06-14-1999 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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COf»M<^ll MCPTING JUN 1 4 1999 REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION IT ur unoriiO DATE: June 9,1999 ITEM NO: ^ 0 Department Approval: Name Ron Moorse Title City Administrator Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: City Administrator ’s Report Item Description: Summary of May 20,1999 Lake Area Housing Workshop Representatives of 14 cities around Lake Minnetonka attended a housing workshop on May 20,1999 to obtain information and discuss the prtential for cooperative efforts regarding the preservation and provision of affordable and life cycle housing in the lake area. The meeting began with an overview of a subregional housing study that summarized existing housing in the lake area and suggested a cooperative subregional approach to meeting the housing needs of the lake area. Next, Tom Fulton of the Family Housing Fund and Joe Errigo of Common Bond Communities provided information regarding the successful implementation of affordable housing. The meeting ended with a discussion regarding lake area housing needs, and whether the lake area cities were interested in moving toward a cooperative approach to meeting the area's housing needs. A summary of some of tlic key comments made during this discussion, from my perspective, is as follows: It was suggested that the lake area cities do not need to focus on providing the solution for meeting the metropolitan region's housing needs. Instead we need to focus on meeting the housing needs of the lake area. This involves identifying the fiill range of housing needs, both current and projected. These include housing that is affordable to, and meets the needs of, volunteer fire fighters, public works maintenance staff, as well as all other employees of the lake area cities, the employees of the lake area schools, and the employees of current and projected businesses in the lake area. The lake area also needs a range of housing types to match the needs of people at various stages of their lives. Next Step Meeting the housing needs of the lake area is a complex and difficult imdertaking that may most successfully be accomplished through cooperative efforts among the lake area cities, A recent example of the benefits of cooperation relates to the City's efforts to determine the types of townhouse developments that would work best in the City. We are drawing on the experience of neighboring cities to identify quality, successful townhouse developments and quality developers.