Committee approves lead‑paint ordinance to add prevention, inspections to Minneapolis maintenance code

The Public Health and Safety Committee approved proposed amendments to City Code intended to strengthen lead‑paint prevention and enforcement.

Alex Volmer of the Minneapolis Health Department told the committee that lead exposure remains “one of the most preventable environmental health risks” and that between 2015 and 2024 the department received more than 1,000 referrals for children with elevated blood‑lead levels (defined in the presentation as 5 micrograms per deciliter or higher). Volmer said the proposed changes would add a policy statement recognizing deteriorated lead‑based paint as a housing quality and public‑health hazard and would authorize inspections and clearance testing under existing ordinance sections.

Committee members asked for clarifications about where elevated blood‑lead referrals were concentrated. Volmer said 60–70% of referrals come from rental housing and that the highest shares of impacted homes are scattered 1–4 unit buildings (single‑family homes, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes). Vice Chair Wansley and Councilmember Chowdhury emphasized targeting rental housing and prioritizing vulnerable residents.

Chair Chavez opened the public hearing; the clerk reported no members of the public signed up and the committee moved to approve the ordinance. The motion carried; the transcript records the motion as carried but does not include a roll‑call tally in the public record excerpt.