Ward 7 Candidate Questionnaire Responses
Pa Der Vang
Housing
1. Saint Paul is currently completing a 1-4 Unit Housing Study that would broadly allow 4 housing units per lot across the city, and relieve other zoning requirements that constrain our city’s housing options. Do you support this and other regulatory changes that allow for more housing in St. Paul?
Response: Yes I do support this change to allow more housing in Saint Paul and medium to high density housing options in order to meet the needs of all residents. Some residents enjoy living in urban settings close to transportation, people, and retails. In addition, allowing residents to provide housing creates an environment of community as well as provides options to community members who rely on communal housing. As a city council member, I would like to take a look at what the tax structure would look like, the impact on neighborhoods and single family homeowners, as well as the impact on our sewer capacity and any impact on the sewer tax and how those costs would be distributed among residents and tax payers.
2. Saint Paul’s SAFE Tenant protections, which included just cause eviction protections and rules around security deposits and tenant screening, were repealed in 2022. How would you work to sustainably instate tenant protections in Saint Paul?
Response: I support tenant rights and their ability to have stable and secure housing during this environment of rising housing costs. I would work with nonprofits, private developers and management companies to create partenrships that work towards more sustainable housing options for residents who may choose renting in order to save money towards a home purchase or those who are living within a certain income level where renting is their only option. Individuals deserve to have stable housing. We need to ensure that housing is available for all. I do agree that it should not cost three times rent to secure housing since those who are renting are often unable to come up with this amount to secure housing. Renting is usually the first step in independence for many of our neighbors. Renting is often the only option for someone who needs to find housing for their college age child, or for someone who may need to escape an abusive situation. The list is endless. We want to make this a possibility for all. In addition, I encourage a partnership with state and county entities to support housing in St. Paul through renters assistance and renters credits via the taxation system or housing support programs in the State of Minnesota.
Tenants do have a right to fair notice in the event of the sale of a building. I would work to ensure this is reinstated. I do believe that all people regardless of credit or criminal background deserve housing. I would work with landlords to ensure a seamless system for those with past offenses to be able to find housing.
3. It can be difficult for cities such as Saint Paul to secure enough public funding for building affordable housing. Given this challenge, what do you see as the most promising strategies for increasing the supply of affordable homes in Saint Paul?
Response: I would work with management companies, nonprofits, and private entities to structure a mechanism to increase housing development in St. Paul. I would also seek public grants, federal, and county funding to ensure affordable housing in the City of St. Paul. In addition, allowing current homeowners to build AUD’s or transform their own homes to allow more than one residential unit on any city lot will increase the housing supply and also hopefully bring down prices. I also support communal living spaces such as tiny home communities within the city of St. Paul.
Transportation
4. The quality of the transit network in Saint Paul is improving, and we hope to see this continue. How would you work with local constituents along existing and planned transit routes to build support for further improvements of our bus and light rail network?
Response: .I would work with neighbors to ensure the development of a community effort to support a world renowned safe, reliable, affordable, people centered and accessible public transportation system that connects all neighborhoods and communities throughout the city of St. Paul. It is about time that we focus on this and catch up with other cities who have amazing light rail systems that run throughout their whole city. In other cities, we can ride the transit from one neighborhood to the other neighborhood within minutes in a way that is accessible, affordable, and efficient. I want to see this for St Paul.
5. The future of the I-94 corridor, which runs through the heart of Saint Paul, is currently being considered by MnDOT through the Rethinking I-94 project. Sustain Saint Paul believes that the city deserves a future corridor that addresses historical harms to nearby neighborhoods, improves city connectivity across the highway, and reduces Vehicle Miles Traveled and associated vehicle pollution. What elements of a future corridor do you support? Some examples include an at-grade boulevard, a land bridge, a transit-only lane, reducing the number of vehicle lanes or street width; please be specific.
Response: I do support a landbridge in the Rondo Neighborhood to increase community connection; and a transit only lane to support wider usage of our public transportation with a bus only lane as proposed in the list of alternatives. I also support a bike lane along frontage roads without having to take detour through the neighborhoods. I bike from Payne Avenue to Cretin Boulevard along the freeway but there are points where I have to detour through the neighborhoods because the frontage road comes to a dead end at certain points. Or I have to bike along University Avenue where it can be dangerous due to the many major intersections that exist along University Avenue. Bike lanes along University avenue would slow down traffic and make biking easier.
6. The City of Saint Paul is currently preparing an update to the Saint Paul bicycle plan, with a focus on grade-separated bikeways and a more seamlessly connected network. Do you support this effort, and will you commit to ensuring its success if elected?
Response: Yes, I do support the current plan and expansion of the current plan.
