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D. The Housing Replacement Program. Initiated in the 1990s, the Housing Replacement Program utilized pooled TIF dollars to purchase and redevelop blighted home sites from willing sellers. The program was successful and made an impact on the neighborhoods in which the blighted home was located by replacing the blighted house with a new, larger home. It was often the case that these individual redevelopments helped motivate adjoining and nearby owners to also make improvements. Two examples of HRP properties can be found at 6991 Pleasant View Drive and at 8265 Spring Lake Road. The other component of the program reimburses a property owner for demolition expenses in the event the existing owner would like to rebuild. A good example of this aspect of the program occurred at 8300 Fairchild Avenue. The program was put on hold in the early 2000s in response to a notice of noncompliance from the Office of the State Auditor. The OSA ruled that the City could not acquire real estate using TIF dollars because it had not in advance identified where such acquisition would occur in the TIF plan. The City argued that it would be nearly impossible to update the TIF plan any time a potential HRP property became available, so staff drove through the City conducting a windshield survey of residential properties to compile a list of “potentially” blighted homes and other properties for redevelopment. This survey resulted in a list of 210 parcels added to the TIF plan in 2004 for possible acquisition. The HRP program however is absolutely and completely voluntary; no one would ever be forced out of their homes, contrary to what some residents believed. While no homes have been considered for acquisition under the HRP program since 2004, the budget reflects a line item for such acquisitions. (The list and map is attached to the HRP program guidelines in Exhibit D.) E. Business Improvement Partnership Program. This program has been inactive for the last ten years, probably for a variety or reasons. The program’s stated purpose is to partner with the local business community by offering improvement loans at 2% rate of interest. Feedback from some business owners interested in this program cited reluctance to disclose so much personal and financial interest in a public setting. Such information, if provided to a financial institution, would be private and confidential. Also stated as a concern was that the interest “buy down” was not all that impressive, as the buy down would apply to half of the loan amount; the other half would be at market rate, up to a maximum of $50,000. If the business could garner a loan rate at 4%, combined with the City’s portion the net loan rate would decrease to 3%. Staff feels this program could be re-evaluated by the EDC to determine whether changes are necessary. F. Comp Plan Economic Development Element. The Metropolitan Council approved the City’s Comprehensive Plan in November of 2000 with the City Council following suit in July of 2001. One of the required elements of the Comp Plan is an economic development component. The EDC reviewed the Economic Development component in 1999 and 2000 and supported the final version which was included in the Comp Plan. This element is reproduced herein as Exhibit F. Seven priorities for economic development were identified (on Page 90) with resources to accomplish those priorities identified on the subsequent pages. The section concludes with a list of challenges the City will face regarding economic development activity. It is interesting to note that the first goal listed under the ED section states that, “the redevelopment or expansion of an existing business, new commercial or industrial development, or residential housing will be considered even if it involves the possible acquisition, demolition or relocation of an existing business or residential homes. (Emphasis added.) It is apparent that the ED section of the Comp Plan could be revised in accordance with the outcome of this visioning exercise with the City Council.