HBA HAPPENINGS
Balancing Codes To Boost Our Border City Housing Market by Mark Puppe, Communications & Public Affairs Strategist
Dilworth City Administrator Peyton Mastera wanted to add a deck to his home and a Minnesota-based contractor to build it. He did find a Minnesota deck contractor, but also one unwilling to build due to the complexity of the state’s building code and the cost to comply. Surprised by the finding, Mastera connected with the HBA of F-M which is collaborating with Minnesota legislators and city officials who see and want to correct the problems that code imbalance creates in the border cities they represent. Our partnership will help legislators throughout Minnesota finally understand that code uniformity will help cities compete and local incentives like the Make Moorhead Home Property Tax Rebate Program generate even larger returns. Efforts like this have been undertaken before. In 2015, the city of Moorhead explained to Minnesota lawmakers that, “Consumers care about cost, and these code differences measurably add to housing cost in Moorhead and make Fargo and West Fargo more affordable options.” The legislation being discussed did not pass and costs have not declined. This time is different. We have a one-of-a-kind partnership of Minnesota legislators, border city officials and the HBA of F-M locking arms with the collective understanding that perpetual imbalance and inaction will worsen the impact of other problems - like lumber and labor shortages - impeding the home builders and buyers like never before, and more profoundly, those in Minnesota. HBA members report that a home built in Moorhead costs about $5,000 more than the same home built in Moorhead. Meetings with builder associations in eastern Minnesota report parallel disparity: homes built in Minnesota cost about $5,000 more than the same home, apple-to-apple, in nearby Wisconsin cities. Adding home attainability to the equation makes the losses even more poignant. According to the National Association of Home Builders, for every $1,000 added to the cost of building a home in the Fargo-Moorhead Metro, 118 are priced out of the market. It goes without saying but code disparities limit consumer choice and make North Dakota homes more appealing and affordable than those in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, more than profitability and attainability suffer from code disparities, the entire ecosystem of the encumbered cities, such as Moorhead and Dilworth, suffer losses in tax base, business activity and other positives. Code uniformity and simplicity in the FargoMoorhead Metro are just two of many ways to encourage Minnesota builders to operate in Minnesota and enable our cities, on both sides of the Red, to reap the innumerable benefits that a solid and fair housing market creates. Legislators and officials from the FargoMoorhead Metro understand what is at stake, but others will need to be convinced until they understand the damages caused by code disparities, and that approving remedial legislation is urgent. Relentless advocacy can accomplish that during the 2021 legislative session. Lisa Bode, government affairs director in Moorhead, says “We’re hoping that the timing is right as we work together with the HBA to convince the state of Minnesota to allow uniform code standards between Moorhead and Dilworth and our North Dakota sister cities in the metro.” Even though the housing market in the Fargo-Moorhead Metro is relatively strong, it can be stronger when public and private stakeholders show Minnesota lawmakers and agencies that markets do not stop at the borders.
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Connect Interiors, LLC CharRae Chwialkowski (701) 277-7222 connectinteriors.com
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