Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/04/2014

Home

Last revised July 24, 2014 To be eligible for PSS points, the application must demonstrate that it is consistent with the six livability principles developed by the federal Sustainable Communities Partnership, one of which is promoting equitable affordable housing. To this end, Council staff reviews applications and determines if the livability principles are being met. Council actions to leverage Preferred Sustainability Status to support affordable housing • For city applicants, grant Preferred Sustainability Status only to those that have at least the median Housing Performance Score unless the proposed funded activity would expand affordable housing. Review of Local Comprehensive Plans Cities, townships and counties in the seven -county area prepare local comprehensive plans as required by the Metropolitan Land Planning Act. These plans must include a housing element and a housing implementation program. After the adoption of Thrive MSP 2040 and the systems and policy plans (including this Housing Policy Plan) and the anticipated 2015 distribution of Systems Statements, local governments will begin this decade's round of local comprehensive plan updates. Comprehensive plan updates must be submitted to the Council in 2018. The Council assists local governments to create consistent, compatible, and coordinated local comprehensive plans that achieve local visions within the regional policy framework. The Council reviews updated local comprehensive plans based on the requirements of the Metropolitan Land Planning Act and the comprehensive development guide (Thrive MSP 2040 and the systems and policy plans). The Council considers each local comprehensive plan's compatibility with the plans of other communities, consistency with adopted Council policies, and conformance with metropolitan system plans. If the Council finds that a community's local comprehensive plan is more likely than not to have a substantial impact on or contain a substantial departure from metropolitan system plans, the Council can require the community to modify its local plan to assure conformance with the metropolitan system plans (Minn. Stat. 473.175). Under the Metropolitan Land Planning Act, local comprehensive plans must include a housing element that: • acknowledges the community's share of the region's need for low- and moderate -income housing (the Need); and • includes an implementation section identifying the programs, fiscal devices, and official controls the community will use to address their Need (Minn. Stat. 473.859, subd. 2 and 4). With the development of this Housing Policy Plan, the Council has identified an opportunity to improve the consistency and quality of the housing elements of local comprehensive plans, including stronger alignment between the housing implementation programs and the Need. Council actions to review comprehensive plan updates to expand housing choices • Work with local governments and other appropriate stakeholders through 2015 to determine how to more effectively review the Housing Element and Housing Implementation Program in local comprehensive plans in preparation for the 2018 round of local comprehensive plan updates. • Incorporate new review criteria into the 2015 update of the Local Planning Handbook. 2040 HOUSING POLICY PLAN I METROPOLITAN COUNCIL DRAFT RELEASED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Part III: Council Policies and Roles I Page 58