In This Issue:
- Metro Cities Policy Adoption Meeting: Mark Your Calendar!
- Metropolitan Council Approves PRO Housing Application
- Metropolitan Governance Task Force Update
Metro Cities Policy Adoption Meeting: Mark Your Calendar!
Metro Cities’ legislative policies will receive final adoption at Metro Cities’ Policy Adoption Meeting on Thursday, November 16th at 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be virtual and will feature a speaker from the Office of Cannabis Management to discuss the state’s regulatory structure for the legalization of adult-use cannabis. Legislative policies and protocols for the adoption of policies will be posted in advance of the meeting. Please mark your calendar! Questions? Email Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].
Metropolitan Council Approves PRO Housing Application
On Wednesday, the full Metropolitan Council approved the Community Development Division’s request to submit a grant application to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Grant program called “Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing” (PRO Housing) Program. This application is for $10 million dollars and would support communities in the 7-county metropolitan region in their efforts to remove barriers to affordable housing and support the increase in housing production over the long term. Click HERE to review the draft grant application that was released for public comment.
The Council also approved a commitment of $6 million in Local Housing Incentive Account grants for 2024-2028 as leverage for the PRO Housing grant if the Metropolitan Council is awarded this funding as the MPO of the region. The complete application is due to HUD by October 30, 2023.
Metropolitan Governance Task Force Update
The Metropolitan Governance Task Force, created by the 2023 Legislature, met on Wednesday morning. After a brief update from Chair Hornstein, the task force heard from Metro Transit and Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS) staff. Metro Transit General Manager, Lesley Kandaras and Interim Executive Director for the METRO Projects Division, Nick Thompson provided an overview of the transit agency, the future of the network, and the project development process. MTS Executive Director, Charles Carlson described the work of MTS in planning for the region as well as contracted transit operations his office is responsible for. Carlson also presented on the Metropolitan Council as our region’s MPO including the geography of the Twin Cities Urbanized Area, the makeup and function of the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), and how the Transportation Policy Plan (TPP), and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) are developed. Click HERE to view the Metro Transit/MTS slides.
After task force members responded to the Council presentation with questions and comments, the group began to think more broadly about the vision for their work moving forward. The task force is expected to next hear from several MPOs from elsewhere in the country as they weigh potential recommendations for the legislature next session. The governance task force will meet again next week on Wednesday, November 1. Click HERE to find all the task force meeting agendas and presentation materials.