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ARDEN HILLS PLANNING COMMISSION – April 8, 2026 5 Planning Commission and City Council to have greater vision on who should be served in the affordable housing units in order to make living in Arden Hills achievable for all. Lynn Diaz, 1143 Ingerson Road, stated the city has a significant affordable housing challenge across all income levels and age groups, noting 52% of renters were cost burdened. She reported Ramsey County was the most cost burdened county in the metro area. She supported allowing for more units per lot and allowing for ADUs on residential lots. She recommended minimum parking requirements not be eliminated as she did not want to see on street overnight parking. She stated overall she supported the inclusionary housing policy and encouraged the City to consider a land trust and housing trust fund. She discussed how federal funding was available to assist with deeply affordable housing units and encouraged the City to strive for this. She agreed the 80% AMI was useless and recommended the City pursue affordable housing that was at 60% AMI or less. David Radziej, 1366 Arden View Drive, stated mortgage interest rates have a great impact when it comes to affordable housing units. He encouraged the City to have a comprehensive approach when it comes to affordable housing in order to have a meaningful impact on the community. He suggested land trusts be considered and discussed how important it was for there to be State or City-wide action. He recommended the City look for ways to speed up the construction process and to limit fees in order to assist in creating new housing units that were more affordable. There being no additional comment Chair Collins closed the public hearing at 7:40 p.m. Chair Collins stated he would like to suspend Roberts Rules of Order to allow for this item to be discussed in a worksession setting. Chair Collins moved and Commissioner Burlingame seconded a motion to recess the Planning Commission meeting to a worksession meeting at 7:40 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (7-0). Chair Collins moved and Commissioner Burlingame seconded a motion to reconvene the Planning Commission in a worksession format at 7:46 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (7-0). Vice Chair Lindau summarized the information that he provided to the Planning Commission. He discussed how other cities were addressing this topic. He explained if the City wants to address affordability the City has to put in place a legal framework along with a nexus between market rate developments and affordable housing requirements. He requested staff provide the Commission with further information on LAHA dollars. Community Development Director Reilly reported LAHA stands for Local Affordable Housing Aid and was an allocation from the State to a municipality in part to make up for lack of tax capacity and support affordable housing production. He explained the LAHA funds will be deposited in the City’s coffers and must be used for affordable housing. He stated at the time this program was created, Arden Hills did not qualify because the City did not have over 10,000 residents. It was his hope the City’s population could be reevaluated in order to grant the City access to this program. Chair Collins explained the inclusionary housing policy that was presented to the Planning Commission was similar to the policy that was being followed by Shoreview.