Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-07-22 PACKET MISC.:{IIIIJ11! METROPOLITAN C O U N C I L Rising housing costs are a troubling trend Chair: The tight housing supply is making our region less equitable Communities plan for climate change resilience Local governments are taking a variety of approaches to the challenge. Council secures full federal funding for Orange Line Grant keeps project on schedule for next phase of construction. Local governments get easy access to wastewater flow data Metropolitan Council Environmental Services now offers its local government wastewater customers easy access to metered flow data and inflow/infiltration program information via a new website. The customer -tested website features: Customizable data dashboard to quickly view wastewater flow data. Dashboard allows for metershed data to be plotted with rainfall data to help determine how flow responds to wet weather events. Intuitive, easy-to-use download process allows users to get timely, accurate data on demand. Users may submit 1/1 program information, including work plans and credits, track 1/1 work, and keep a record of past expenses on the portal. The Council developed the website at the request of a recent community task force. Local government customers may visit https://mcescustomerportal, metc.state.mn.us to set up an account. �Illlllll�ullllnlllillulllllu�lrinll���l�lllllll��llll ******************AUTO**ALL FOR AADC 550 S480 B1 C3 CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE PLANNING COMMISSION CHAIR 12800 RAVINE PKWY COTTAGE GROVE MN 55016-3195 Ir..,l,d�bll.,.�lllGL y/ll.�i .� • l:,a.d�lg{s/�11L1:..._,nl�.h. 2. �7 Uselul Linka _ _ _ S' ` '•I I: N 'tery The new Customer Portal allows local governments to quickly view and download local wastewater flow data. Housing vouchers: Only one in eight applicants gets on waiting list. For one week in June, the Met Council's Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Metro HRA, accepted applications for the Housing Choice Voucher waiting list. More than 17,000 households applied. Through random lottery, Metro HRA will place 2,000 applicants on the list. "The number of people who applied illustrates the tremendous need for safe, stable and affordable housing for families with low incomes," said Terri Smith, director of Metro HRA. Visits to regional parks hit all-time high. Regional parks in the seven -county metro area got nearly 60 million visits in 2018, an increase of 2.6% over the previous year and the most visits on record. Regional parks in Anoka County had the largest numeric gain in visits, while Dakota County had the highest percentage increase in visits, 17% over 2017. The findings are from the Council's annual estimates of visits to the regional parks system. Predevelopment grants get projects rolling. in June, the Council approved Livable Communities grants to set the stage for planned development in Brooklyn Center, Hopkins, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The grants total $432,000 and will help pay for activities like engaging residents, planning stormwater management systems, and developing concept plans. Visit metrocouncil.org for more information on these and other news items. Metropolitan Council Chair: Nora Slawik Members: Judy Johnson (District 1); Reva Chamblis (2); Christopher Ferguson (3); Deb Barber (4); Molly Cummings (5); Lynnea Atlas- Ingebretson (6); Robert Lilligren (7); Abdirahman Muse (8); Raymond Zeran (9); Peter Lindstrom (10); Susan Vento (11); Francisco J. Gonzalez (12); Chai Lee (13); Kris Fredson (14); Phillip Sterner (15); Wendy Wulff(16). Regional Administrator: Meredith Vadis Editor: Jeanne Landkamer General Offices: 651-602-1000 1 (651-291-0904 TTY) 390 N. Robert St. I St. Paul, MN 55101 e-mail: public.info®metc.state.mn.us Web site: metrocouncil.org This publication is available in alternative formats upon request. Printed on paper containing 100 percent post -consumer and alternative fibers. �:W PRINTED WITH SOY INK Council partnership engages college students A partnership between the University of St. Thomas and the Met Council is benefitting students, the natural environment, and other public spaces. Students are producing solid work for the Council that may, in some cases, result in long-term monetary savings. Two projects in 2019 under the partnership were based at the Council's Empire Wastewater Treatment Plant in rural Dakota County. One assessed the feasibility of replacing turfgrass with native prairie or other sustainable plantings; the other investigated why trout are not as numerous in the Vermillion River as expected. "We are pushed to produce the best possible product because we hope to positively affect our partnership," said Paige Westra, neuroscience and environmental science double major. "However, there is less professional pressure in an environment where we are supported by our professor and the collaborating company." The team working on turfgrass replacement talked with plant operators and Council scientists, did research, and presented recommendations to Council staff. "The students' research identifies the many environmental benefits of prairie plant species," said Karen Jensen, project manager and Environmental Services engineer. "It also shows that prairies pay for themselves in about six years through a reduction in mowing costs." Jensen said the research will provide a foundation for landscaping efforts at several wastewater treatment plants in the future. The team looking at the trout population in the Vermillion River concluded that the diversion of treatment plant effluent from the Vermillion to the Mississippi in 2009 did not significantly affect water temperature in the reach adjacent to the plant. Increased human development in combination with general climate change trends is likely responsible for the warming, the students wrote in their report. Rising housing costs: a troubling trend It's Economics 101: lower supply and increased demand lead to higher prices. That's a good description of the metro area housing market now and for the foreseeable future. This is troubling not just because it's making housing more expensive Y. for everyone. It's also making our Nora Slawik region less fair and equitable. FROM I HE CHAIR Rising housing costs literally price people out of being able to choose where they will live, educate their children, and get jobs. For some families, it means choosing between a roof over their heads, or getting the medicine they need or enough food. The cost of housing was highlighted in June when 17,000 households applied for a spot on Metro HRA's waiting list for a federal housing voucher. Sadly, we only have the resources to place 2,000 of those applicants on the list. Demand for vouchers is high in part because housing costs are high and wages for many households haven't