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tMetropolitan Council <br />Livable Communities Program <br />Investments in <br />community vitality <br />Thriving job centers stand on <br />once -polluted land. Workers <br />like teachers, police officers <br />and health care aides can find <br />affordable housing in the <br />communities where they work. <br />Residents can shop, get on a <br />bus to go to work, and enjoy a <br />local park all within walking <br />distance of their front door. <br />These opportunities are <br />supported by the Livable <br />Communities Act (LCA), <br />adopted by the Minnesota <br />Legislature in 1995 and <br />administered by the <br />Metropolitan Council. <br />The LCA provides funding for <br />communities to invest in local <br />economic revitalization, afford- <br />able housing initiatives, and <br />development or redevelopment <br />that connects different land <br />uses and has good access to <br />transportation. <br />Voluntary program, <br />based on incentives <br />The LCA reflects the Legis- <br />lature's preference for a <br />voluntary, incentive -based <br />approach to help communities <br />grow and to address the <br />region's affordable and lifecycle <br />housing needs. <br />Grants from three <br />funding accounts <br />The Council establishes criteria <br />for evaluating proposals and <br />makes grant awards from three <br />separate accounts: <br />Tax Base Revitalization <br />(TBRA) - Clean up brown - <br />fields for redevelopment, job <br />creation and affordable <br />housing in areas already <br />served by transit. <br />• Livable Communities <br />Demonstration (LCDA) - <br />Support development and <br />redevelopment that demon- <br />strates efficient and cost- <br />effective use of land and <br />infrastructure, and achieves <br />connected development <br />patterns linking housing, <br />jobs and services. <br />• Local Housing Incentives <br />(LHIA) - Produce and <br />preserve affordable housing <br />choices for households with <br />low to moderate incomes. <br />To compete for LCA funding, <br />communities must negotiate <br />long-term affordable and life- <br />cycle housing goals with the <br />Council, and develop an action <br />plan to accomplish these goals. <br />Participating communities (105 <br />communities in 2009) are then <br />eligible to compete for funding <br />from all three LCA accounts. <br />The LCA's emphasis is on <br />cooperation and incentives to <br />achieve regional and local <br />goals. Local communities are <br />well positioned to make deci- <br />sions about how their cities <br />and towns will grow and <br />develop, but the LCA recog- <br />nizes it will take partnerships <br />and shared resources to move <br />from community plans to "on - <br />the -ground" results. <br />Investments reap <br />impressive results <br />From 1996 through 2008, the <br />Council awarded 557 grants <br />totaling more than $189 <br />million in Livable Commu- <br />nities funds. The grants are <br />expected to leverage billions of <br />dollars in private and other <br />public investments. Following <br />is a summary of grants made <br />and expected results: <br />• 263 TBRA grants totaling <br />over $77.5 million were <br />made to 36 communities. <br />The projects will produce an <br />almost $80 million increase <br />in net tax capacity, and more <br />than 34,000 new and <br />retained jobs. <br />• 162 LCDA grants totaling <br />over $87.4 million were <br />made to development and <br />redevelopment projects that <br />link housing, jobs, and <br />Metropolitan Council • 390 Robert St. N. • Saint Paul MN 55101 • Website: www.metrocouncil.org <br />Phone: 651-602-1000 • TTY: 651-291-0904 • Data Center: 651-602-1140 • E-mail: data.center@metc.state.mn.us <br />