Agenda - Council - 01/24/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Metropolitan Agencies continued outreach by MCES to users of the SAC program to promote knowledge and understanding of SAC charges and policies. 4-0 Funding Regional Parks & Open Space In the seven-county metropolitan area, regional parks essentially serve as state parks, and the state should continue to provide capital funding for the acquisition, development and improvement of these parks in a manner that is equitable with funding for state parks. State funding apart from Legacy funds should equal 40 percent of the operating budget for regional parks. Legacy funds for parks and trails should be balanced between metro and greater Minnesota. Metro Cities supports state funding for regional parks and trails that is fair, creates a balance of investment across the state, and meets the needs of the region. 4-P Livable Communities The Livable Communities Act(LCA), administered by the Metropolitan Council, provides a voluntary, incentive-based approach to affordable housing development, tax base revitalization,job growth and preservation, brown field clean up and mixed-use, transit-friendly development and redevelopment. Metro Cities strongly supports the continuation of this approach, which has been widely accepted and is fully utilized by local communities. Since its inception in 1995, the LCA program has generated billions of dollars of private and public investment, created thousands of jobs and added thousands of affordable housing units in the region. Metro Cities supports a review of the LCA programs, and any necessary statutory changes, to ensure that the LCA program criteria are flexible and promote the participation of all participating communities, and to ensure that all metropolitan area cities are eligible to participate in the Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA). Metro Cities supports increased funding and flexible eligibility requirements in the LCDA in order to assist communities with development that may not be exclusively market driven or market proven in their particular location and in order to support important development and redevelopment goals. Metro Cities supports the statutory goals and criteria established for the Livable Communities Act, and opposes any changes to LCA programs that constrain flexibility around statutory goals, program requirements and criteria. Metro Cities opposes funding reductions to the Livable Communities Program and the transfer or use of these funds for purposes outside of the LCA program. 2017 Legislative Policies 49