Support Housing TODAY! Tell the City Council
With the public hearing in just a week, it’s time to make your voice heard and tell the City Council that Saint Paul must take action to support renters and build more housing.
Last week, we announced our campaign to support the efforts of City Councilmembers to pass two key bills that will have a big impact on housing in Saint Paul. The first strengthens tenant protections, including caps on egregiously high security deposits and clear timeframes for Affordable Housing Notice-of-Sale requirements. The second is a common-sense amendment to the city’s Rent Stabilization ordinance. This change will help Saint Paul build more of the desperately needed housing while continuing to protect the vast majority of renters from runaway rent increases. Tomorrow, those bills will have their first reading in front of the City Council. This means that we have one week to make our support heard.
Make an Immediate Impact: Submit a Public Comment Today
The best way to support these two vital ordinances right now is by submitting a public comment online—it only takes a minute. Just click the buttons below, click “Public Comments” and then click “Add new comment.” Mark that you support the ordinances and add any additional comments you’d like to make to get your voice counted:
You can also email your comment to Contact-Council@ci.stpaul.mn.us or CouncilHearing@ci.stpaul.mn.us, or leave a voicemail at 651-266-6805. Comments must be submitted by noon on April 8th. Be sure to include your resident address so it counts! Need help with what to say? Just respond to this email—we’re happy to help with talking points.
Then, Join Us at the Public Hearing on Wednesday, April 9th
After submitting your comment, we invite you to join us in person to show your support at the Public Hearing on Wednesday, April 9th at 3:30pm. Whether you choose to speak (we’ll support you!) or simply be a voice of support in the room, your presence matters. Sustain will be wearing green, and we encourage you to do the same in solidarity. The hearing may last into the evening—come when you can and stay as long as you're able.
Both of these ordinances will improve the lives of renters in Saint Paul. The new tenant protections directly empower tenants and protect them from the most egregious abuses from landlords. At the same time, Renters need affordable options - making housing growth essential. The status quo would lock in our current housing shortage for decades and leave renters without the autonomy they need to leave poor living situations, even forcing them to stay in unsafe or unstable housing due to scarcity.
We would like to thank CMs Bowie, Jost, and Noecker for their sponsorship of the Rent Stabilization Amendment and CM Johnson for her leadership on Tenant Protections, as well as you, our neighbors, for your advocacy.
✔️ Share this with at least three friends and invite them to join you in expressing support!
✔️ Keep an eye out for an Op-Ed we hope to publish in the news media soon. We will post this and other updates to our social media. Follow us on Twitter/Bluesky to stay up to date!
✔️ Look out for our next newsletter, where we will give an update on how the upcoming hearing went and announce our next social gathering!
