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. . . Printer version: Low-income rental moves into New Brighton Page 1 of2 startribune.com Close wim:low Last update: March 1, 2005 at 1 :42 PM Low-income rental moves into New Brighton Sarah McCann Star Tribune Published March 2, 2005 Here comes more rental housing for New Brighton. The City Council voted 5-0 last week to approve a 52-unit low-income apartment complex called Lakes Run. The city wanted owner-occupied homes for the 5.6 acres, but developer MWF Properties' $8.7 million rental proposal fit the zoning code, so it passed without a problem. New Brighton has been pushing for more owner-occupied housing south ofInterstate Hwy. 694. That area is about half owner-occupied and half rental. Overall, the city is at 65 percent owner-occupied and 35 percent rental. Lakes Run is Section 42 housing, which has a higher income threshold than Section 8 housing. The federal government subsidizes costs, and the complex agrees to keep rental prices at a certain level. Lakes Run is for families with an annual income between $32,000 and $47,000. Rents would start at $860 a month for a two-bedroom unit. "I feel strongly about affordable housing issues -- there has to be a range of housing opportunities for every income group," Council Member Annie Hoffman said. She had hoped for owner-occupied homes on the land but said renters can be just as invested in the community as owners. "Many people who live in our community in rental properties have been here a number of years and contribute greatly to the community. It's just we want to keep a good balance" between rental and owner-occupied, she said. Public perception Many people don't have good connotations about rentals, said David Schultz, a professor in the Graduate School of Public Administration and Management at Hamline University. Schultz said compared with places like New York City, where many people rent, people in the Midwest view renters as having less of a stake and involvement in the community. Throw low income into the mix, and people conjure up images of crime and maintenance problems, Schultz said. "Excluding townhomes and condos, in the north-metro area we're looking at probably less than 20 percent who are renters because we have a very high incidence of ownership in Minnesota," he said. "It's unusual for suburbs to have a lot of rental housing to start with, but for an inner-ring suburb like New Brighton, which is closer to the metro, it is not unusual." Myron Orfield, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota, said misconceptions lead to hesitancy about providing certain housing. But often low-income rental is occupied by "mothers undergoing a divorce or older people," he said. http://www.startribune.com/dynamic/story . php ?template=print_ a&story=5262655 3/112005