New Construction Highlights

 

Staff will provide an update on private development projects. Highlights include:

 

Housing Plan Update

Below and attached are several pieces of information related to housing plans and policies for Ramsey. Staff will present some additional highlights, trends, and detail in addition to information included in this case. The intent of including these attachments is to provide some degree of background data so Council Members can prepare questions in advance. Please note that the City Council is not being asked to adopt any of these documents this evening. This case is a compilation of existing documents. The following documents are included for reference:

 

Housing Plan

Attached to the case is Chapter 7 of the Comprehensive Plan known as the Housing Plan. This plan is the guiding document for housing policies for Ramsey that all subsequent housing policies should be based. Please note that it has been nearly ten (10) years since this plan was last updated, so there is a number of outdated sections in terms of policies and demographics. The upcoming Comprehensive Plan Update will be the opportunity to refresh this plan.

Housing Assistance Policy

Using the Housing Plan, the City recently created a Housing Assistance Policy to guide decision making for requests for financial assistance for new residential developments. This policy used the Housing Plan as a basis, and refreshed priorities and created a scoring system in order to review conformance with the Housing Plan and other financial policies.

Housing Goals

 

Housing Priorities

Through the establishment of a Housing Assistance Policy, the City has established the following housing priorities.

 

Housing Profile

Attached is a profile of demographic information prepared by the Metropolitan Council. As the Housing Plan indicates, Ramsey's housing development pattern has been historically detached, single-family. A goal of the Housing Plan was to bridge a gap not being served in Ramsey, especially entry-level and senior housing. Ramsey has made progress on both fronts, but needs still exist. Ramsey has seen an increase in attached single-family (townhomes) and multi-family housing, but continues to see a variety of detached, single-family product.

 

Housing Forecasts

Below are housing forecasts approved by the Metropolitan Council. Please note that population estimates for 2014 are slightly different that the US Census due to reporting timeframes (Metropolitan Council estimates are through April; Census estimates are through July). Current US Census estimates show a population over 25,000.

 

	2014	2020	2030	2040
Households	8,500	9,400	11,300	13,000
Population	24,811	26,400	30,700	34,700

Affordability Thresholds

Below are published affordability thresholds from the Metropolitan Council. Affordable housing is define as a person or persons making 80% of area median income (AMI) spending no more than 30% of their income for housing.

Income Levels
 

Household Size	Extremely Low Income (30% AMI)	Very Low Income (50% AMI)	Low Income (80% AMI)
1 Person	$18,200	$30,350	$46,100
2 Person	$20,800	$34,650	$52,650
3 Person	$23,400	$39,000	$59,250
4 Person	$26,000	$43,300	$65,800
5 Person	$28,410	$46,800	$71,100
6 Person	$32,570	$50,250	$76,350
7 Person	$36,730	$53,700	$81,600
8 Person	$40,890	$57,200	$86,900

 

Home Price
 

	30% AMI	50% AMI	80% AMI
Purchase Price (2015)	$85,500	$153,00	$240,500

 

Rent Levels

The following are considered affordable rents, including utilities.
 

 

 

# Bedrooms	30% AMI	50% AMI	80% AMI
Studio	$455	$758	$1,212
1	$487	$812	$1,299
2	$585	$975	$1,560
3	$675	$1,126	$1,801
4	$753	$1,256	$2,009

Affordable Housing Allocation

According to the Metropolitan Council, Ramsey has the following housing needs for affordable housing. Please note that the Affordable Housing Need forecast for Ramsey has been reduced significantly from the previous Comprehensive Plan (originally closer to 800).
 

 

 

At or below 30% AMI	292
31% to 50% AMI	167
51% to 80% AMI	40
Total	499