Agenda - Council - 11/26/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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October 2013 Community Development Financial Stability. The Citv is Building a Stronger Tax Base & Continues to Grow. Within the last six months, the City has experienced higher growth than forecasted in all sectors. Major projects began construction, including Seasons of Ramsey (50 unit townhome development) and Stoney River (72 unit assisted living and memory care). A number of businesses have begun to expand existing facilities, including Cullinan Rigging and Diamond Graphics. The Residence at The COR (230 unit apartment) is largely complete and residents continue to move in. Year to Date, the City has processed 1,707 permits, which represents 218 new housing units and over $52,000,000 in new valuation to the community. A Connected Community. To Determine Appropriate Land Use & Development Opportunities. The City has embarked on a number of public outreach efforts to better understand future development opportunities in different areas of the community. Specifically, the City has focused on three geographic areas: 1. 15153 Nowthen Boulevard - Former Municipal Center/Current Fire Station #2. 2. 167th Avenue Node at Saint Francis Boulevard - Trunk Highway #47 (former grocery anchored retail center). 3. Armstrong West — Future business park and retail area. A public outreach and collaborative process has commenced or will commence by the end of the year. The information gleaned from these processes will be used to begin to develop the next Comprehensive Plan Update. Additionally, the success of these projects is the result of a number of partnerships and teamwork; these projects result in the collaboration of a number of advisory boards (Planning Commission and Economic Development Authority [EDA]), as well as internal Staff teams (Community Development, Administration, Engineering, Public Works, Fire Department, etc.). An Effective Oranization. Continue Success. Improve Response Time. and Streamline Internal Processes. The City welcomed its newest team member, Rick Jarson, as the City's Building Official. Rick is not new to our organization, and has served the community well as a contracted inspector through Inspectron, Inc. In addition, Rick is a local Ramsey resident. This position is an important component as a developing community, based on current permit levels. The City continues its relationship with Inspectron, Inc. to provide additional inspection services as needed and has begun to develop a new relationship with the City of Saint Francis to share building code administration services where feasible.