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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 30, 2001 ~ PRJO Y ~ ~ MEM();RANDUM ~ \,,,.,.,...,.,.,.,,,,,,.,,,''',...' .,,,'........>.,.,.,., .",.> ""....'c;, '. "",,'.'" ""','C:.,.. '":''' ~ ~ ?'U#n tk 1)~ ot FRANK BOYLES July 25, 2001 TO: Mayor Mader and City Councilmembers SUBJECT: July 30,2001 Work Session The July 30th work session is confirmed for 5:30pm at the Fire Station. Prior Lake Metropolitan Council representative Julius Smith will be present together with one or more staff members to discuss with the City Council the issues and initiatives of the Metropolitan Council. I have asked Jules to touch on the following at minimum: · Housing · Well Development · Aggregate Transit I am hopeful they will also touch upon the Fee-to-Trust request of the SMSC, and highway issues. I have enclosed for your review a narrative prepared by the Metropolitan Council staff which may provide some background information. For additional information, you may wish to visit their website at www mp.trnr:nlmr.il nrg. This work session is an opportunity for the City Council to become more familiar with the Metropolitan Council. At about 8pm, George Ho'f.f and Joe Schmitt will nduct an Executive Session with the Council to discuss the current status of Ryan/SMSC, Vie' and Sohler (M~rkley Lake). Once this session is concluded, Mr. Hoff will meet with the Council eparately on the Open Meeting Law case. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER r-~il;' ..,..)i ,......'t: )' :i:..~I[ ~.." ~~.<~i ('fl.. ...... ".., ...... .....:I/.;I. Q1,1 ~Q'.~; J Ii t.~iEk~. ~JiWlIlltl; j _.....2rll: 5..ss_. ".'.,',_" .....d...-. ''',",',,'' ...... 1 Metropolitan Council Issues and Initiatives (Julius Smith and Met Council staff members) 2 Executive Session to Discuss Pending Litigation 3 Other Business1 4 Adjourn. . . 1 Please note that the City Council reserves the right to add or delete items from the agenda based upon time availability. 16200 Eagle Creek Ave. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph, (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER NARRA TIVE On~anizational History for the Metropolitan Council The Metropolitan Council exists, by statute, as the regional planning organization for the seven-county Twin Cities area. The Council advocates for Smart Growth development for vital communities and a competitive region. It runs the regional bus system, is building the region's first light rail line, collects and treats wastewater, oversees surface and groundwater n1anagelnent, plans regional parks and administers funds that provide housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. The Council works directly with cities on development and redevelopment issues. Our work benefits cities, communities, and citizens of the region. The Council is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Governor. Governor Ventura appointed a very activist Council in 1999 whose mission is to build communities that work. F or a full description of the Council's work and accomplishments, please see attachment 1; Proposed Activities Past Development Patterns: the need for a regional response. In the 1940s, the United States accomplished an1azing technological feats to win World War II. After the war, this san1e lnind-set was targeted towards economic expansion through the construction of new housing, roads and other infrastructure. While these policies were successful, the development pattern that resulted is not sustainable as the region grows and expands. Federal policies and programs created a disincentive for new transit infrastructure and fostered the separation of land uses that created a wide spread dependence on the auton10bile. This development pattern is threatening our mobility, housing choices, environmental amenities, and is adversely effecting our quality of life. Current public strategies have been ain1ed to re-establish the connections between where jobs have gone, where housing at all price levels is built, and what transportation alternatives are planned. The consequences of not making these connections and funding them are now becoming clear. Congestion is increasing; housing choices are fewer with prices higher, prime agricultural lands and other high-quality natural resources are being lost. With a half million more people slated to live here by 2020, along with an increase of more than a quarter lnillion new jobs and new households, the key strategic question is not if we will grow, but how we will grow. To remain economically competitive in the next century, we need to strengthen this region as a great place to live, work, raise a family and grow a business and we need to preserve our quality of life. The Metropolitan Council: Planning/Policy/Programs--Production F or the past two and a half years, the Metropolitan Council, under new leadership, has been forging a new regional approach to address these difficult issues. We are focusing our planning, policy, and program development to support cities and how they grow. We are supporting community-based planning initiatives to reshape our policies and we are utilizing our programs to provide incentives to implement those policies to support smart growth production. We believe that we have charted a successful course of action that will help set the stage for successful future growth. We have shifted our planning, policy and program focus to Sn1aI1 Growth; we are working in collaboration with citizens, cities, environn1entalists and developers to rethink our regional growth strategy; and we've changed how the Council does business. Smart Growth SInart Growth is a policy that is aimed toward building connections, aligning investments, and fostering collaborative governance. It