St. Paul’s housing and permitting machine just got new drivers. On Thursday, the St. Paul City Council voted to install two new department heads, confirming Melanie McMahon as director of Planning and Economic Development and Ia Xiong as director of the Department of Safety and Inspections. Both were nominated by Mayor Kaohly Her as the city tries to speed up housing projects and make its permit process more predictable. McMahon’s appointment cleared the council on a 6-1 vote.
As reported by the Pioneer Press, McMahon’s confirmation vote was 6-1, with Councilmember Anika Bowie casting the lone no vote and Council President Rebecca Noecker saying she had “full confidence” in McMahon. The paper notes McMahon had been serving as interim Planning and Economic Development director since last September and previously worked on major efforts, including the Highland Bridge project and development near Allianz Field.
What McMahon will oversee
Per the City of Saint Paul, McMahon has worked for the city since 2017 and joined the Department of Planning and Economic Development in 2024, stepping in as interim director last year. The department is in charge of neighborhood planning, housing programs, business grants, and zoning. In practical terms, that means McMahon will be central to how St. Paul handles redevelopment and tries to hit its affordable housing targets.
Ia Xiong and the Department of Safety and Inspections
Ia Xiong is a licensed engineer with more than 25 years of public-sector leadership experience, including overseeing road and bridge operations for Hennepin County and managing a 38 million dollar infrastructure program in Rochester, according to the Pioneer Press. The paper reports that the Department of Safety and Inspections handles more than 32,000 permits a year, certifies upward of 4,000 residential and commercial buildings annually, issues over 200 types of business licenses, employs about 150 staff members and responds to roughly 80,000 calls to its central information line at (651) 266-8989.
Why this matters for developers and residents
The leadership shakeup places seasoned managers over two offices that directly influence project timelines, housing production and code enforcement. The city’s planning tools and its 2040 Comprehensive Plan set the official priorities, and residents along with builders will be watching to see whether the new directors can move permits faster while still responding to neighborhood concerns, according to the City of Saint Paul.
Council members said they expect both directors to start work immediately and to put a premium on clearer coordination between development goals and public safety oversight. With Mayor Her’s leadership team now largely in place, city officials say the next test is whether people on the ground notice quicker, more predictable permitting and tangible progress on projects across St. Paul.
