A third go at trying to reboot starter-home construction in Minnesota is on life support at the state Legislature, with supporters scrambling to revive it before the session ends.

High-profile zoning reform bills failed in a House committee and missed key Senate deadlines late last month, potentially dooming the effort as had happened over the past two years.

The bipartisan Starter Homes Act – House File 3895 and Senate File 4123 – would loosen local mandates on minimum lot sizes, parking and design requirements. The bills also would require cities to allow duplexes, triplexes and accessory dwelling units in more neighborhoods.

Th difficult path of political will for such measures has become a cautionary tale for housing advocates nationwide. They are discovering how hard it is to pass starter-home legislation, even as acute affordability crises lay siege on their towns and cities.

Lawmakers in other states face similar fights, pitting pro-housing advocates against local officials who recoil from state mandates. Major bills regularly stall or get watered down amid fierce resistance from suburban communities and local government lobbies.

Utah lawmakers killed a starter homes bill this year. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a housing affordability bill last month, but the state Senate killed a starter homes bill. In Arizona, two starter home efforts have failed.

Solving for a housing shortage

Minnesota housing supporters, including AARP, pitched the bill as a targeted response to a statewide housing shortage estimated at 100,000 homes. They argue decades of exclusionary zoning have pushed starter homes out of reach for many first-time buyers.

Backers now point to a Lakeville City Council decision last week to temporarily halt new home construction applications as an ominous sign.

“If this becomes a trend, it will have a chilling effect on the growth of our state’s economy and further erode the affordability of housing in Minnesota,” House bill co-sponsors state Rep. Spencer Igo and Rep. Michael Howard said in a joint statement.

The council resolved to assess how regional development plans would affect the city’s long-term comprehensive plan. Council member Dan Wolter said at the meeting that the city already has three years of approved projects.

“This really is a minor administrative change,” Wolter said.

Legislation’s uncertain path

The state legislation would require cities to adopt administrative approvals for new housing types, open more land to intensive residential use and curb aesthetic rules and homeowners association mandates that inflate construction costs. But city officials and some legislators said the state was overreaching. Opponents warned the measure would preempt local plans, shift costs onto municipal budgets and not guarantee affordability in hot markets.

After hours of testimony, several Democrats joined Republicans to kill the bill 7-5 in its first House committee.

“This was not a good outcome,” state Rep. Larry Kraft, one of the bill’s co-authors, told Finance & Commerce. “I’m not encouraged about its path.”

Starter homes have nearly vanished from homebuilders’ project lists, dropping from roughly 40% of new construction in the early 1980s to single digits in recent years. Experts link the decline partly to restrictive zoning and rising development costs. In Minnesota, entry-level homes have all but disappeared from the Twin Cities market, making the latest Capitol setback all the more striking.

Supporters say they are now looking to insert pieces of the proposal into larger omnibus bills before the Legislature adjourns May 18.