlords understand rental laws, the fire C of O process uh program, and things like uh setting the rent, leasing your unit, uh, managing your rental.

6:08

It lists the top uh residential code violations to help people understand that.

6:12

Um links to OFE's fair housing page, rent stabilization uh includes all of those topics.

6:21

All right, and then in terms of next steps for this, um we want to publish it on the one to six unit housing development web page, uh promote it a little bit.

6:30

Um also invite staff, DSI, PED, any other staff who who wants to review and offer comments, corrections, we're happy to update this and um keep it as up to date as possible and then yeah, continue to update as necessary.

6:49

Uh Commissioner Naker.

6:51

Thanks, Chair.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing███████████████████████████████████████39%
Downtown Revitalization██████████████████18%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████15%
Housing███████████11%
Procedural██████6%
Land Use Regulation██2%
Taxation██2%
Public Engagement██2%
Public Works██2%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Meeting - October 22, 2025

The St. Paul City Council convened on October 22, 2025, to review four major items: the launch of a new housing toolkit for adding dwelling units, a request to release a tax covenant on a single-family property to facilitate early childhood education expansion, proposed amendments to the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) to spur downtown office-to-housing conversion, and a detailed budget update regarding inter-departmental transfers. The meeting featured significant debate regarding the balance between federal tax credit flexibility, long-term affordability commitments, and the unique economic challenges facing downtown St. Paul.

Consent Calendar

  • The meeting proceeded with standard administrative items, including the receipt of staff reports and the confirmation of Commissioner Kim as absent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments section was recorded in the provided transcript.

Discussion Items

New Dwelling Toolkit Presentation (Item 25-223)

  • Presenter: Emma Brown, City Planner, PED. The toolkit is a resource for the H1 and H2 zoning districts (covering lots 2,000-3,000 sq ft) to guide owners through adding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) or principal units.
  • Commissioner Naker: Expressed full support, noting the project was a priority from the previous year's strategic planning and praising the plain language accessible to laypersons.
  • Commissioner Coleman: Expressed full support but raised concerns regarding financing barriers for ADUs. She questioned if specific financing resources exist within the toolkit for ADUs compared to principal units, noting ADUs are harder to finance. Staff confirmed no specific new programs exist yet but acknowledged the need for future resources.
  • Director McMahon: Emphasized that the toolkit addresses both process and resource gaps, aiming to smooth the transition from zoning law to actual construction.
  • Council President: Suggested exploring the upcoming Small Scale Development Program funding for ADUs and the Housing Trust Fund for pre-approved blueprints. Highlighted the need for cost data to understand market realities.
  • Commissioner Yang: Expressed excitement but highlighted that the primary unit (not just ADUs) is a unique opportunity for St. Paul. Shared a personal anecdote stating that the cost of building an ADU previously deterred her because it would have cost more than her existing house.
  • Debate Summary: The group discussed the necessity of funding for both ADUs and primary units. Commissioner Naker and Council President advocated for including primary units in funding streams. Commissioner Coleman and others expressed a need for clearer data on construction costs (market rates) to properly scale support.

4D Affordable Housing Incentive Release (Item 25-226)

  • Presenter: Rachel Final Sadal. The item requested the release of the 4D covenant on 1048 Central Avenue West (currently 50% AMI restricted) to allow Xavier Properties (St. Peter Claver Church) to expand early childhood education facilities.
  • Commissioner Naker: Expressed full support for the expansion of early childhood education. Asked for clarification on annual compliance checks and confirmed there are no financial costs to the HRA budget for this release, only staff time.
  • Commissioner Bowie (Ward 8): Expressed full support, calling the church a historic community asset. Confirmed the owner has volunteered to assist the tenant with a relocation plan. Clarified that the Council action is purely technical to allow the expansion.
  • Context: The developer plans to re-purpose or demolish the home to accommodate up to 60 additional students.

QAP Amendments for Downtown Development (Item 25-227)

  • Presenter: Jose Antagna, Housing Director, PED. Proposed amendments to the 2026-2027 QAP to utilize new federal tax law capacity (lowering the minimum tax-exempt bond amount from 50% to 25% of basis) and to allow downtown office-to-housing conversions to opt out of the 30-year affordability requirement (reverting to the federal minimum of 15 years).
  • Commissioner Naker: Expressed support for the proposal, arguing it increases the total number of affordable units citywide. She reasoned that without this change, the city would have to spend limited public subsidy dollars on downtown projects; by allowing downtown projects to rely on federal funds (15-year term), the city can use its limited funds to subsidize projects outside downtown with longer affordability terms.
  • Council President: Expressed strong opposition. Stated she finds the change to the 30-year commitment "premature," "unfounded in proven data," and potentially detrimental to long-term affordability. She noted that other cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, Boston) are not currently making this specific change to their QAP or using LIHTC in this manner. She emphasized the need for data-driven decisions via the city's ongoing housing policy study and expressed concern that 15 years is insufficient for affordable housing goals.
  • Commissioner Yang: Expressed concern that the change was not founded in proven data and preferred to rely on ongoing studies and community input. She stated she would vote against the measure, citing the 30-year commitment made nearly a decade ago to ensure housing stability. She questioned why the city is cutting the prior commitment in half without a clear data pipeline.
  • Debate Summary: The discussion centered on the trade-off between immediate development volume (using federal 15-year leverage) vs. long-term affordability stability (15 vs. 30 years). Commissioner Naker viewed it as a strategic allocation of scarce public funds, while the Council President and Commissioner Yang viewed it as a reduction in protective standards without sufficient data proof.

