I agree completely with Phil Carlson's comments. My
comments were in response solely to those who believed that one had to be very
wealthy to buy a $400,000 home and that there were few such people in Winona.
Local politics of course do have a bearing on
approval/disapproval over and above purely objective measures.
Roy Nasstrom
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 11:21
AM
Subject: [Winona] RE: Phillips Project -
Housing Costs
[Winona Online Democracy]
I am curious about
the continuing discussion of the Phillips project and housing costs, the
latest being Roy Nasstrom's analysis from an economist on who can afford
(barely) a $400,000 house. I hope everyone involved in the land use
and zoning approval process realizes that this is simply not part of the
city's, county's or township's role in reviewing and approving a
subdivision. The authority any government body has is limited to what is
in their codes and ordinances. I do not know of any city or county
that has in their codes a review of people' incomes and whether potential
buyers can actually afford the homes they might be purchasing -
these buyers being third parties not part of the development approval
between the city/county and a developer/builder. This is an
interesting line of discussion but I hope we realize it should have no bearing
on the approval/disapproval of the project.
The
approval/disapproval should be based solely on issues in the city's/county's
plans and ordinances: land use compatibility, density, setbacks, building
height, drainage/groundwater issues, street design, access to other roads,
bluff preservation, park/open space, screening and buffering,
etc.
But, to pick up
Roy's thread, the calculation he cited assumed about a $60,000 down payment on
a $400,000 house. Many people moving up to a $400,000 house would have
significantly more than this for a down payment - e.g., if they are moving
from a $250,000 house that they bought 15 years ago for $100,000, then there
is a lot more money in the equation. Very few people buying expensive
homes actually pay a mortgage on anywhere near the whole purchase price,
because they would have a significant amount of equity from a previous
home.
Phil Carlson,
Minneapolis
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