Agenda Packets - 1996/09/23 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT • This Wednesday evening, the Planning Commission completed its deliberations on the conditional use permit application from the New Apostolic Church to construct a church on property at 3025 County Road H. Their recommendation is for denial of the conditional use permit on a 4-3 vote. I understand that many of you have been getting calls on this case. It will be before City Council on October 28. • Attended my first meeting of the Community Development Directors group which includes many of the suburban communities. Tom McElveen(Metro HRA) and Joanne Barron(Met Council)gave an update on the Liveable Communities Act and the funding programs available. Tom Harmening from St. Louis Park gave a very interesting presentation on a demonstration project granted funding last year--a project to develop and redevelop 125 acres in an effort to create a City center at Hwy 100 and Excelsior Blvd. They will be holding an intensive 4-day community gathering to develop design ideas for the City center on October 20-24. Joanne shared a list of the requests for funding from the demonstration account for 1996. This list is attached. There is about$2.3 million available; the requests totalled $6 million, including the application from the 35W Corridor Coalition for $884,700. Also learned about a grant program through the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency called the Economic Vitality and Housing Initiative which provides money for housing rehabilitation. I don't know if we have looked into this funding source in the past, but it has $5.5 million annually. Sounded like it was worth pursuing. • I will be going to the Upper Midwest Planning Conference from September 25-27 in St. Cloud. The theme of the conference is "Creating Connections". I am hoping that the session on "Retrofitting Suburban Corridors"will be helpful in our work on Highway 10. There will also be sessions on updating zoning codes, affordable housing, geographic information systems, and developing bicycle trails. • The most exciting news is that we have completed the interviews for the Planning Associate position and will be recommending to City Council that James Ericson be hired. He is now working in code enforcement and planning for the City of Maplewood. Pending City Council's action, Jim is expecting to begin work on September 30. We are hoping to have a full staff for at least 1 months before Jennifer Bergman goes on maternity leave. Pam