Letters: Preventing landlords from screening tenants is a one-sided view of our housing problem

Chosen people are terrible tenants Just exempting new buildings from rent control is not going to solve our housing challenge An even bigger issue is the message that the Tenant Protections ordinance is sending to landlords As a longtime small landlord I will NEVER invest in another rental building in St Paul as long as the City continues with this one-sided attitude to prevent landlords from properly screening bad actors from rental aplicants and making it complicated to evict tenants who violate rules or don t pay their rent on time There are chosen people because of their irresponsible behavior and or criminal initiatives who are terrible tenants We need to have a serious discussion on how to house these people Just forcing landlords to accept them as tenants will never work It will just cause all landlords to flee the city and make the housing obstacle much worse Mike Schumann St Paul Don t be too bossy about housing Give cities an incentive to figure it out I am encouraged that legislative action on removing the majority of local housing zoning is likely dead for a second time Not out of spite I submit the language smacks of big brother knows best As a member of a local city planning commission I can vouch that cities spend considerable time and talent maximizing their positive impact while following their Comprehensive Plan In addition cities plan for commercial and industrial rise plus open spaces for parks and trails City discussions are ongoing on how to put new residents into homes and apartments Planning commissions and city councils are well aware of their unique necessities for rise It is not forgotten that field forces on the cost of construction materials and labor plus interest rates weigh heavily on the prospective buyer Also for the metro area the Met Council in recent months posted their Comp Plan which provides both guidance and limitations for what cities in the seven-county metro area can do Add to this another layer of governmental guidance concerning lot sizes parking spaces multi-unit structures and you likely induce unintended consequences Not to be forgotten are the pre-existing infrastructure plans for the cities threshold to handle current and future sewage and water availability As it is likely the Legislature will come back for a third rendition of their ideas I submit there is a better idea Allow the cities to use their staff for planning and couple it to a state subsidy Don t mandate but incentivize the cities to create new housing opportunities to address the issue of affordable housing Encourage solutions with an increase in local ruling body aid or chosen similar method A legislative fix of one size fits all suppresses innovation Rather encourage it with a revenue stimulus which rewards creative city planning Joe Polunc Waconia Instead of this tree might die let s say this tree might live I live in the East Como neighborhood of St Paul My neighborhood is the subject of a City of St Paul improvement project that includes placement of curb and gutter sewer and water main pipelines and sidewalks Early on the city assured concerned residents they would save as a large number of trees as realizable Clearly the meaning of as practicable was not understood the same way by both parties In two weeks in March the city marked then hurriedly removed dozens of beautiful mature trees shocking me and countless neighbors Several were in areas that already had sidewalks and curbs Whole blocks lost their canopies There was no opportunity to question the reasoning behind the decisions The general explanation was that even where there are existing curbs and sidewalks the street work will necessitate a trench that would destroy a percentage of the trees root systems The city has an extremely conservative system for assessing trees and determining their vulnerability Mature urban trees must be viewed as the assets the treasures that they are not as liabilities and blockades to improvement Every manageable action should be taken to first avoid then mitigate damage to trees when completing improvement projects let me tell you that my new barren landscape seems anything but improved Mature tree canopies are the heartbeat and lungs of a livable neighborhood taking numerous decades to establish They provide shade reduce potency costs provide groundwater filtration and wildlife habitat increase property values Bottom line they increase quality of life and this is not being adequately included in the city s rigid conservative formula for tree removal After all measures are taken to avoid and mitigate damage we should monitor Let s change our view from this tree might die to this tree might live Monitor the effects of the project over time even a tree that is damaged and might die can be a canopy and a home for multiple years to come Give trees a chance Jessie Ebertz St Paul Who knows better how to spend your money Who knows better how to spend your money you or Gov Walz Gov Walz believes he does If we overpay our Federal taxes we receive a refund But in the State of Minnesota collected an billion surplus That equals more than per resident Was this money put aside so that taxes could be lower in future years No Instead Gov Walz and the then-DFL-controlled Legislature spent ALL of it Walz raised state spending and now is looking for strategies to raise taxes still further We are not tax cows with an endless supply of milk for you to dispose of as you wish Please recognize your hubris decrease spending and taxes We know how we would like to spend or save the money we ve earned Michael Bird St Anthony Remember our fallen firefighters Another St Paul building with a sad history relating to the Saint Paul Fire Department is closing Like the Saint Paul Athletic Club which closed last year where three St Paul firefighters District Chief Frank Minogue Captain Thomas Kell and firefighter Russell Hunt were killed Now the WestRock paper recycling plant Wabash Avenue is closing In it opened as Waldorf Paper Products On June there was a massive fire engulfing the building Once the fire was knocked down three St Paul firefighters entered the building to examine the damage Fire Chief Edward Novak Assistant Chief Frank McMahon and District Chief Harold Barck entered and were killed when an avalanche of concrete blocks and water-soaked bales of paper buried all three May we invariably remember those firefighters who protect us and our city daily They should dependably be remembered for their sacrifices William J Langevin St Paul The writer is retired from the St Paul Fire Department Related Articles Charges St Paul driver had BAC four hours after crash that killed visitor Ben Shardlow The soon-to-close recycling plant and environs are places we should love or learn to West Seventh restaurant windows broken man accused of swinging stick at one owner Dining Diary Three established patios and one fabulous newbie St Paul At Highland Bridge Weidner Homes Ryan Cos win concessions