Quality urbanism
7. One of Sustain Saint Paul’s top policy priorities is “mixed-use zoning.” Our current zoning policies prohibit retail stores, coffeeshops, restaurants, and other neighborhood businesses in residential areas, and we think our city would be more vibrant and resilient if we allowed such neighborhood areas throughout the city. Do you support zoning changes to allow this?
Response: Yes I do support zoning changes to allow retail stores, coffeeshops, restaurants, daycares in neighborhoods in order to make our neighborhoods more walkable, neighbor friendly, and reduce reliance on vehicles.
8. Sustain St. Paul believes that whenever the city rebuilds or repairs a street, it should redesign the street to reduce traffic speeds for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. Would you champion policies to encourage this?
Response: Yes, this is why I do support the development of walking trails and bike lanes across our city thereby increasing usage of biking and walking as alternatives to motorized vehicles and reducing our carbon footprint. With zoning changes that allow retail in residential neighborhoods, residents will be able to walk or bike to purchase goods. I live in Payne where I walk across the street to buy groceries, down the block to the hardware store, and another block to local restaurants and breweries. I also use the Bruce Vento trail to walk to downtown St. Paul, and to bike to grocery stores and other amenities.
9. What other urbanism-focused ideas do you have for making Saint Paul a more pleasant, safe, and vibrant place to live, work, and play?
Response: I support more walking trails that connect neighborhoods to each other and to major retail. I support bike trails through the East Side of St Paul that connect neighbors to retail. I also support more winter friendly bus shelters on the East Side of St. Paul especially close to the many apartment buildings that exist in St. Paul such as in Battle Creek. I support free bus passes for all highschool students and improvement of neighborhoods along major bus lines to include high density housing and retail, more street lights, more gathering places for residents and tourists along major corridors. I plan to support cultural corridors such as Payne and Arcade in Ward 7 in order to increase connections between neighbors and organizations in Ward 7.
Cheniqua Johnson
Housing
1. Saint Paul is currently completing a 1-4 Unit Housing Study that would broadly allow 4 housing units per lot across the city, and relieve other zoning requirements that constrain our city’s housing options. Do you support this and other regulatory changes that allow for more housing in St. Paul?
Response: Yes, I agree with the Council vote. On the doors, I’ve heard residents struggle to find and/or afford housing. Shifting these zoning requirements allows us to house more people and expand our tax base. As we head into the next few years, I find it imperative to consider innovative housing opportunities here in our City. In Ward 7, neighborhoods like Dayton’s Bluff are already ahead of this curve. I know there are split thoughts and overall stances on this step, however, as we move forward, we should focus on things that allow for more housing to be built as we are still at a deficit. More people need affordable housing and we simply don’t have enough.
2. Saint Paul’s SAFE Tenant protections, which included just cause eviction protections and rules around security deposits and tenant screening, were repealed in 2022. How would you work to sustainably instate tenant protections in Saint Paul?
Response: Just like every policy, some parts may be better or more helpful than others. I think there are parts of Saint Paul’s SAFE Tenant protections that might actually make sense. Moving forward, I think it’s worth revisiting and bringing all of the needed partners, landlords, renters, property owners, etc. to the table. When we discuss things like the former Just Cause Notice policy, a policy that required landlords to provide just cause for nonrenewal of lease or termination of tenancy at the time notice is given, I see an opportunity to address and facilitate better communication amongst tenants and their landlords. Just cause included nonpayment of rent, repeated late payment of rent, among other criteria so maybe this isn’t the center issue. There was also an Advance Notice of Sale requirement. The Advance Notice of Sale policy required that a notice of a proposed sale be provided to the City and tenant before an affordable property is placed on the market as well as after the transfer of ownership occurs, coupled with a tenant protection period after the sale. If my home was going to sell, I would have to say, I would love to have a heads up before having to move. While On the Eastside, I actually think we may be slightly overdue for direct, extensive, and inclusive outreach to our renters. Ward 7 is ½ renters and ½ homeowners - your experience on the Eastside can vary block to block. We can repeal something and revisit it later to see what might still be worth bringing forth and what we need to leave behind. If we took this same mindset into the City overall, I think we would do a better job at detecting good ideas from bad ideas and bad ideas from incomplete ones. I am ready to represent Ward 7 Eastsiders who have not been centered in housing conversations and fight for policies that allow Saint Paulites to stay in our home. If elected, I plan to also fully fund the City’s Department of Safety and Inspections so we can see just how we can start to find improvement in our sole enforcement arm.
3. It can be difficult for cities such as Saint Paul to secure enough public funding for building affordable housing. Given this challenge, what do you see as the most promising strategies for increasing the supply of affordable homes in Saint Paul?
