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7550 Sunwood Drive NW • Ramsey, Minnesota 55303 <br />City Hall: 763-427-1410 • Fax: 763-427-5543 <br />www.cityoframsey.com <br />September 24, 2014 <br />Metropolitan Council <br />Attn: Housing Policy Plan <br />390 Robert Street N <br />St. Paul, MN 55101-1805 <br />RE: Draft Housing Policy Plan <br />To Whom It May Concern: <br />Thank you for the opportunity to review the regional Housing Policy Plan. <br />As the City of Ramsey reviews this policy document, the City would like to confirm that the policies found <br />within this document are voluntary policies and not mandates passed down to local governments. Rather than <br />going line by line for each of the local role categories, Ramsey would rather clarify that these are voluntary <br />policies. There may be some of the implementation strategies that would work well in Ramsey, while others <br />may not apply or be supported on a local policy level. It appears that much of this document will relate to the <br />Metropolitan Council's role in developing housing policy and distributing financial resources for housing <br />projects. <br />It is also noted that Ramsey works closely with the Anoka County Housing and Redevelopment Authority <br />(ACHRA) to achieve many of the local goals identified in the policy document. We choose to partner with this <br />organization to capitalize on their expertise in housing programs and avoid duplication of services and levies. <br />Ramsey understands the Metropolitan Council's goal to be more strategic and direct with their funding <br />allocations and policies. The draft policy plan defers much of the detail to future discussion on how the <br />Metropolitan Council, specifically Livable Communities, will derive its scoring and distribution. Ramsey would <br />like to ensure that our ability to access these important dollars to achieve local and regional priorities are not <br />diminished by changes in policies and scoring. Ramsey has demonstrated on multiple occasions its ability to <br />deliver quality affordable housing and demonstrate return on investment for previous funding allocations. <br />As it relates to the affordability threshold, Ramsey does not object to the changes in the threshold (50-80%, <br />30-50%, 30%), provided that adequate resources are provided for each threshold. Ramsey desires to participate <br />in future discussions on how these policies will be reflected in revised scoring systems in the future. Also, <br />Ramsey desires demographic data for our community that organizes into these new categories. Is it possible <br />for the Metropolitan Council to illustrate how previous project awards would score under the new system on <br />policy? <br />A key policy as it relates to Ramsey's priorities is the request of the Housing Policy Plan to incorporate Housing <br />Performance Scores as a scoring element in the Regional Solicitation for Transportation Funding. Ramsey <br />requests that the Metropolitan Council explore the Housing Performance Score holistically if this policy is to <br />be implemented. It has been our experience that our Housing Performance Score can fluctuate greatly year to <br />year based on market conditions and new construction. Ramsey would ask that the method for the Housing <br />Performance Score include a provision to normalize across multiple years to account for annual <br />fluctuations in the housing market, especially as it relates to the delivery of affordable housing. While we have <br />