DATE: March 21, 2019
TO: Members of the Economic Development Authority
FROM: Nate Carlson, Economic Development Coordinator
Title
Approval of Urban3 Final Report
Body
SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUESTED:
The EDA shall make a motion to approve the final report submitted by the Urban3.
BACKGROUND:
The Northfield EDA entered into a consulting contract with Urban3 in August 2018. The EDA Commissioned this work to provide community members with an alternative analysis on Northfield's current land use and tax make-up. The Northwest Area of Northfield was also taken into consideration as part of the greater analysis. The goal for Urban3's lectures is to change the way people think about the cost of development, sprawl and the value of land. Urban3 has gathered all the tax information for every parcel within the City of Northfield and conducted a density analysis. Urban3 measures the efficiency of land across different types of uses (industrial, commercial, residential etc.) They then examine the most efficient land uses from a tax generating standpoint and highlight the structures in their presentations. Overall, what Urban3 discovered is that Northfield, historically, had a very sustainable growth model, but after WW 2 Northfield began to sprawl. However, we do have significantly more efficient land use than our neighboring communities due to the high value of our downtown. Urban3's main goal is to challenge the way we view development, and I think they have accomplished that for Northfield. There is a video produced of the presentation and is uploaded to the City's Youtube page.
Following the presentations by Mr. Joe Minicozzi in December, Urban3 drafted a story map as the final report to the EDA. I have attached the PDF version and have provided the online link to the story map. Urban3 requests the EDA Board to approve the final report following any potential changes needed.
ANALYSIS:
Staff has reviewed the report and finds it adequate and complete.
OPTIONS:
Th...
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