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Resilient Communities Project -City of North St. Paul <br />2013-2014 Partnership <br />The mission of the Resilient Communities Project is to connect communities in Minnesota with the <br />wide-ranging expertise of University of Minnesota faculty and students to address pressing local issues <br />in ways that advance sustainability and resilience. <br />Resilient <br />Communities Project <br />During the 2013-2014 academic year, RCP partnered with the City of North St. Paul, a first -ring suburb in the Twin Cities <br />metropolitan area, on 16 community -identified projects. These projects were matched with 34 courses spanning 17 departments <br />across 1 1 academic colleges at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, engaging more than 300 students. <br />Housing, Land Use, and Community Development <br />Live/Work Housing <br />Downtown Revitalization Strategies <br />Redevelopment -Ready Community <br />Housing Conservation and Aging in Place <br />Environment <br />Green Energy Initiative <br />Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan <br />Conservation Improvement Projects <br />Environmental Education Initiative <br />Storm Water Management <br />Evaluated potential of live/work housing to enhance livability, promote economic <br />development, and increase housing density <br />Analyzed parking needs, conducted a market analysis for the downtown area, and <br />offered recommendations for strategies to revitalize North St. Paul's downtown <br />business district <br />Designed an evaluation program to assess the city's current development review <br />process and regulations based on input from developers, investors, business owners, <br />commercial real estate brokers, and lending institutions <br />Evaluated existing housing and community design characteristics, and made <br />recommendations for regulations, public investments, and local policies to upgrade <br />existing housing stock and support aging in place <br />Investigated regulatory changes and incentives to support green energy initiatives, <br />community -based energy development, distributed generation systems, district <br />energy approaches, and net -zero -carbon development <br />Provided an inventory of trees in North St. Paul, conducted a cost -benefit analysis to <br />develop recommendations for managing EAB in the city, and developed a protocol <br />for how to gain community support for the management plan and communicate the <br />risks of EAB to homeowners <br />Designed an evaluation plan to assess existing conservation and energy efficiency <br />programs, including whether the programs are being effectively marketed, and <br />whether incentives being offered are consistent with homeowners' or business <br />owners' needs and interests related to conservation and energy efficiency <br />Developed recommendations for a long-range operations and management plan for <br />the Southwood Park nature reserve, as well as educational programming for <br />residents and users of the park <br />Investigated cost-effective solutions to remediate local flooding issues and reduce <br />total suspended solids and phosphorus load to local and downstream lakes <br />0 CITY OF <br />iVVvrtMM Saint taut <br />111P140 <br />