Title
Identifying the need for Livable Communities Transit Oriented Development Funding and authorizing applications for grant funds for the University and Vandalia Mixed Income Housing, River Balcony, and Railroad Island Ecovillage-Bush/Payne Site Projects.
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WHEREAS the City of Saint Paul is a participant in the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act ("LCA") Local Housing Incentives Program for 2014 as determined by the Metropolitan Council, and is therefore eligible to apply for LCA Livable Communities Demonstration Account and Tax Base Revitalization Account Transit Oriented Development (collectively, "TOD") funds; and
WHEREAS the City has identified proposed projects within the City that meet TOD purposes and criteria and are consistent with and promote the purposes of the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act and the policies of the Metropolitan Council's adopted metropolitan development guide; and
WHEREAS the City has the institutional, managerial and financial capability to adequately manage LCA-TOD grants; and
WHEREAS the City certifies that it will comply with all applicable laws and regulations as stated in the grant agreement; and
WHEREAS the City acknowledges Livable Communities TOD grants are intended to fund projects or project components that can serve as models, examples or prototypes for TOD development or redevelopment elsewhere in the Region, and therefore represents that the proposed projects or key components of the proposed projects can be replicated in other metropolitan-area communities; and
WHEREAS only a limited amount of grant funding is available through the Metropolitan Council's Livable Communities TOD initiative during each funding cycle and the Metropolitan Council has determined it is appropriate to allocate those scarce grant funds only to eligible projects that would not occur without the availability of TOD grant funding; and
WHEREAS cities may submit grant applications for up to three TOD Demonstration Account projects and up to six TOD Tax Base Revitalization Account during each funding cycle, but, using the city's own internal ranking processes, must rank their projects by priority so the Metropolitan Council may consider those priority rankings as it reviews applications and makes grant awards.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that, after appropriate examination and consideration, the City:
1. Finds that it is in the best interests of the City's development goals and priorities for the proposed projects to occur at the sites indicated in the grant applications at this particular time.
2. Finds that the TOD Project components for which Livable Communities TOD funding is sought: (a) will not occur solely through private or other public investment within the reasonably foreseeable future; and (b) will occur within the term of the grant award (two years for Pre-Development grants and one year for Cleanup Site Investigation grants ) only if Livable Communities TOD funding is made available for these projects at this time.
3. Ranks the TOD Project funding applications, according to the City's own internal priorities, in the following order:
Tax Base Revitalization Account TOD Site Investigation Grant
Priority 1. Project Name: University and Vandalia Mixed Income Housing Project, Request Amount: $50,000
Livable Communities Account TOD Pre-Development Grant
Priority 1. Project Name: River Balcony Project, Request Amount: $100,000
Priority 2. Project Name: Railroad Island Ecovillage - Bush/Payne Site , Request Amount: $20,000
4. Authorizes its Department of Planning and Economic Development to submit on behalf of the City applications for Metropolitan Council Livable Communities TOD grant funds for the TOD projects identified in the applications, and to execute such agreements as may be necessary to implement such agreements as may be necessary to implement the projects on behalf of the City.