Response:
a. Keep our incentives surrounding the development of affordable housing.
b. Working directly with the developers, property owners, and community members about the continued needs and challenges of investing, financing, and building more affordable housing
c. Investing in community land trusts and organizations to the table to build affordable housing and overall entities from communities that can advocate for affordable housing that the neighbors actually want.
d. Get back to investing in overall local developers that have a vested interest in making sure our City grows and aren’t just looking to make a profit.
e. Continued advocacy at all levels of government and throughout multiple sectors - corporations, nonprofits, government, etc. - for the continued investment in affordable housing financing, development support, and overall local investments.
Transportation
4. The quality of the transit network in Saint Paul is improving, and we hope to see this continue. How would you work with local constituents along existing and planned transit routes to build support for further improvements of our bus and light rail network?
Response: I believe that Saint Paul has room to grow in terms of being a more connected, accessible city, especially on the Eastside. We need bus routes that connect people to places of employment and places of enjoyment, with frequency, across the city and from city to city. And, I want to be intentional in our transportation infrastructure so as to not displace people and businesses. Part of my role as a Councilmember is to translate what I hear from constituents on their experience using the buses and trains to the appropriate people and escalate concerns accordingly, in addition to advocating for funding at the Capitol. Additionally, I’m sensitive to how any construction connected to a transportation project can be confusing and frustrating. I want to make these transitions as easeful as possible, because I know the outcome of a more connected city is so important. Often Eastsiders miss our public input opportunities or engagement events due to last minute invitations or simply not hearing about it. I will continue to have multiple methods of communication with my Ward 7 constituents so we know more about the chances we have to provide input.
5. The future of the I-94 corridor, which runs through the heart of Saint Paul, is currently being considered by MnDOT through the Rethinking I-94 project. Sustain Saint Paul believes that the city deserves a future corridor that addresses historical harms to nearby neighborhoods, improves city connectivity across the highway, and reduces Vehicle Miles Traveled and associated vehicle pollution. What elements of a future corridor do you support? Some examples include an at-grade boulevard, a land bridge, a transit-only lane, reducing the number of vehicle lanes or street width; please be specific.
Response: Broadly, we must not expand highways. We must expand transportation options and infrastructure. This is essential for human and land wellbeing. All future action along this corridor must have resident engagement and strong anti-displacement efforts.
6. The City of Saint Paul is currently preparing an update to the Saint Paul bicycle plan, with a focus on grade-separated bikeways and a more seamlessly connected network. Do you support this effort, and will you commit to ensuring its success if elected?
Response: Yes. Grade-separated bikeways and a connected bike network offers safety and ease to its users. Our city’s future is dependent on people choosing different modes of transportation so we must make it easy for them to do so.
Quality urbanism
7. One of Sustain Saint Paul’s top policy priorities is “mixed-use zoning.” Our current zoning policies prohibit retail stores, coffeeshops, restaurants, and other neighborhood businesses in residential areas, and we think our city would be more vibrant and resilient if we allowed such neighborhood areas throughout the city. Do you support zoning changes to allow this?
Response: Yes. Mixed-use zoning allows residents ease to access the human needs they have and also supports local and small businesses. Mixed-use zoning also brings more people into public space which is important for community safety.
8. Sustain St. Paul believes that whenever the city rebuilds or repairs a street, it should redesign the street to reduce traffic speeds for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers alike. Would you champion policies to encourage this?
Response: Yes, street reconstruction projects are opportunities to better design streets for safety and climate resiliency.
9. What other urbanism-focused ideas do you have for making Saint Paul a more pleasant, safe, and vibrant place to live, work, and play?
Response:
a. I think there’s a strong need to begin to prioritize accessibility needs in our City. Ward 7 is home to several group homes, senior apartments, vulnerable adults, families with young children who may have a physical, sight, or hearing impairment or a child who is autistic. My brother, who is a vulnerable adult, our seniors in Cambric and other apartment buildings and neighborhoods, as well as our community members were simply going down the street to catch a bus. It just isn’t as feasible as one might think to truly have a hard time getting around our City. It’s time to address that at all levels of government.
b. It’s not too late to explore free transit and how we may actually be able to make that a reality.
c. In addition, I would like to see major investments into our climate justice work. Ward 7 is home to several community members who are passionate about tree canopy, water quality, air quality, and overall maintenance and preservation of our roads, parks, and historic buildings. Our City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan needs to be evaluated. Do we need significant work done before the first milestone in 2030? Are we on track for 2040? 2050?
d. Lastly, I think there are parks, rec centers, and libraries on the Eastside that need a little updating, love, and overall investment. Battle Creek, Dayton’s Bluff, and yes, even Swede Hollow. I don’t envision an urbanism-focused environment that is not investing in the future of our common spaces.
