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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 19,2011 Page 15 Mayor Roe noted that the City of Shoreview had an Economic Develop- ment Commission for a number of years, and had just enacted an Econom- ic Development Authority to replace it; and asked that staff contact Shore- view staff for anecdotal information on benefits and challenges and their rationale in making that change. Regulatory changes Mr. Trudgeon advised that if any or additional barriers were found in the City's zoning code or other regulatory documents, or if they were found not to be proactive, staff would recommend changes. Mr. Trudgeon noted that another issue was the process itself, since for a developer, time was money, and the longer they had to wait for approval, the more it hurt the City's ability to respond to the market. Mr. Trudgeon recognized that the City needed a regulatory function; however, it needed to be realistic and reasonable. Mayor Roe noted ongoing discussions at the Regional Council of Mayors meetings in how to streamline development, not only at the city level, but region-wide as well. Mr. Trudgeon noted the need to fast track permitting, and how and when approvals could be done administratively based on their level of expertise versus how and when City Council approval was warranted. Mr. Trudge- on advised that administrative approvals speed up the process, assuming appropriate regulations are in place with the new zoning code already ac- commodating most cases; allowing staff to predict a relatively accurate timeline for development, rather than attempting to meet schedules for hearings and meetings of the City Council. Mayor Roe asked that staff provide a list of those things that the City Council may want to incent, or the type of thing staff was looking at and their level of difficulty to provide incentives. Role of public Mr. Trudgeon suggested more discussion on the public role and their input as plans develop; and at what level the City Council wanted that public in- put and how to implement that public input with fewer resources and beyond policy boards. Mayor Roe noted that the notice distance had been expanded for public hearings before the Planning Commission on land use case. Mayor Roe opined that the current work being done by the Human Rights Commis- sion and their Civic Engagement Task force should accomplish a number of the goals for that public process. Mayor Roe noted that such methods as district council review of developments, as is done in Minneapolis and