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4 Item No. '/ Staff Report No. Meeting Date: 2/2/98 Type of Business: WK WK: Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; CA:Consent Agenda;CB:Council Business Cit of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mayor and City Council From: Steve Dorgan,Housing Inspector Item Title/Subject: Multi Jurisdictional Remodeling Planbook Proposal Date of Report: January 27, 1998 BACKGROUND At the City Council Work Session on January 5, 1998,the Council was provided information regarding an opportunity to participate with other first tier suburbs in the development of a multi- jurisdictional planbook. The Council directed staff to obtain additional information regarding the success of the remodeling planbook developed for the Longfellow neighborhood in the City of Minneapolis. Although the housing in the City of Minneapolis and the first tier suburbs are not the same, the results of the Longfellow neighborhood's planbook should give some indication as to the amount of success a city (or neighborhood) can have with a resource such as a remodeling planbook. LONGFELLOW NEIGHBORHOOD PLANBOOK RESULTS The Longfellow neighborhood in Minneapolis developed a remodeling planbook with the intention of stimulating both interest in the housing of the neighborhood and to remodel homes in the area. This planbook is the first of it's kind to be developedinthe United States. According to the planbook coordinator for the Longfellow neighborhood,the project provided numerous qualitative resources for the homeowners of the community. The planbook was designed with the intention of providing economical options for remodeling homes by educating homeowners to make intelligent decisions when choosing contractors and materials. The Planbook targeted homeowners who typically could not afford an architect. In addition, a guideline was established for quality remodeling and rehabilitation within the community. More important,the planbook created an identity for the community by providing a history of both the housing and neighborhood. This gave residents a greater sense of community. The developers of the planbook worked with realtors to market the neighborhood's homes with a positive slant. They have seen a 10% increase in the purchase price of home sales in the last two years, which they credit predominantly to the marketing of the planbook. In addition,property values have gone up more than 20% in the last two years due to the publicity of the neighborhood. The Longfellow group attributes this to the identification of the neighborhood