Politics & Government

City Council Prioritizes Housing Recommendations

Council reviewed and asked questions before narrowing down their most important recommendations to move forward with.

The Eagan City Council joined forces with the city's advisory planning committee (APC) Tuesday to put together a list of key priorities that the city will work toward implementing in regards to its housing goals.

Jon Hohenstein, director of community development, provided an overview of the summary report and recommendations, which included information compiled from past presentations to the council and the APC. All of the input and direction provided by the council and the committee is reflected in the summary report, according to the city.

 There were five overall housing recommendations:

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1)     Enhance neighborhood preservation;

2)     Address aging in place;

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3)     Attract and retain young household;

4)     Increase connectivity;

5)     Continue a strong partnership with the Dakota County Community Development Agency.

Recommendations for enhancing neighborhood preservation included a housing renovation loan program, rental registration and/or licensing, inspection before the sale of a home, designation of neighborhoods—such as neighborhood watch groups.

Councilman Paul Bakken said he was not for mandating a home inspection per every sale of a home.

Recommendations to address the aging population included evaluating options for Accessory Dwelling Units, identify Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC) and implement Design for a lifetime, among others.

One of the recommendations would be to identify neighborhoods that have certain age demographics.

"[We need to figure out] ... How does it affect or support the neighborhood?" Hohenstein said.

In order to attract and retain young residents, the council discussed options that included regenerating homes for younger families, supporting new workforce housing and supporting condo-like rentals with renters interested in living at that location long-term.

To address the connectivity concern, it is recommended that the city should support living closer to work and build "proactive partnerships with the local chamber of commerce and businesses." For example, using projects the city is already involved in, such as the Cedar Grove Redevelopment and Cliff Road Commons.

Other ways to add more connectivity to the city is to bring more access to transportation. It was recommended to the city to work with Dakota County on connecting land use and transportation and transit planning.

The city council and the APC discussed all the recommendations in great detail and will begin to move forward on the projects: The council and APC will set a time to implement its first set of priorities, evaluate the budget and staff resources tied to each of the chosen recommendations and discuss and evaluate demographic data as it compares to current market conditions.

The council also discussed the following items in great detail:

  • The city council received a brief presentation from Kathy Schmidlkofer, of General Mills, who is currently serving as the loaned executive to guide the MSP Regional Economic Development Partnership initiative. Eagan’s participation in the partnership will be added to the council’s March 15 consent agenda for a vote from council.
  • Voted to move forward with two alternatives (2B and 3B) for a Hwy. 77 Managed Lane Evaluation Study and allow Mayor Mike Maguire to submit a revised letter stating the support. Other cities and one county involved are Apple Valley, Bloomington and Dakota County.
  • Discussed various options for sound wall designs at Interstate-35E, north of Diffley Road and Interstate-35E, north of Deerwood Drive. The council saw different designs and provided direction for MNDOT.

 Editor's Note: Eagan Patch will be looking into the other projects and items discussed. Stay tuned for more information.


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