St. Paul City Council Meeting - November 25, 2025
St. Paul City Council Meeting - November 25, 2025
The St. Paul City Council convened for its first meeting of November to address three primary agenda items: adopting the October HRA meeting minutes, considering amendments to the 2026-2027 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for downtown housing development, and approving a covenant release followed by a staff report on the Ramsey Hill Apartments loan extension. While the consent calendar items were unanimously approved, the QAP amendment sparked significant debate regarding the reduction of long-term affordability requirements in the downtown district, resulting in a 5-2 vote in favor of the resolution.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the October 25, 2025, HRA meeting were unanimously approved upon a motion by Commissioner Yang (7-0).
- Covenant Release: Resolution 25-1709 authorizing the release of the 4D affordable housing incentive program covenant for 1048 Central Avenue West was unanimously approved upon a motion by Commissioner Bowie (7-0) to allow the property owner to sell to St. Peter Clavier Church.
Public Comments & Testimony
- None Recorded: The transcript does not contain any public comments or testimony from external members of the public; all comments were delivered by Council Members, Staff, and the project sponsor (Trellis Co.) during executive sessions of the agenda items.
Discussion Items
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Amendments to the 2026-2027 QAP (Item #2):
- Director McMahon (Staff): Explained that the amendment allows for increased capacity to support additional housing development in downtown St. Paul, specifically utilizing the 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The change reduces the minimum affordability requirement for downtown projects from 30 years to 15 years to facilitate developments that would otherwise require substantial public subsidies. The Director noted this applies only to downtown for the 2026-2027 cycle, with a mandatory review in two years.
- Council President Johnson (Position: Opposition): Stated she could not support the amendment because it reduces the long-standing 30-year affordability commitment to 15 years, which she deemed "regressive." She highlighted data showing a significant gap in affordable housing downtown as projects roll off between 2035 and 2040, arguing that reducing the term exacerbates this future crisis. She noted this is the only city in the country making such a change.
- Commissioner Naker (Position: Support): Argued that the amendment is not a "backdoor" to eliminate citywide 30-year requirements but rather a strategic tool to leverage federal resources for more affordable housing downtown. She positioned the change as a necessary step to prevent market-rate conversions that would otherwise occur and emphasized that the HRA has historically invested in keeping properties affordable after their initial terms expire.
- Commissioner Yates (Position: Support): Expressed support for the limited downtown application of the change, citing the high costs of office-to-housing conversions and the need to avoid reliance on TIF (Tax Incremental Financing), which she believes would negatively impact financial stability. She framed the vote as rooted in "hope" for future results and the utilization of other city tools like permit waivers.
- Vice Chair Coleman (Position: Support): Supported the amendment as a tailored approach to growing the tax base and housing stock while ensuring economic justice. She emphasized the urgent need to incentivize expensive downtown projects without solely relying on scarce city dollars.
- Commissioner Bowie (Position: Support): Echoed support for the innovation the QAP provides, noting community concerns over city subsidies and TIF. He viewed the two-year duration as a low-risk trial to activate affordable housing downtown.
- Commissioner Kim (Position: Opposition): Joined Council President Johnson in opposing the measure, aligning with concerns regarding the reduction of long-term affordability tenure.
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Ramsey Hill Apartments Staff Report (Item #4):
- Director McMahon and Libby Logsdon (Staff): Presented a request to extend the CDBG loan maturity date for Ramsey Hill Apartments from December 21, 2025, to December 15, 2031. This extension aligns with the HRA's existing HOME loan term to maintain affordability while the developer (Trellis Co.) secures additional financing for rehabilitation.
- Melinda Studer (Trellis Co.): Stated that the extension is critical to preserve the property's affordability and address critical physical needs. She noted the project has secured 13 new project-based vouchers and a $1.4 million gap funding commitment from the City of St. Paul, contingent on future state funding awards.
- Commissioner Bowie (Discussion): Expressed support for the project and the goal of sustaining affordability but requested specific technical details regarding the next steps for the loan extension confirmation, which staff indicated would be finalized in a separate vote next week.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 25-1706 Adopted: The resolution endorsing amendments to the 2026-2027 QAP was adopted with a vote tally of 5 in favor and 2 opposed. The "No" votes were Cast by Chair Johnson and Commissioner Kim.
- Resolution 25-1709 Adopted: The resolution to release the restrictive covenant on 1048 Central Avenue was adopted unanimously (7-0).
- Ramsey Hill Apartments Item: The item was accepted as a staff report to be brought to a formal vote during the next meeting (December 2025) following the completion of the necessary loan agreement details with Minnesota Housing.
Meeting Transcript
Authority to order roll call, please. Coleman. Johnson. Here. Joes. Kim. Here. Maker. Yang. Seven present. None absent. Approval of minutes. Item number one. Minutes twenty-five-forty-five. Approval of the October twenty twenty-five HRA meeting minutes. Um I will take a motion from Commissioner Yang to approve. All those in favor. All opposed. Seven in favor, none opposed. The minutes are approved. Discussion. Item number two. Resolution twenty-five-seventeen oh six. Resolution endorsing amendments to the Minneapolis Saint Paul Housing Finance Boards twenty twenty-six, twenty twenty-seven qualified allocation plan citywide. All right, we were sitting the staff report on this item last week. Um last week or is it two weeks? That's two weeks ago now because we had a fifth Wednesday. Um I know that there's been a lot of conversations. Um especially surrounding this item for our all of our officers. I will hand it over to Director McMahon to see if there's anything further you'd like to add. Yeah, just building off that the discussion amongst yourselves and staff report from last week that this proposal includes changes to the qualified allocation plan, and that the changes are really to allow for that increased capacity to support additional housing development in the city. So these changes also recognize that the post-COVID downtowns are facing unique challenges in financing the development of additional affordable housing in our downtown in particular. So we're proposing to use the increased capacity for downtown projects with a 15-year minimum affordability requirement. The changes would allow projects to move forward downtown that either otherwise wouldn't or may, but would otherwise require substantial additional public subsidy to move forward. Just quick reminders this is only for the 4% credits. The 9% credits are competitive, unlike the 4%, and the changes are only for the 2026-27 QAP, at which point it will be back before you again to review and discuss the impact and determine whether to continue with the change or make additional amendments and modifications. Thank you, Director McMahon. I'll take a motion from Commissioner Naker to approve any discussion. I'll start with just saying I wanted to take a moment to just thank Rich Packenan and members of our planning economic development staff for bringing forward this solution and just taking the time to meet with us and to talk further about it. Last two weeks ago, I did share some of my concerns with this body. In part, there are two amendments, and I, you know, want to say I had a chance to read every letter that was submitted, read it in full for every organization, both depending on where they landed on the issue. I reviewed the staff proposals, the staff reports fully. And I think that even after doing that research and reviewing this amendment closely, I am not going to be able to support this proposed change today for downtown St. Paul projects in particular. Because I think public funding projects must provide the most consistent and dedicated levels of affordability and habitability. They are public investments, and the public deserves to have a full return on that investment and not just short-term flexibilities for the purpose of more buildings. And when we use public uses, we have a duty to ensure that those funds are creating and sustaining long-term affordability for people who need it the most. This is just something that the language as it currently says has been in place for several years now, and it was a step that we took to fix a loophole that gave away um 15 years of LITEC affordability. Reducing that affordability from 30 years to 15 years is in my view regressive, and I don't necessarily see rewards for being in alignment with the federal law at this time or the so-called big beautiful bill. Especially when that alignment includes weakening the St.
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