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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Council Worksession <br />February 14, 2023 <br />5:00 pm <br /> <br /> <br />Present: Mayor Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas <br /> Councilmember Abdullahi Abdulle <br />Councilmember Graeme Allen <br /> Councilmember Pam Axberg (arrived at 5:11 p.m.) <br />Councilmember Emily Dunsworth <br />Absent: <br /> <br />Staff in Attendance: Devin Massopust, Craig Schlichting, Ben Gozola (attending remotely) <br /> <br />Guests in Attendance: Tom Leighton, Stantec <br /> <br />Housing Study Strategies <br /> <br />Massopust stated Tom Leighton from Stantec will present to the Council an update on New Brighton’s <br />Housing Study. This will include recommendations for prioritization on production, preservation and capacity <br />building housing strategies. <br /> <br />Tom Leighton, Stantec, stated he has enjoyed working with staff on the housing study. He discussed how <br />housing availability was a pressing issue for many people because housing costs were more than people can <br />afford. He commented on how New Brighton was an advantageous location within the metro area and noted <br />there were important businesses in the community that employed many people. He discussed the health and <br />vintage of the City’s housing stock, along with median household income for the community. He reviewed a <br />map of the City noting the location of senior housing, single family and multifamily developments. He <br />commented on the number of naturally occurring affordable housing units in the New Brighton. <br /> <br />Councilmember Axberg asked if the age of the City’s apartments was a problem. Mr. Leighton stated he did <br />not see the age as a concern, but rather saw concerns when owners or managers were not properly upkeeping <br />the buildings. He discussed how important it was for managers to maintain these buildings in order to keep <br />them affordable. <br /> <br />Mr. Leighton provided the Council with further comment on the insights he received from local developers. He <br />then discussed the housing needs and priorities for the City. <br /> <br />Councilmember Abdulle stated he was concerned with the lack of affordable units for those needing 30% AMI <br />or 40% AMI housing. Mr. Leighton commented on how important it was for those living within 30% AMI and <br />40% AMI housing to have other services in place to assist with covering or meeting their needs. <br /> <br />Councilmember Allen discussed how the seniors were not very well represented within this information <br />because their median income was much lower than the working class in New Brighton. <br /> <br />