Report: Facing pressure, Shakopee officials secretly planned to kill affordable housing project
The Shakopee Planning Commission meets Thursday to withdraw a rezoning vote on the Prairie Pointe affordable housing project.
Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
A proposed affordable housing development in the southwestern suburb of Shakopee will move forward, after all — even though, behind closed doors, city officials reportedly planned to kill the project.
Sahan Journal reporter Katelyn Vue broke the story, and she’s been following the dramatic fight over the proposed property in Shakopee, Minn.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: This is Minnesota Now on MPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. A proposed affordable housing development in the southwestern suburb of Shakopee will move forward after all, even though behind closed doors, city officials reportedly plan to kill the project. Sahan Journal reporter Katelyn Vue broke the story. She's been following the dramatic fight over the proposed property in Shakopee, and she's on the line. Katelyn, welcome.
KATELYN VUE: Hi. Thanks for having me.
CATHY WURZER: For folks not familiar, Katelyn, when was this housing development first proposed? And who was it supposed to serve?
KATELYN VUE: So the Shakopee City Council voted back in June 2020 to allow the rezoning change proposed by project developer Beacon, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, to allow the project to accommodate parking with the nearby church and add more housing units. The project was called Prairie Point, and Beacon serves 90% people of color.
CATHY WURZER: And is Beacon a church? Is it a nonprofit?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so it's a nonprofit in Minnesota. And they're basically like a collaborative group of congregations all throughout Minnesota that strive to bring equitable housing throughout Minnesota.
CATHY WURZER: Was there community pushback to this project?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so since it was proposed back in June 2020, there was pushback from residents who lived near this project. Some of their concerns were that they were worried about overcrowding, increased crime. And they were also very focused on the who. Like, who is going to live at Prairie Point? I think, for a while, there were rumors that this was going to be like transitional housing and different types of things that they just felt worried about.
CATHY WURZER: OK, so the project, I understand, had some funding. It looked like it was going to move ahead, and then something happened. What was that?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so three years later, actually, after the city of Shakopee approved Beacon's request for a rezoning change in June 2023, it was a surprise, I think, to Beacon when they saw that city staff essentially wanted to reverse that vote that they made that the city council had approved three years ago because they felt that Beacon didn't fulfill one of its requirements, which was to hold a neighborhood meeting.
And after that came into light, Beacon released emails showing that a senior city planner had confirmed that they didn't need to hold a neighborhood meeting because back then, three years ago, there was still COVID, and restrictions were still limiting in-person interaction. So the senior city planner said that online submissions and emails from the neighborhood would replace that requirement.
CATHY WURZER: So they considered rezoning, and you got a hold of these emails, right? What tipped you off to say maybe there's something here?
KATELYN VUE: I actually thought that it was sort of odd to go back on a vote made three years ago because there wasn't a neighborhood meeting held. Do you mean like Beacon didn't talk with residents? Do you mean that-- how could they fulfill this requirement if there was still COVID? And Beacon, when they released that email with the senior city planner, I thought in my head that there must be more emails that show what happened.
So I did request emails from January 2020 to June 2023. And I saw that the concerns residents felt, they put pressure on these city officials, but I think things really escalated after some news came out about a couple of Beacon's properties.
CATHY WURZER: And what was that news?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so what I found in these emails, it was sort of revealing what happened in the timeline before that June 2023 proposed zoning change. So I saw that there was a blog post published by Beacon in December 2022. And basically, it was like a post that listed the issues that residents were dealing with in one of their properties called Kimball Court in St. Paul. There's like untimely response to repairs and unsafe living conditions. Then there was a list of things that Beacon was going to do to address that.
Then, in April of 2023, Fox 9 did a thorough investigation on another Beacon property. It's called Lone Oak Apartments in Minneapolis, and there were violent squatters, like holes in the wall assaults. It was really bad, and it was actually kind of hard to get through that reading. These two properties, they kind of set off a chain of events because I think city officials, quickly after they read these two stories, they wanted to act quickly to find a response to what they felt were issues that might come to Shakopee.
CATHY WURZER: So it sounds like they thought, look, let's rezone it and get rid of the drama.
KATELYN VUE: Exactly, yeah.
CATHY WURZER: After your reporting, I understand the city changed course, and the housing development will move forward. What are you hearing now from community members about this decision?
KATELYN VUE: Residents who live by this project site have been voicing their concerns since 2020. And when those articles came out about the two Beacon properties, concerns escalated. And I think city officials, their concerns about the project escalated. But three years is a long time for a community to be dealing with this issue. And last Thursday, at the planning commission meeting, I saw that the number of outspoken residents dwindled. I mostly just saw Beacon supporters and supporters of the project.
And when Shakopee voted to approve the request to withdraw, the proposed rezoning change back in June 2023, I saw that Beacon filled the room with cheers and applause.
CATHY WURZER: What will you be watching for in the weeks and months ahead?
KATELYN VUE: I emailed with Michael Kerski. He's the city's planning and development director. And he said that if the city's planning commission decides to withdraw the rezoning vote, then the item is dead. So City Council won't hold a discussion or vote on the item either. And that's what happened last Thursday, was that they voted to kill the item. So I don't expect that the position on Prairie Point to change at all.
CATHY WURZER: You are a housing reporter for Sahan Journal. What does this whole situation say about the state of affordable housing in Minnesota?
KATELYN VUE: I've written a few stories about this. And each time a story came out about this investigation, readers emailed me. And they had told me that this is what's happening in their cities and that I should go and investigate it. So I see that this is a problem that isn't just in Shakopee.
And I also see that this story is really complicated because the residents that were outspoken about this project the most, they will see Prairie Point every day because they are the ones who will live right next to it. They'll be affected, no matter what. And the families at Prairie Point will be affected as well because they'll be the ones living at Prairie Point. So I don't know. I just see this as a really complicated story, and that there are people who have their own motives because of how the project is going to affect them. So it's definitely a story about change as well.
CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. Katelyn, thank you so much.
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, thank you for having me.
CATHY WURZER: Katelyn Vue is the housing reporter for Sahan Journal. You can read more of her reporting at sahanjournal.com.
KATELYN VUE: Hi. Thanks for having me.
CATHY WURZER: For folks not familiar, Katelyn, when was this housing development first proposed? And who was it supposed to serve?
KATELYN VUE: So the Shakopee City Council voted back in June 2020 to allow the rezoning change proposed by project developer Beacon, Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, to allow the project to accommodate parking with the nearby church and add more housing units. The project was called Prairie Point, and Beacon serves 90% people of color.
CATHY WURZER: And is Beacon a church? Is it a nonprofit?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so it's a nonprofit in Minnesota. And they're basically like a collaborative group of congregations all throughout Minnesota that strive to bring equitable housing throughout Minnesota.
CATHY WURZER: Was there community pushback to this project?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so since it was proposed back in June 2020, there was pushback from residents who lived near this project. Some of their concerns were that they were worried about overcrowding, increased crime. And they were also very focused on the who. Like, who is going to live at Prairie Point? I think, for a while, there were rumors that this was going to be like transitional housing and different types of things that they just felt worried about.
CATHY WURZER: OK, so the project, I understand, had some funding. It looked like it was going to move ahead, and then something happened. What was that?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so three years later, actually, after the city of Shakopee approved Beacon's request for a rezoning change in June 2023, it was a surprise, I think, to Beacon when they saw that city staff essentially wanted to reverse that vote that they made that the city council had approved three years ago because they felt that Beacon didn't fulfill one of its requirements, which was to hold a neighborhood meeting.
And after that came into light, Beacon released emails showing that a senior city planner had confirmed that they didn't need to hold a neighborhood meeting because back then, three years ago, there was still COVID, and restrictions were still limiting in-person interaction. So the senior city planner said that online submissions and emails from the neighborhood would replace that requirement.
CATHY WURZER: So they considered rezoning, and you got a hold of these emails, right? What tipped you off to say maybe there's something here?
KATELYN VUE: I actually thought that it was sort of odd to go back on a vote made three years ago because there wasn't a neighborhood meeting held. Do you mean like Beacon didn't talk with residents? Do you mean that-- how could they fulfill this requirement if there was still COVID? And Beacon, when they released that email with the senior city planner, I thought in my head that there must be more emails that show what happened.
So I did request emails from January 2020 to June 2023. And I saw that the concerns residents felt, they put pressure on these city officials, but I think things really escalated after some news came out about a couple of Beacon's properties.
CATHY WURZER: And what was that news?
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, so what I found in these emails, it was sort of revealing what happened in the timeline before that June 2023 proposed zoning change. So I saw that there was a blog post published by Beacon in December 2022. And basically, it was like a post that listed the issues that residents were dealing with in one of their properties called Kimball Court in St. Paul. There's like untimely response to repairs and unsafe living conditions. Then there was a list of things that Beacon was going to do to address that.
Then, in April of 2023, Fox 9 did a thorough investigation on another Beacon property. It's called Lone Oak Apartments in Minneapolis, and there were violent squatters, like holes in the wall assaults. It was really bad, and it was actually kind of hard to get through that reading. These two properties, they kind of set off a chain of events because I think city officials, quickly after they read these two stories, they wanted to act quickly to find a response to what they felt were issues that might come to Shakopee.
CATHY WURZER: So it sounds like they thought, look, let's rezone it and get rid of the drama.
KATELYN VUE: Exactly, yeah.
CATHY WURZER: After your reporting, I understand the city changed course, and the housing development will move forward. What are you hearing now from community members about this decision?
KATELYN VUE: Residents who live by this project site have been voicing their concerns since 2020. And when those articles came out about the two Beacon properties, concerns escalated. And I think city officials, their concerns about the project escalated. But three years is a long time for a community to be dealing with this issue. And last Thursday, at the planning commission meeting, I saw that the number of outspoken residents dwindled. I mostly just saw Beacon supporters and supporters of the project.
And when Shakopee voted to approve the request to withdraw, the proposed rezoning change back in June 2023, I saw that Beacon filled the room with cheers and applause.
CATHY WURZER: What will you be watching for in the weeks and months ahead?
KATELYN VUE: I emailed with Michael Kerski. He's the city's planning and development director. And he said that if the city's planning commission decides to withdraw the rezoning vote, then the item is dead. So City Council won't hold a discussion or vote on the item either. And that's what happened last Thursday, was that they voted to kill the item. So I don't expect that the position on Prairie Point to change at all.
CATHY WURZER: You are a housing reporter for Sahan Journal. What does this whole situation say about the state of affordable housing in Minnesota?
KATELYN VUE: I've written a few stories about this. And each time a story came out about this investigation, readers emailed me. And they had told me that this is what's happening in their cities and that I should go and investigate it. So I see that this is a problem that isn't just in Shakopee.
And I also see that this story is really complicated because the residents that were outspoken about this project the most, they will see Prairie Point every day because they are the ones who will live right next to it. They'll be affected, no matter what. And the families at Prairie Point will be affected as well because they'll be the ones living at Prairie Point. So I don't know. I just see this as a really complicated story, and that there are people who have their own motives because of how the project is going to affect them. So it's definitely a story about change as well.
CATHY WURZER: Mm-hmm. Katelyn, thank you so much.
KATELYN VUE: Yeah, thank you for having me.
CATHY WURZER: Katelyn Vue is the housing reporter for Sahan Journal. You can read more of her reporting at sahanjournal.com.
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