B, Community Development 101 – Website

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Jill Hutmacher From: Jil! Hutmacher Sent: Thursday, May 45, 2011 3:38 PM To: 'd.p.grant@comcast.net'; 'Holmes Frances H'; Fran Holmes; 'edwerner$8@yahoo.com'; 'Nick Tamble ; Brenda Molden Cc: Patrick Klaers; Sue Iverson; Terry Maurer; Meagan Beekman; Da�e Scherbel Subject: Cornrr�unity Development 101 At Mon�ay's goal-setting meeting, the City Council had questions about Community De�elopment and the goals �hat the City Council coufd potentially assfgn. A Community De�elopmer�t ].Ol discussion will be included on the agenda for the May 16 work sessian meeting. In the meantime, it rnay be helpful for you to review what other cities are doing fior Community De�efoprrtent. Altf�ough there is no standard form of Gty organization, in most cities, Community De�elopment consists of five di�isions or fields: Planning, Buifding Inspections, Cade Enforcement/En�ironmentaE Heaith, Econorr�ic De�elopment, and Housing. Of course, Arden �lills has established, professio�tal practices for Planning, Building Inspections and Code Enforcement. On the other hand, it appears that the City has established only a few practices ar programs related to Economic Development or Housing. I've loolced at many websites of Twin Cities municipalities, and i've found that Coon Rapids, Waod�urv, and Brooklvn Park are good examples of a!I of the possibilities within �conomic Develo�ment and Housing. These are bigger cities than Arden Hills, but they are all suburban comrnunities with a mixture of residential and corr�mercial de�elopment. !n Coon Rapids, Econarr�ic Revelopment inclucles a Commercial Fix Up Loan program and a list of a�ailable commercial and industrial land. Links are pro�ided to business resources such as DEED, chambers of commerce, and b�rsiness cle�efopment centers. The Housingpa�e includes finks to remodeling handbooks, hausing FAQ, and code enforcement information. The City ofFers a downpayment assistance loan program and links to other housing foan prograrr�s. The City runs a �ery robust rental licensing program which includes annua! inspections of rental property. (�he City of Anoica is mocEeling their new ficensing ordinance �rorri Coon Rapids. If the Cify Council wants to morre towards a rental licensing program, Coon Rapids is one of the communities we'll want to look at more closefy.j Woodbury has "Business fnfo" and "Resident Infa" tabs on their home pa�e, along with a"Departmen#s" tab, which I thin�C may be helpfuf for residents and businesses that may not be familiar with how city functions are orgaRized across departments. The Economic De�elopment pa�e includes information about the City's HealthCore program related to the City's develo�ment gaal of becoming a medical destinati�n. The City pro�ides information on financing and an inventory of commercial development. Thro�gh the City's Housin� Pa�e, residents can get infarrr2ation on the foreclosure process, senior housing, and foan and incen�i�e programs. I, personally, don't find the Brooklyn Park website as easy to navigate or as aesthetically pleasing as Coon Rapids and Woodbury, but Brooklyn Park is undertafcing many initiati�es in ecor�omic development and housing. In Brooklyn Park, EconQmic Development is divided into goals for de�elopment, business de�elopment, rede�eloprr�ent and housing. Business de�elopment includes links and information on business retention and expansion, srriafl business resources, and e�en links to short �ideos promoting local businesses. On the redevelopmer�t page, information is provided on economic development projects. The Housin� Pa�e includes information on foreclosure resources and home improvement loan programs. (Brooklyn Park also runs a rental licensing program.j Brooklyn Parfc has far more wark programs for economic de�elopment and housing than I can describe in this e-maif, sa if you ha�e a chance ta look around in their website, I wouid encourage you to do so. The City Council may not want to do all, or e�en any, of the things that Coon Rapids, Woodbury, and Brooklyn Park are doing for economic de�elapment and housing, but I hope this helps you think about Communfty C1e�elopment generally, and what specificaAy might be beneficial for Arden Hills. lill