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shopping center remains marginally viable but its long-term health in its present configuration is questionable at best. Recent years have seen an uneven quality of stores, traffic, crime and vacancy rates. The recent request of Robodyne exemplifies the pressure for mixed use. As a property owner adjacent to the shopping center, the City has a vested interest in the outcome of the center's eventual redevelopment. C. Industrial Park: The city's industrial park is in serious decline and in.need.of redevelopment. Buildings are deteriorating and many are approaching their useful life. The park is in danger of becoming an economically depressed blight, and property tax revenues will soon suffer without active redevelopment. By contrast, nearby Roseville industrial development is booming. Recommendations:As a planning arm of the City, the Planning Commission strongly recommends that the City hire at least a half-time economic development person to promote redevelopment of all three of these properties. Past objections by the City Council to this idea center on the fact that the position has not been a budgeted item and that the normal course of development will take care of the issue. We believe that the relatively modest investment of part-time salary dollars will more than be offset by long-term increases in property taxes in these areas, as well as throughout the City. For instance, expedited (and City-friendly) redevelopment of Apache Plaza alone could increase the tax revenues of the City by over $500,000 per year; thereby offsetting 25 years of direct salary dollars for the position. We believe that the City cannot afford not to take this action for the long-term commercial and industrial health of the City, and that it is time for alternative thinking on redevelopment issues and their resolution. To make this recommendation more real, the Planning Commission is in the process of developing a detailed discussion paper in order.to flesh our ideas. 2. Maintenance of Residential Housing Stock: The City of St. Anthony Village rightfully prides itself on its stable population and good housing stock, especially owner-occupied housing. It is without question that some of this housing stock is starting to deteriorate, and that the demographics of the City are gradually changing. To keep up the housing stock, we believe that at least two processes need to be in place: housing code compliance inspections and financial assistance programs. It is in the City's best interest to see that housing stock is maintained, as property values and corresponding tax revenues follow the condition of the stock. Recommendation: The Planning Commission recommends that the City adopt a Point-of-Sale ordinance similar to that previously drafted. There will be resistance, but other urban cities (e.g. Minneapolis) and first-ring suburbs (e.g.. St. Louis Park, Richfield, Columbia Heights, Roseville) have either adopted these ordinances or are in the process of doing so. The former chair of the . Columbia Heights Planning Commission told us that the Sheffield neighborhood problem would have been avoided if only the city had a "housing code with teeth in it." It is our feeling that both owner-occupied and multifamily housing should be covered in the ordinance, and that inspections by a third party would relieve some of the confrontations between citizens and City staff. Also, we believe it is in the best interest of the City to have a City-administered and controlled financial assistance program (low interest loans) for homeowners who wish (or are forced) to make significant capital improvements to their dwellings. We envision that there be some sort of income means-testing as prequalification, and that the funds used would be in a City