PED Budget Transfer Update (Item 25-228)

  • Presenter: Deputy Director Newton Green, PED. Reviewed transfers out of the HRA operations and parking funds to other city departments.
  • Key Findings:
    • Approximately $2 million annually transfers out of PED/HRA to support various functions (policy analysts, district council support, housing objectives, etc.).
    • A $500,000 annual transfer from the Parking Fund to the River Center for rent was recorded in past years but has not been drawn since 2019; the funds remain in the Parking Fund.
    • A $345,000 transfer for parking meter system work has not occurred in recent years but is required in 2025.
  • Commissioner Naker: Expressed appreciation for the transparency, noting the importance of understanding where these $2 million in funds go and the implications of the Park Fund transfers.
  • Commissioner Bowie: Noted interest in understanding the pipeline between HRA and DSI (Downtown Improvement) regarding the Bacon Building program to support residents who lack resources.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 1: No vote required; the New Dwelling Toolkit was presented and commended. Staff will continue to update the document and explore funding for pre-approved blueprints.
  • Item 2: The Council is prepared to take action to release the 4D covenant on 1048 Central Avenue West. The motion will be finalized in a subsequent session pending formal action.
  • Item 3: The proposal to amend the QAP (allowing 15-year affordability for downtown office-to-housing conversions and adjusting tax credit bonds) was discussed but not voted on in this session. The item is scheduled for a formal vote on November 5th.
  • Item 4: The Council received informational updates on budget transfers. No action was taken, but the data will inform the upcoming budget review process.
  • Discrepancy Note: The transcript mentions a vote on the QAP amendments (Item 3) will take place on November 5th, whereas the Council President indicates a vote on the release of the 4D covenant (Item 2) will occur "when we get back on the subject," implying a delay or separate scheduling for Item 2 compared to the explicit date set for Item 3.

Meeting Transcript

Here. Yang. Six present, one absent. That is Commissioner Kim. Staff reports. Item number one, staff report 25-223 presentation on new dwelling toolkit. Adding a housing unit to your St. Paul property. All right. Well, I'm looking forward to this presentation. I also see congratulations is in order. I'm like, I know there was some conversation over there as well, but from one expected mother to another, congratulations. And welcome. Thanks. Yeah, good afternoon, Chair and Commissioners. My name is Emma Brown. I'm a city planner and PED, and I'm excited to provide an overview of the newly completed new dwelling toolkit. All right, so this document is a resource to help property owners plan for, design, and build another housing unit on their property. This could be an ADU, accessory dwelling unit, or a standard principal unit. And these are in the H1 and H2 zoning districts that I'll talk about in a second. Meant to be a living document to be updated continuously. We want to really make this clear and easy for people to understand. All right, so I mentioned that we are focusing on the H1 and H2 zoning districts, that these are the most prominent zoning districts. You can see the yellow and kind of the darker yellow. These were implemented in 2023 with the one to four unit housing study. So it is now a lot easier to add a housing unit to properties in these zoning districts. Need a mid-on lot size of 2,000 square feet or 3,000 square feet for two principal units, and then also it's very easy to add up to two ADUs for each single family home on a lot. Alright, so starting with the introduction section, this provides a lot of helpful background information about uh zoning code terms. So we have a lot of terms like principal and accessory, um, so that would be buildings, uses, and dwelling units. So this helps lay out all of that. Um help you choose between an ADU accessory dwelling unit or a principal dwelling unit. All right, so this is a flow chart, um kind of like in those magazines, maybe not as maybe not as fun. Um, but it does help you determine um if you should build an ADU or a principal unit on your property. Uh so the unit types do differ in their maximum height and square footage, and uh whether you can sell the unit separately, and also the the occupancy limit. So this walks you through which property type would or which unit type would be appropriate for your lot. All right, uh looking at an overview of the process stages for getting your housing unit constructed. So this walks you through planning to move in, and there's a section for each of these one through seven in the in the guidebook. All right, so in the getting started section, uh walks you through the process of thinking about what you want for this unit, looking for inspiration, doing a sketch of your property, uh also discusses things to consider early on, uh like your neighbors, sharing your space with someone new, historic district rules, uh parking, and then also um considerations for connecting to utilities, which is a really important thing that needs to be looked at early on. All right, learning the rules. Uh, this section helps you understand the basics of your property, how to figure out the area of your lot, uh, the zoning district of your lot, and all the zoning standards for accessory dwelling units and principal dwelling units. Uh also talks about other important regulations like design standards, parking, uh, fire safety, utility connections, short-term rentals, also variances. So these things are likely to come up with your uh construction of your unit. Budgeting and finance. Uh the section lays out options for um for financing the construction of your new unit, um, summarizes different loan options, uh, has links to different types of loan programs that you might consider for building these types of units. Section four, uh designing your unit. This lays out options for designing your housing unit, talks about um purchasing a pre made plan set, different construction methods like site build or prefabricated modular housing. Also talks about the different types of professionals that you might hire, an architect, contractor, different engineers. Just to give people an idea about that. Also the basic stages of designing your housing unit. All right, permitting and approvals.

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