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The City recognizes that infill and redevelopment is challenging. Land assembly will be a <br />fundamental challenge with some infill and redevelopment areas as the areas may include several <br />land parcels, may have several different property owners, businesses or unwilling sellers. Site <br />conditions also may present another challenge for developers as they may include contamination, <br />poor access, inadequate infrastructure and environmental constraints such as poor soils or <br />wetlands. Infill and redevelopment also can be challenging if the owner needs to retrofit the site <br />to meet the City’s current development standards and watershed district requirements. Another <br />challenge is to create a development that “fits-in” with the character of the neighborhood and has <br />minimal impact on the adjoining land uses. The last challenge for those doing redevelopment is <br />financing. This type of development is generally more expensive than development of vacant <br />land as site preparation costs are higher. It may be difficult to redevelop properties to construct <br />new housing units without some public financial participation, particularly if projects include an <br />affordable component. <br /> <br />Although challenges exist, infill and redevelopment is vital to the diversification of Mounds <br />View’s housing stock and the additional life cycle and affordable housing opportunities. The <br />City must enact policies and tools that promote and encourage the revitalization of <br />redevelopment areas and allow infill development while lessening impacts on nearby properties. <br /> <br />Changing Demographics <br /> <br />Changing demographics are an important factor in the housing market that will continue to affect <br />the City’s housing needs. Demographic forecasts indicate that, on average, Mounds View’s <br />population will continue to get older. As a result, there will be significant changes in the City’s <br />housing needs as more residents age in place or decide to “downsize” to reduce their <br />homeownership commitments. Furthermore, a challenge the City face will be to develop <br />strategies that attract and keep younger households. <br /> <br />The combination of older residents aging in place and the limited supply of vacant land affects <br />Mounds View’s ability to attract younger households. As such, the City should develop <br />strategies that focus on creating additional housing choices for younger households to help create <br />an age-balanced city. <br /> <br />Metropolitan Livable Communities Act Program <br /> <br />The City participates in the Livable Communities Act program and has adopted affordable and <br />life cycle housing goals and continues to meet the required expenditures for local housing <br />programs. The City will make its best efforts, given market conditions and resource availability, <br />to maintain an index within benchmark ranges for affordability, life-cycle and density. Mounds <br />View has met or exceeded all housing goals set by the Metropolitan Council to date. It is a goal <br />of Mounds View to maintain its housing stock within these benchmarks while attempting to <br />improve the overall housing quality. It is the goal of Mounds View to continue addressing <br />housing and property maintenance issues before they become a bigger problem. <br /> <br />Mounds View expects additional senior housing units to be constructed in the City. There are <br />redevelopment areas that the City has designated for mixed-use development that developers and <br />the City could consider for higher density housing. <br /> 8