While cooperative board members are naturally leaders in their own communities, often their roles expand into advocating for all manufactured housing residents. Such is the case with Woodlawn Terrace Cooperative Board President Bev Adrian. With a storied history of manufactured housing advocacy work, Bev joined NCF Executive Director Victoria Clark-West to testify in support of Minnesota HF 814, a bill that provides $65 million in state funding for preserving and expanding manufactured housing. Bev and Victoria explained to the members of the Minnesota House Housing Committee that the legislation is not only necessary to help preserve the most affordable form of homeownership, but also expand cooperative ownership across the state.

The bipartisan bill is chief-authored by Rep. Matt Norris (DFL-Blaine), who has the most manufactured housing in his district of any representative in Minnesota. Additionally, since nearly every region of the state has a manufactured housing community, the co-authors of the bill are both ideologically and geographically diverse. The issue serves as a unifying topic for legislators in St. Paul and is poised to play a large role during affordable housing discussions in 2023.

Specifically, HF 814 establishes reliable and sustainable funding ($30 million) for the existing Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment Program, invests $25 million one-time to create innovative manufactured home lending products that would expand homeownership opportunities, and $10 million in one-time funding to establish a manufactured home park revolving loan fund that would help residents to purchase their manufactured home communities.

Watch below the full House Housing Committee hearing on HF 814. And, to read more about the hearing from Minnesota Session Daily, click here.