Agenda - Council - 06/10/2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Explain how this position is key to achieving the strategic goals identified by the City Council. In reviewing the strategic goals identified by Council, the majority are planning and community development related (see attached). Updating the Comprehensive plan and working with Ramsey3 are both extremely time consuming processes, as both have intensive public participation. And the completion of the comprehensive plan is really just a beginning because the implementation of the plan will be an ongoing project. There will need to be several code revisions in order to implement the plan and this position will be critical not only to the comprehensive plan update but also the code revisions. As the processes change to be more inclusive of the public, it also involves more staff time, this position will also be instrumental in assisting with public participation in the process. Community Development Staff will also be involved in facilitating focus groups for the community center this summer and moving that project forward. We are heavily involved in the Town Center project and expect that to continue to take priority as we work on marketing efforts with the EDA and work with developers interested in the area. As changes in the make -up of the property mixes may need to be made the Master Plan will need to be amended and that will require a public process and re- writes to the plan. There are several transportation projects that the Community Development staff is involved in and will continue to be involved in throughout the next several years. Some of them, most notably the Northstar rail station, will be ramping up much sooner than the others and have more immediate staffing needs. The housing goals are particularly important in considering the vacant planner position. This position is supposed to assist the HRA and 50% of the cost of the position is funded by the HRA levy. In addition to the specific performance points listed, there are a number of other housing related issues that we have been asked to explore. Among those are first time homebuyer programs and what other communities are doing; looking at ways to address the foreclosure issues throughout the community; down payment assistance; housing rehabilitation; what to do about neighborhood associations who are unable to maintain their joint property and private streets, etc. There are a number of emerging housing issues facing the community and the lack of resources that come with the filling of this planning position may render the City incapable of addressing many of those issues in a timely manner. • • Can the duties be re- engineered or automated? Please explain. The duties have been as automated as they can. Our applications are available on the City's website, but everything still has to be evaluated by an actual person; and the applicant still wants to meet with staff to discuss options and ask questions. This aspect could not be automated and the residents place . a value on that personal interaction.