Rent control and more: 5 big items on the St. Paul City Council agenda this year
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Members of the St. Paul City Council, including new council president Mitra Jalali (left), at their inauguration. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
Several St. Paul City Council members want to explore changes to make the city's rent control ordinance more tenant-friendly, new council president Mitra Jalali tells Axios.
Why it matters: Developers have blamed rent control for a recent slowdown in housing construction in St. Paul, saying it complicates their ability to finance projects.
Yes, but: New construction projects and affordable housing are exempt from the ordinance, meaning other factors could also explain the dip.
State of play: Right now, landlords need the city to sign off on rent increases that are more than 3% per year — though many of them have had little trouble getting approval.
What they're saying: Jalali told Axios that voters have given them a mandate to at least explore the issue:
- "Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent against this council" during the campaign to help boost opponents who were, among other things, more skeptical of rent control, she said. "None of them won."
What we're watching: Which changes might have the votes to pass.
- Jalali says the city's rent control policy shouldn't exempt all new construction. She also opposes "vacancy decontrol," which lets landlords raise a unit's rent between tenants.
- Newly elected member Hwa Jeong Kim and returning member Nelsie Yang have also indicated they oppose these exemptions.
The other side: Mayor Melvin Carter told Axios on Tuesday that the city must consider the needs of renters and developers and doesn't think that a "balancing act … would be carried by eliminating the new construction exemption."
- Council member Rebecca Noecker supports the current rent control ordinance, and called the new construction exemptions "a fair compromise."
- Another newly elected member, Saura Jost, has said she's "not committed" to changing the rent control ordinance, telling MinnPost she wants to see data first.
What's next: Carter said to expect an independent analysis of the effects of rent control to come out "pretty soon."
- Jalali welcomed the analysis saying "There's this anecdotal discussion going on … We need an empirical conversation."
Here are four other issues on the council's radar:
- Tenant protections. Outside of rent control, Jalali has said she wants to pass policies that protect renters against landlord discrimination or arbitrary cancellation of a lease. St. Paul tried creating a similar policy in 2021, but backed down after a federal court ruled some provisions were likely unconstitutional. Jalali has called for a "2.0" version.
- Financial windfall. St. Paul voters approved a sales tax increase to pay for major street repairs and park improvements. "My great hope," Jalali said, "is that residents will see tangible improvements right in these next few years" to those facilities.
- Child care. Council members voted last year to put a measure on the ballot this November that would raise property taxes to cover families' child care costs. Noecker, the measure's co-author, says the council will need to approve a plan for implementing the proposal if it passes. Jalali opposed the ballot initiative.
- A new enforcement mechanism? The council last year banned smoking marijuana in public parks. Jalali wants the city to create a way to enforce the ban without issuing petty misdemeanor tickets. Her idea would require changing St. Paul's charter — which requires a unanimous council vote.