risen accordingly. In addition, multifamily housing construction has not kept up with household growth in our region. Our multifamily housing vacancy rate is 4.3% today, down from 6.6% in 2010 and well below the 5% rate that most analysts consider healthy. The Met Council can help cities and townships address their housing needs in their comprehensive plans, but it's up to those local governments to decide what specific housing policies and strategies they will pursue. As we review the local plans coming in, we are seeing some excellent examples of cities taking action. We know the region thrives when everyone has access to good housing. Children do better in school when their families have stable, affordable housing. People have better access to jobs and schools when their housing choices aren't dictated by cost. Housing is the foundation of strong communities and is one of our top priorities. Rapid bus heralded as future of transportation Metro Transit's second bus rapid transit line, the METRO C Line, launched on June 8. The line significantly improves service in the Penn Avenue corridor north from downtown Minneapolis. Trips run every 10 to 15 minutes most of the day, and larger shelters have ticket machines and display upcoming trip times. Notably, the line features the region's first electric buses. Service is sped up by allowing customers to board through any of three doors, moving fare payments off the bus, and technology that allows buses to request green lights. The C Line also has fewer stops than the local bus service it largely replaces, Route 19. "Look at the future - clean, efficient transportation where communities are at the heart of why we do it," said Governor Tim Walz, who attended the celebration. Art highlights connection between transit and parks Large, colorful monarch butterflies may give you a ride to a regional park this summer. Metro Transit has wrapped two buses, dubbed Nature Connectors, with an eye-catching painting designed by Minneapolis muralist Greta McLain and created in her studio, GoodSpace Murals. The painting prominently features monarch butterflies, as well as two students from South High School. The buses are now traveling on routes that lead to some of our most popular regional parks - Minnehaha.and Theodore Wirth in Minneapolis and Como and Lake Phalen in Saint Paul - as part of an effort to highlight the Council. Lovelee's role is to help raise connection between transit and parks. awareness of regional parks. A map highlighting the routes that serve select regional parks is available at metrotransit.org/parks. Temporary sidewalk clings featuring butterflies will mark the path between each park and select bus stops. "Helping connect folks to our amazing natural resources is beautiful and important work," McLain said. "This is a huge honor for us." The Nature Connector buses are the brainchild of Amanda Lovelee, regional parks ambassador for the Met "We have so much nature in our cities that is accessible by walking, bicycling and transit," Lovelee said. "These buses will capture people's imaginations and help draw attention to the marvelous network of regional parks throughout the metro area." "Butterflies are an easily accessible, powerful symbol," McLain said. "They migrate every year. They represent immigration - current immigration, our ancestors who immigrated. And they connect us to the natural world." Communities plan for climate resiliency Rising temperatures. More rain and extreme weather. Changes in wildlife, environment, foliage, and habitat. Longer allergy season. The signs of climate change are all around us. Resilience planning to confront, adapt to and mitigate climate change isn't a requirement of local comprehensive planning. But thanks to technical assistance from the Met Council and other organizations, and a growing desire for collaboration across boundaries, local governments are including it their plan updates anyway. "Increasingly we see how extreme weather events and changing conditions strain public facilities and infrastructure and create environmental, societal and economic challenges," said Eric Wojchik, a senior planner for the Council. "We recommend that communities anticipate acute shocks and chronic stresses associated with climate change," he said, "and plan as best they can to increase the resiliency of their infrastructure and residents to respond to potential impacts." Nearly half the plans submitted to the Council so far have a resilience component, Wojchik said. "The plans have different areas of focus and take various approaches, but the intent is there—to assess their vulnerabilities and address them in some way." The Council encourages communities to consider enhancing stormwater management, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting energy conservation, fostering community health, and many other approaches. Visit metrocouncil.org to learn more about what communities are doing to increase resiliency. Orange Line BRT secures full federal funding The Met Council executed a grant with the Federal Transit Improvement Board (CTIB), the State of Minnesota, the Administration in June securing all federal funding for the Met Council, and Hennepin and Dakota counties and their METRO Orange Line. The $74.1 million grant means the railroad authorities. project has all funding in hand to complete construction of the $150.7 million bus rapid transit (BRT) project. The Orange Line will provide access to 198,000 jobs and 121,000 residents, including 56,000 jobs outside of "Connecting our communities with reliable and accessible downtown Minneapolis. Major corridor employers include public transportation like the Best Buy, HealthPartners, Allina, METRO Orange Line builds Wells Fargo, and Toro. economic opportunityli and 91METRO increases mobility for tens of Crews will break round on the 9 thousands of Minnesotans," said Governor Tim Walz. "The incredible collaboration • between local partners at the city and county level, state agencies, and now the federal government, makes projects like this possible. The Orange Line BRT is a 17 -mile transitway connecting Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, and Burnsville along 1-35W, providing frequent, all -day service in both directions, seven days a week. In addition to the federal funding, local funding is provided by the former Counties Transit next phase of construction this summer, along Knox Avenue in Richfield and Bloomington. The project includes street and highway improvements, upgraded transit stations, and improved bus routes. It also includes a transit -only access ramp between downtown Minneapolis and 1-35W and a new Lake Street Station, which is part of the work already under construction. The project is scheduled to open in 2021. An extension of the Orange Line to Lakeville is envisioned in future years.