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.

Dial set at 90 percent

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 (FHIC) to reduce impediments to housing choice and access across the metropolitan region. The Council has funded regional activities like fair housing trainings, eviction prevention counseling, updated homeownership materials and record expungement to help reduce barriers. 
  • Established updated policies for all multi-family housing projects receiving county funding, including requirements to accept housing choice vouchers, advertise available units on HousingLink's 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 Planning (previously named “Pre-Development Planning”) program that funds corridor planning efforts by cities. Projects seeking funding through the Critical Corridors program are expected to demonstrate alignment with the Equitable Development Framework.  

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

  • All development applications must go through a competitive solicitation like the Housing Development Solicitation, Emerging and Diverse Developers program or the Critical Corridors Development & Infrastructure solicitation. Innovative projects may score higher in financial feasibility and strategic alignment scoring categories. The 2024 Annual Report highlights the innovative Little Mod Co-Living project which combines new design techniques and single-room occupancy residences.