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<br /> <br /> STAFF REPORT <br /> <br /> <br />TO: Little Canada Planning Commission <br /> <br />FROM: Ben Harrington, AICP, Community Development Director <br /> <br />DATE: December 6, 2024 <br /> <br />RE: Discussion – Little Canada Housing and Demographic Data. <br /> <br />ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED <br />None. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />Staff are working on completing a housing study for the City. The nature of the Study is to examine <br />current conditions of Little Canada’s housing stock rather than other types of studies which are <br />typically “needs assessment” or policy focused. <br /> <br />Staff have completed this task in other communities and used the completed study to inform <br />conversations on zoning code text amendments, Comprehensive Planning efforts, and Strategic <br />Planning efforts. <br /> <br />Staff is providing the Planning Commission a preliminary “Databook” which is cleaned and charted <br />data from two sources: <br />1. The United States Census Bureau – Primarily the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5- <br />Year Estimates1 but the databook features points from other vintage ACS 5-Year Estimates <br />(2012 and 2017) as well as the 2000 and 2010 Decennial Censuses. <br /> <br />2. Ramsey County Parcel/Assessing Data that Staff scraped from their OpenGIS system. <br /> <br />Ultimately, Staff will take these datapoints and create a narrative study, exploring various aspects of <br />Little Canada’s housing stock and how it relates to what we know about our residents. <br /> <br />Recommendation <br />The Planning Commission should review the data Staff has collected thus far and provide feedback on <br />any preliminary discoveries or trends they identify. If the Planning Commission have other data they <br />are interested in seeing, Staff would be happy to collect if such data exists and is accessible. <br /> <br />1 The American Community Survey (ACS) is a survey, not a full count like the Decennial Census. It provides 1-year and 5- <br />year estimates, with the latter being more reliable for smaller communities like Little Canada. The 5-year estimates <br />combine data collected over five years (e.g., the 2022 5-year estimate includes data from 2018–2022) to improve <br />accuracy. Because these estimates cover multiple years, it is best practice to compare data in 5-year increments. <br />Moreover, for this housing study, where annual changes are minimal, the 5-year estimates also offer a clearer view of <br />medium- to long-term trends.