In This Issue:
- Save The Date! Metro Cities Housing Forum October 2nd
- Metropolitan Council Committee Recommends Policy Development Grants
Save The Date! Metro Cities Housing Forum October 2nd
Mark your calendar for Metro Cities’ Housing Forum on Thursday, October 2, 2025. This will be an in-person forum held at the Roseville Skating Center/Oval from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon. The forum will feature topics including innovative uses of resources and tools, tax increment financing for housing, homeowner associations, housing improvement areas, preserving affordable housing, and more! Attendees will receive a comprehensive binder of resources and information. More information coming soon. Please RSVP by contacting Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].
Metropolitan Council Committee Recommends Policy Development Grants
On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Council’s Community Development Committee approved funding for local policy development grant applications as well as pre-development grant applications.
The Policy Development Grant program provides funding to cities to support locally adopted policies that influence physical development and further LCA and Imagine 2050 goals. Seven cities applied for funding, and all seven projects were recommended for their requested funding, totaling $311,000 in funding. Some projects were funded through Livable Communities Act funding, and some were funded through Housing and Urban Development PRO Housing funds. Projects recommended for funding with HUD Pro Housing dollars were those that went beyond the scope of the Policy Development program. The seven cities recommended for funding are Hopkins, Richfield HRA, Blaine, New Brighton, Eden Prairie, Edina, and Golden Valley. Policy projects include zoning code updates, subdivision ordinance updates, Local Affordable Housing Aid (LAHA) funding analysis, and research and development on new locally administered housing programs.
Pre-Development grants are for early-stage activities in a project, such as design workshops, financial studies, project impact analyses, and community engagement for projects that will support Livable Communities Act and Imagine 2050 goals. The Council received five applications for Pre-Development grant programs, and four were recommended for funding. These include the Roseville EDA, Brooklyn Center, Saint Paul, and Columbia Heights. The funding available for this grant round totals $1 million, and $1 million in funding was recommended for the four projects.
The committee voted to approve the recommended funding for both grant programs. You can learn more about the projects selected for funding HERE.
Contact Ania McDonnell at [email protected] with any questions.