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to own or maintain a car to reduce costs while at the same time allowing each household to have more than one car per bedroom, if that is what the household needs. Increasingly some or all utilities such as heat, electricity, water, and garbage collection services are no longer included in the rent; some places are charging property maintenance fees, and pet -friendly apartments are both more common and come with a premium additional monthly rent. Ultimately, the fact remains that there are some key factors in ensuring people of all kinds can live in a place, two of which are supply and perception. On the supply side, when there is a sufficient supply of homes available to either/or renters and owners of any kind, scarcity isn't driving up the cost of a place to live. When it comes to perception, both how "easy" a developer perceives a locality is to develop in and neighborhood perception all influence whether a developer of any kind will find a place desirable to build in. Discussion Starting with the supply side, the Metropolitan Council has identified that Arden Hills can be expected to absorb a certain number of households that need homes that are affordable to them between now and 2040. The Metropolitan Council identifies the need for Arden Hills to be able to house 373 households making at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) by 2040. Based on the city and county's adopted Comprehensive Plans, Rice Creek Commons is expected to be the location for those homes. Given more recent information, including a 2022 study associated with the County's Economic Competitiveness & Inclusion Planl suggests that the Metropolitan Council's estimate is insufficient to adequately address the overall number of cost -burdened households. Ramsey County is one of the most cost -burdened counties in the state and the most cost -burdened county in the seven -county metropolitan area. Arden Hills (and Ramsey County) are not alone in the expectation set by forecasters at the Metropolitan Council. All communities within the metropolitan council area are aware of the number of affordable units expected to be accommodated within each government entity's boundary and at what affordability levels. However, it is important to remember that not only is there no legal mandate to produce a specific number of units by affordability band, nor is there a legal mechanism to enforce it. All the numbers are based on estimates that take into consideration essential population statistics such as births, deaths, and migrations (both people moving to here and to somewhere else). Some of the things models can't consider but researchers have anecdotal evidence to support include in -migration due to cultural, political, or climate factors. As a place with a lower -than -average cost of living and a higher -than -average quality of life, Minnesota has historically been an in -migration state. Ultimately, supply of housing will come when the cost of land plus the cost of construction is of interest to a developer. Higher density buildings are profitable in the locations that support them. Lexington Avenue is a prime example of a place where higher density buildings are able to be built. Not only because the cost of land is lower but also because people can walk to and from major employers and many services and businesses. Some of this supply (relative to the cost of land) can be addressed through zoning code reforms. Zoning code reforms Parking: While it is clear that the approximately 1,900 new homes in Rice Creek Commons will positively affect the supply side of the housing equation, the timeline to development is not yet determined. Arden Hills continues to be a desirable place to live and the cost to live here continues 1 Economic Competitiveness & Inclusion Plan I Ramsey County, Minnesota (Accessed 11/12/2025) Page 2 of 6