TITLE
Authorizing the Department of Parks and Recreation to apply to Metropolitan Council for Livable Communities Transit-Oriented Development Funding for the River Balcony Project.
BODY
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is a participant in the Metropolitan Livable Communities Act (“LCA”) Local Housing Incentives Program for 2019 as determined by the Metropolitan Council, and is therefore eligible to apply for up to $100,000 LCA Livable Communities Demonstration Account and Tax Base Revitalization Account Transit-Oriented Development (collectively, “TOD”) funds; and
WHEREAS, the City has identified the proposed River Balcony project within the City that meets TOD purposes and criteria and is consistent with and promotes 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 an LCA-TOD grant; 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 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 project or key components of the proposed project 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; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, after appropriate examination and due consideration, the Mayor and the Saint Paul City Council, which are the governing body of the City:
1. Finds that it is in the best interests of the City’s development goals and priorities for the following proposed TOD Project to occur at this particular site and at this particular time:
• River Balcony
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 three years for Development grants, one year for Cleanup Site Investigation grants and three years for Cleanup grants) only if Livable Communities TOD funding is made available for this project at this time.
3. Authorizes its Director Parks and Recreation to submit on behalf of the City an application for the River Balcony project to Metropolitan Council for Livable Communities TOD grant funds for the TOD Project components identified in the application, and to execute such agreements as may be necessary to implement the TOD Project on behalf of the City.