In This Issue:
- Metro Cities Annual Meeting is April 15th – Mark Your Calendar!
- Second Webinar in Regional and Local Planning Series is Next Thursday
- Save the Date: Training on Transportation Funding Opportunities
- MN Housing Releases Climate Resilience and Housing Decarbonization Roadmap
Metro Cities Annual Meeting is April 15th – Mark Your Calendar!
Please plan to join us for Metro Cities’ Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 15th at 5:00 pm at the Roseville Oval Skating Center Banquet Room. The meeting will feature a social hour at 5:00 pm, followed by a guest speaker and brief business meeting to elect new Board officers and Board members. Our guest speaker is Trisha Kirk, Managing Director of the Guthrie Theater. This is a great opportunity to socialize with peer officials from across the region. More information to follow! RSVP to Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].
Second Webinar in Regional and Local Planning Series is Next Thursday
Metro Cities is hosting three webinars with Metropolitan Council staff on local comprehensive planning and its context within a regional framework. They are open to all elected officials and staff and geared toward a broad audience. The next webinar is next Thursday, April 9th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. If you have not yet registered and would like to attend, please email Jennifer Dorn at [email protected] The next two webinars are titled as follows:
- Comprehensive Planning in A Regional Context: April 9, 12:00-1:00 pm
-Technical Assistance for Comprehensive Planning: May 7, 12:00-1:00 pm
Please join us if you can!
Save the Date: Training on Transportation Funding Opportunities
Metropolitan Council staff are hosting a training on the changes made to the 2026 Regional Solicitation and 2026 Active Transportation solicitation before the call for projects occurs later this Spring.
As part of this training Metropolitan Council staff will:
- Discuss changes made for this round of the Regional Solicitation.
- Walk through application requirements for Active Transportation dollars (made available via the regional sales tax revenue directed to the TAB).
- Answer questions from attendees so that cities are prepared to take advantage of both funding opportunities.
This training session will be offered in a hybrid format, in-person at Metro Cities’ office (the League of Minnesota Cities building) and via Zoom on Friday, April 24 from 10AM until 11:30AM. Any interested city officials or staff are welcome to attend. To register, email Jennifer Dorn at [email protected].
Contact Mike Lund at [email protected] or 651-215-4003 with any questions.
MN Housing Releases Climate Resilience and Housing Decarbonization Roadmap
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency has released their final Climate Resilience and Housing Decarbonization Roadmap as a climate-focused guide for the Agency. The report includes various recommendations that could impact cities applying for funds from Minnesota Housing.
The report includes the following recommendations:
- Minnesota Housing will move toward requiring net-zero multifamily new construction for projects funded in or after 2032.
- Minnesota Housing will move toward requiring net-zero single-family new construction for projects funded in or after 2032. Minnesota Housing will increase minimum requirements and add additional incentives in a phased approach until all funded single-family new construction is net-zero energy.
- Minnesota Housing will promote whole-building energy performance, incentivize Passive House rehabilitation programs and strengthen prescriptive energy and resiliency requirements for projects funded in or after 2035.
- Minnesota Housing will update relevant building standards and documents to more deeply decarbonize and make climate resilient existing single-family housing through existing home improvement programs for projects funded in or after 2035.
There are various recommendations to support finding additional funding to support these efforts, however it is unclear what levels of funding will be available to support these new requirements. Metro Cities will continue to monitor how these recommendations are rolled out for applicants to the single-family and multifamily funded projects through Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
If you have questions on the Climate Roadmap, you can contact Katherine Teiken, Climate Policy Director, at [email protected]. If you have other questions for Metro Cities, please contact Ania McDonnell at [email protected].