Housing and Redevelopment Authority Meeting Date: May 1, 2025
To: Members of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority
From: Jake Reilly, Community Development Director
Melissa Hanson, Housing Coordinator
Title
Strategic planning and annual work plan work session.
Body
Action Requested:
The HRA shall participate in a conversation about goals and initiatives for the next three years to coordinate efforts with long- and short-term planning efforts citywide.
Summary Report:
The City of Northfield City Council has been planning the development, approval and implementation of the new three-year City Strategic Plan (2025-2028). This will be the third successive adopted strategic plan for the City of Northfield since 2017.
This strategic plan has been coordinated with the development of the long-range Comprehensive Plan, “Northfield 2045” which sets a 20-year vision for the development of the city. The Planning Commission recommended adoption of the draft comprehensive plan to the Council at its regular meeting on April 17, 2025. The proposed comprehensive plan identifies a policy direction for the City that connects land uses and transportation, housing and economic development, and sustainability and infrastructure planning in three foundational chapters. Overall themes of economic security, equity, and environmental resiliency - Northfield’s triple bottom line - heavily influence the desired outcomes in the plan.
One of the outcomes identified in Northfield 2045 is coordination of strategic planning, capital improvement planning, budgeting, under the umbrella of the long-range Northfield 2045 comprehensive plan. This aligns with and furthers the intent of the Minnesota Land Planning Act (1965) for local government entities (counties, municipalities, and counties) to plan for orderly and economic development.
The City continues to work with Rapp Consulting Group, led by Craig Rapp, on a strategic planning process tailored to the needs of the organization and the community. In a process that started in fall, 2024 Rapp Consulting Group is working with organizational and community leaders, helping them articulate their challenges, develop strategic priorities, and define actionable follow-through. Using a process that clarifies desired outcomes, performance indicators and success measures-the organization’s strategic “guidance system” is established. This is followed by a facilitated process with management to develop detailed initiatives and action plans, to ensure accountability. The City and consulting team have worked through several surveys, focus groups, and facilitated conversations with the City Council and staff groups to develop goals and strategies to achieve those goals, along with metrics in order to demonstrate progress and maintain an accountability structure for ourselves and the community
Under the guidance of staff, members of the HRA Board will hear about the draft new strategic priorities for the 2025-2028 strategic plan, how it aligns with the draft policies of Northfield 2045, and how work planning for the next three years will be approached by staff and the Board.
The focus on housing availability will continue into the next three years of strategic planning to respond to the nationwide housing shortage and associated market failures. Goals associated with producing new housing units, preserving (and improving) existing affordable housing units, and addressing tools to respond to identified need in the 2024 Maxfield housing study as well as concerns about zoning code idiosyncrasies, market failures, and take advantage of the successful partnerships with our non-profit housing development community are contemplated in the strategic planning work.
This work session is a focused meeting designed to set priorities, align goals, and develop a roadmap for the HRA’s initiatives. This will lead into a budget discussion later in the year as the city prepares its overall budget for 2026 and pre-plans for the 2027 budget year. More details on how the Council’s strategic plan can and will be supported by the HRA to achieve identified goals will come in front of the HRA board at the June meeting.
This will be an interactive working session facilitated by the Community Development Director for the Board and staff for the HRA and will build on the conversations held last year.
Alternative Options:
Not applicable.
Financial Impacts:
Not applicable.
Tentative Timelines:
Comprehensive Plan Development: Timeline Events
Fall 2023 to Summer 2024 - Community Engagement and Community Profile
August to December 2024 - Plan development and public hearings
December 2024 to April 2025 - Draft revisions, map refinement, document production
April 17, 2025 - Planning Commission recommends draft to Council for adoption
May/June 2025 - Council adoption of Northfield 2045
Strategic Plan Development: Timeline Events
10/22/24 - All Board & Commission Training
Comprehensive Plan Background & Context for Strategic Planning (Reilly)
11/18/24 Staff Senior Management Team Meeting (Craig Rapp)
12/4/24 Staff Senior Management Team + Others: Strategic Plan Kickoff Meeting (Craig Rapp)
Environmental scan work, development, implementation preparation.
1/14/2025: Council Work Session: Good Governance Workshop (Rapp)
February 2025 - Facilitated Community Stakeholder meetings
January/February 2025 - Mayor and Councilmember Interviews
February-March 2025: Community Survey
3/11/25: Council Strategic Plan Work Session
Download of 2024 Board/Commission Input, Community Survey, 4 Focus Group Facilitation, Staff Environmental Scan, Strategic Plan Retreat Process etc.
4/5/25: City Council Strategic Plan Retreat
Develop Strategic Plan: Vision/Mission/Values, Strategic Priorities, Desired Outcomes, Strategic Initiatives
4/8/25: Staff Strategic Plan Work Session (Department Coordination Team + Senior Staff)
5/13/25: Council Work Session: Review & Direction on Key Outcome Indicators & Targets
5/20/25: Council Regular Meeting: Adoption of Strategic Plan Report (2025-2028)
Board/Commission Work Plan Development: Timeline of Events
5/1/2025: HRA Work Session: Review and direction on aligning HRA work with Northfield 2045 and 2025-2028 Strategic Plan
6/5/2025: HRA Meeting: Discussion and refinement of 2025 work plan
(Preview of 2026-2028 work plans, as aligned with the City Council 2025-2028 Strategic Plan)