The Plan at Work: Strategy 4

Support communities in equitable site development

In alignment with recommended actions from Strategy 4, Community & Economic Development has begun to implement the work of the plan.

Create an equitable development policy for Ramsey County

• Creation and implementation of an Equitable Development Framework that centers racial equity in County land use development and economic development decisions.  The Equitable Development Framework is used to review, assess, and prioritize project proposals submitted through the housing and redevelopment solicitations and programs.

Explore partnerships to remove exclusionary housing barriers

• Chair the Fair Housing Implementation Council to reduce impediments to housing choice and access across the metropolitan region. 
• Established updated policies for all multi-family housing projects receiving county funding, including requirements to accept housing choice vouchers, advertise available units on HousingLink online search tool and consider tenants enrolled in the Beyond Backgrounds program.

Encourage cities to prioritize equitable development

• Initiated Critical Corridors programs that support place-based investments along major transportation, commercial and cultural corridors, including the Pre-Development Planning program that funds corridor planning efforts by cities. Projects seeking funding through the Critical Corridors program are required to demonstrate alignment with the Equitable Development Framework. 

Encourage and incentivize innovation in housing construction to bring down the cost of housing

• No updates to provide at this time.