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MAYOR <br />Bill Blesener <br />COUNCIL <br />Jiin LaValle <br />Rick Montour <br />Barbara Allan <br />John Keis <br />515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 ADMINISTRATOR <br />(651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Joel R. Hanson <br />www. ci.l ittle- canada. mn. u s <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor Blesener & Members of the City Council & Planning Commission <br />FROM: Joel Hanson, City Administrator <br />DATE: June 3, 2005 <br />RE: Redevelopment Initiatives Report <br />One of our goals for 2005 was to Review Possible Redevelopment Initiatives (see action plan <br />attached). Staff has put together the attached report to generate discussion on possible <br />redevelopment opportunities for future consideration. The attached listing is put together in <br />no particular order or priority. Rather, it is staff's attempt to provide "food for thought" about <br />possible areas the City could consider for future redevelopment. <br />Why are redevelopment initiatives appropriate? As you will see when reviewing the report, <br />they may not be in every circumstance. However, without this type of review, we may miss <br />out on possible future projects. As a first ring suburb, we need to pay attention to these <br />opportunities for the following reasons: <br />✓ We have limited, vacant land available for development. <br />✓ Underutilized parcels limit our tax base. <br />✓ Blighting influences can grow and spread without a plan for eradication. <br />✓ Blighting influences lead to lower property values, higher crime rates, lower property <br />tax receipts, and possible undesirable land uses. <br />✓ Redevelopment is not likely to occur without City involvement due to high acquisition <br />and demolition costs. <br />✓ Assembly of multiple parcels is very time consuming and may require City <br />involvement in the form of eminent domain, where appropriate. <br />✓ Redevelopment is a very slow process. Rice Street and Little Canada Road has taken <br />over 10 years and many examples of time frames involving 20 years in other metro <br />cities exist. <br />✓ Being prepared for opportunities may make redevelopment more feasible in terms of <br />costs and ease of acquisition. <br />✓ Assembling parcels over time, when available versus forced acquisition is typically <br />less expensive. <br />2 <br />