Rep. Steve Elkins (DFL-Bloomington) released the following comments in response to a new Housing Affordability Institute report entitled "Building Permit Fees: Building Permit Fees: Boosting the Bottom Line for Minnesota Cities." You can download a copy of the report here.
"This latest report highlights the need for homebuilders and cities to come together to find common ground on policies that will promote the construction of more affordable housing. Cities have a reasonable expectation that new development should 'pay its own way' and homebuilders have a reasonable expectation that development fees imposed by cities will be no more than necessary to cover the direct costs occasioned by their development. We ought to be able to work through these issues to find a compromise solution that both sides can live with."