advocates for econon1ic growth by encouraging n10re convenient developInent that includes housing for all income levels, encourages development near transportation and transit corridors and encourages redevelopment in our developed cities that already have costly infrastructure in place. Smart Growth protects the environment, strengthens connections between housing, jobs, open space, and transit, iInproves mobility, and supports housing affordability and choices. ANew Regional Growth Strategy Our Regional Growth Strategy is being revised to support our SInart growth initiatives. Over the last several months, the Council has been working with representatives fro111 the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, the environmental community and the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities (AMM) to address growth challenges that threaten our region's livability and con1petitiveness. We have agreed to a set of principles and a bold agenda of policy changes that includes the following: map areas where growth shouldn't go, facilitate development in the remainder, focus on corridors, and stress that quality counts. This approach accepts and builds on the linkages between housing and jobs; balances developn1ent, redevelopInent and environmental protection; and improves mobility through increased transportation choices. ANew Way of Doing Business The new Metropolitan Council is a service-based agency, asking cities what they need to build successful con1111unities, not telling them what they can or cannot do. This new way of doing business has not only changed our relationships with the cities we work with, but it has enabled us to partner with them with an new iInplen1entation initiative - S111art Growth Twin Cities (SGTC). SGTC is a public participation process in which citizens in six con1munities around the region are given the opportunity to choose how they want their con1munity to grow (please see attachment 2). At workshops facilitated by nationally renowned consultants, participants are given different growth and development options and given the opportunity to see how those choices effect their communities. In addition, we are holding Regional Growth Workshops where citizens plan how the region as a whole should grow. These workshops will be the framework for our new Regional Blueprint (Blueprint 2002). This bottom up policymaking style--asking and helping people get the kind of communities they want-- has been a much more successful tactic for our region. People involved in these planning processes have a stake and ownership in development of public policies, and this collaborative effort is important when policy and plans turn into production. The Need for a Regional Reinvestment Approach One of the underpinnings of a successful smart growth strategy will be reinvestn1ent. It makes fiscal sense to build on existing investments, to revitalize older declining neighborhoods, to enhance transit Inarkets, to slow growth at the edge by accommodating more growth in the Iniddle, to build capacity in urban centers and to offer the greatest access and choice for housing and jobs for people of all incomes. Census 2000 data reports strong population growth in our core cities for the first time in 40 years. Cities that were considered 'fully-developed' are undertaking, with help from the Council's Livable Con1munities Program, n1ajor town center projects that are adding significantly to their housing stock. Cities have been approaching the Council in increasing numbers for reinvestn1ent assistance, reinvestment that includes a mix of uses and a n1ix of incomes, all within walking distance to retail and open space and close to transit and transportation options. Smart Growth policy has been lnet enthusiastically by cities and the developlnent community, but there are multiple challenges to developing in an interconnected and integrated lnanner. It is much simpler to build projects that have isolated uses than to support place making. It is much silnpler to build a single project than a town center. Transit-oriented development demands a level of technical expertise that is new to this region. In addition, in today's n1arket, affordable and life cycle housing will not occur without public incentives. There are several strategic growth opportunities in our region, including: Sn1art Growth Twin Cities and our four transit-ways (Hiawatha light rail corridor in Minneapolis, Riverview busway in Saint Paul, Northwest busway fron1 Minneapolis to Maple Grove, and the Southwest busway from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie). In addition, there are underutilized properties in every developed city that offer significant n1arket potential. However, con1pared to greenfield development, redevelopment and infill is more costly, lTIOre con1plicated and takes more tin1e for approvals. Acquisition of multiple parcels under separate ownership, relocation, den10lition, environmental remediation, undersized and/or inadequate public infrastructure, and a lengthy and sometimes contentious public approval process often render redevelopment impractical and unattractive to the private sector development community. The demand for redeveloPlnent technical assistance and tools is increasing. In addition, Sn1art Growth Twin Cities and our transit-ways must result in concrete development. Projects must come up out of the ground and delnonstrate new n10dels of growth that can help change development and lending practices to n1ake smart growth models more widely acceptable. Plans will not be enough: 'seeing is believing.' Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Request We are requesting a $100,000 planning grant from the Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Foundation (RKMC) to develop a regional reinvestment strategy to capture and in1plement smart growth opportunities. The Metropolitan Council is uniquely positioned to provide this regional response. Most metropolitan cities have lin1ited capacity to carry out redevelopn1ent activities. Smart Growth requires aligning resources, integrating land uses and collaboration an10ng development entities and the public. The learning curve to conduct smart growth project development is steep. Even those cities that have cOlnn1unity develoPlnent staff can only manage a handful of projects at any given time, and often, those projects do not reflect a Slnart growth vision. Cities are seeking 'how to' help (please see attachment 3). It makes fiscal sense to support a regional approach. Recent property tax reform has further impacted the ability to address complex redevelopn1ent opportunities with tax increlnent financing (TIF). This resource will be diminished. Yet, reform provides an opportunity to focus--to examine our reinvestment priorities, and to establish a more comprehensive strategy. -~-,.._+ -"--,,..., --1-.....'--_.....,. -. ""-' -..... ...._, _."~--'--"-" --..... ....-.--.---.......---.- The Council is requesting assistance from the Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Foundation to conduct a feasibility study to reconunend a structure and funding mechanisn1 for a regional entity that will foster sn1art growth development and redevelopment through joint partnerships with cities. The study would include the following activities: . Research to identify existing local entities and the resources that are available to conduct economic development activities; . Research to identify national best practices; . Interviews with the city n1anagers for Smart Growth Twin Cities and the three busways to identify implementation barriers; . Interviews with five cities that represent developed and developing suburbs to classify potential redevelopn1ent opportunities and implementation barriers; . Identification of recurrent then1es-what are the barriers, e.g. legal, financial, regulatory, land use and fiscal policies; . Recomn1endations to enhance financial tools, remove regulatory and legal barriers and expedite development activities. . Implementation recommendations: e.g. structure, governance, funding, ilnplmnentation approach. . Secure support and buy-in fron1 stakeholders. In addition, this strategic planning process will be coordinated with work that is underway in cooperation with AMM to explore the impact and consequences of property tax reforn1 on TIF as a redevelopment too 1. It is proposed that a steering committee be established that would include representatives fron1 various stakeholder groups, e.g. cities, developers,' affordable housing advocates, finance, design and philanthropy. An emphasis would be placed on individuals that can bridge between the private and public sectors. The time is now. Reinvestn1ent must be recognized as a fundan1ental cOlnponent of regional growth. It is a way to support the natural cycle of growth and renewal in every city and it furthers the Metropolitan Council's goal of Building Communities that Work. Impact and Outcomes This regional reinvestment strategy will recommend a mechanisn1 to foster smart growth development. Reinvestment supports development where the infrastructure already exists, e.g. roads, schools, parks, and will relieve development pressure at the edge, saving infrastructure costs. It will foster smart growth principles that result in an integrated, interconnected development pattern that supports affordable and life cycle housing, transit oriented development, and the protection of natural resources. This region has great potential, yet until we can demonstrate these new smart growth principles with actual projects, our growth pattern will continue to reflect the auto-dependent, isolated development choices of the last half-century. The solution requires a joint public/private response. Fit with Minneapolis Foundation Interests The essential challenge before the region is how to grow in ways that enhance economic opportunity and quality of life of every person who lives here. This is a con1plex issue that touches people's lives in tangible ways--fron1 access to jobs, affordable housing and transportation--to opportunities for open space, culture and a sense of comn1unity. These critical issues are at the core of the Metropolitan Council's mission. They also lie at the core of the Minneapolis Foundation mission: to join with others to strengthen our community in measurable and sustainable ways for the benefit of all citizens. The Foundation and the Council both support improving access to quality affordable housing and economic opportunities for the region in ways that elnploy a sustainable, long-term approach. Support from the Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi Foundation would significantly make a difference in achieving these goals, and will ensure that the Twin Cities region is econon1ically successful by preserving what makes this region a great place to live, work, raise a fan1ily and do business. The Council has come a long way in the past two and a half years: our programs are service oriented, not regulatory. Smart Growth Twin Cities will establish a shared regional vision. It is the next step that is in1mensely challenging. We must emphasize the critical in1portance of a reinvestn1ent strategy and assist cities in getting their projects from paper plans to bricks and mortar reality to ensure regional success in the future. We appreciate your consideration of this request. 1 ibrary\commundv\dewar\tmf2 .doc 7/23/01 9:51 AM .~. -'-l"--"'_.~"'-"'''-'' ....... ... .._.......__....___...._....___..___._..___..__..._....M__._