Mission and goals

Administration and Support provides department-wide leadership and support for internal and external CPED services and inter-departmental coordination services including:

• budget and finances
• information-technology and technology services
• communications and marketing
• fleet management
• space management
• employee engagement
• workforce planning
• coordination of department functions to meet City goals
• business and policy process improvements

This program strives to improve and facilitate accountability and innovation throughout CPED, providing analysis and long-range thinking that supports responsible decision making. It is also responsible for coordination of projects, public policy process and implementation, committee actions, and council process.

Services provided

Administration, Policy, and Finance: Ensures there is efficient resource planning and availability for the department to deliver services and programs to residents and businesses. Maintains that effective policies and procedures are in place and initiates innovative ways to improve service delivery. It is also responsible for coordination of budget and performance management, public policy process and implementation, committee actions, and council process. It also plans and manages projects like space planning, records retention, human resource management, and vehicle management.

Project Coordination: Ensures that the work and services of the department are well communicated to both internal and external partners through various channels including newsletters, social media, and news bites. It also assists in the strategic marketing of department programs and services to ensure the right type of tactics are being used to reach the city’s diverse community groups and stakeholders. The team regularly collaborates with City Communications, and Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) department for accessibility and translation services.

Special Projects and Business Solutions: Plans and responds to department’s technology and special project needs. It collaborates with City’s Information Technology (IT) department for both hardware and software solutions. This team provides department-wide leadership and support for internal CPED services to ensure sustainable and innovative operations across divisions and cohesiveness as a department. These services range from the internal services such as budgeting, workforce planning and development, and IT to the public facing services such as communications and marketing, the public website, and administrative staff, which are often the first touchpoint for community members via a phone call or in-person.

Race equity impacts

From the internal service perspective, professional and workforce development and culture is critical to how we serve community members. This includes investments in the department’s workforce, identifying ways to increase hiring and retention of BIPOC staff, and to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce. This work has been realized through employee engagement activities and the Racial Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (RIDE) Committee, which was formed to identify goals and strategies to advance the department’s racial equity and inclusion work.

From an external perspective, BIPOC communities are impacted by Administration and Support through the communication and outreach for the department’s various programs. Based upon the design of the program and its target demographic, program staff develop communication plans that are designed to reach the public including targeted audiences which can range from youth or a specific cultural community, and tailoring the outreach strategy through mediums that are culturally accessible to reach the intended audience. These strategies may include inter-department collaborations such as with Neighborhood and Community Relations Department and City Communications to share information across various medias platforms, translated materials, or interpretation.

Mission and goals

Development Services ensures a quality-built environment throughout the city in service of eliminating disparities through the implementation of Minneapolis 2040 and related policy, recommendations on applications to relevant decision-making bodies, and permitting & inspection of development activity ensuring compliance with current building code. The Development Services program includes two sections:

1. Development Review
2. Construction Code Services

Services provided

The Development Review team collaborates with the Public Service Area to serve as the front door for the City’s consolidated development activities. With a customer-service first mission, this program ensures high-quality development while requiring that building construction and rehabilitation projects meet the City’s standards in terms of safety, livability, health, and environmental sensitivity. Business licenses, rental licenses, and critical parking permits may also be obtained through this center.

The Construction Code Services (CCS) provides vital services including inspecting all aspects of a building and providing instruction to property owners and contractors to ensure work is done up to current building code. CCS also reviews all plans for new construction, additions, or remodels (building, plumbing, and mechanical) that come through the City to make sure they are compliant with current code. The CCS inspectors work in the following trades:

• Building
• Plumbing
• Mechanical

This division contains multiple sub-programs involving new buildings permits, condemned buildings, selling a residential property, and certifying tradespeople to work in the City, which help to certify the safety of our built environment. CCS programs include:

Certificate of Occupancy: State Building Code requires that new buildings and existing buildings that change their occupancy classification must obtain a Certificate of Occupancy before the building can be occupied.

Code Compliance for condemned properties: Ensures that a specific set of rules are followed when rehabbing, selling, or buying a condemned property, and ensures every aspect of the property is brought up to code before it is occupied.

Fire Escrow: As required by state statute, the Fire Escrow program is administered for all properties that have had a fire in which more than 49% of the property is damaged. Once notified by the insurance company, the City holds 25% of the funds from the total settlement amount. We work with the property owner to ensure they repair the property and bring it back up to code before we return the funds in full. Specific rules must be followed when accepting, holding, and refunding the escrow funds and requires clear understanding of and closely following the state statute.

Competency Cards: Issued to trades people working within the city as proof the cardholder has met the necessary qualifications, experience, and technical knowledge in each trade. These trades include:

• Gas fitter
• Plumber
• Refrigeration
• Warm air/ventilation
• Steam/hot water

Card holders must apply and pass an exam before they can receive a competency card and they must pay an annual bill to maintain that card. Currently, we bill on a total of roughly 5,200 competency cards. This program handles all of that and maintains all licenses in our software system.

Truth in Sale of Housing (TISH): Ensures the quality of the housing stock in the city and provides potential buyers with information on the condition and energy efficiency of the property. This is done by requiring an evaluation be done and a TISH report created prior to the sale of any single family, duplex, townhome, and first-time condo conversion. Our busiest program, it handles 5,000-7,000 reports each year as well as reports from prior years with open required repairs. It works with, maintains, and approves the licenses for 70 evaluators who perform evaluations and re-inspections. It also maintains and updates the software system where all reports are stored, works with property owners, realtors, and closers to ensure all required repairs are completed in the required timeframe.

Race equity impacts

Racial disparities persist for BIPOC communities in accessing safe, accessible, and affordable housing. This disproportionately impact renters whom are more likely to be BIPOC and immigrant households. The increase in rents, decrease or stagnant incomes, and loss of affordable housing units have put many renters at risk of living in housing that may not be decent, affordable or healthy.

As part of the City’s role in ensuring safe housing and buildings, staff reviews plans to make sure that work that is done to buildings are compliant with current codes, and the work is inspected by staff to certify that it is done properly.

Navigating City systems and programs can be a difficult task for the public. Language can be another barrier for community members who are accessing information and City services. To remove these barriers staff provides live phone interpretation for the public and has applications and information that are commonly requested translated and made readily available in print and online.

Mission and goals

Economic Policy & Development works with community partners and provides direct service to reduce barriers for people and businesses, prioritizing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities historically cut off from economic opportunity, to thrive in a healthy, sustainable, equitable, and diverse Minneapolis economy through workforce skill building, small business support, commercial real estate and business development, and licensing enforcement, and education.

The Economic Policy and Development division has four subdivisions:

1. Business Development

2. Small Business Team

3. License and Consumer Services

4. Employment and Training

5. Promise Zone

Services provided

Business Development: Business Development helps businesses grow in Minneapolis and expand commercial vitality particularly for those populations and neighborhoods that have been marginalized. Business Development has an array of programs and projects, including:

• Small business and real estate loans
• Support for commercial districts
• Development grants
• Site search assistance
• Revenue bond financing
• Commercial real estate development

Business Development supports the growth of small businesses located in Minneapolis through lending programs. These loan programs provide the borrower financing on favorable terms and often work in partnership with a private lender such as a nonprofit community development financial institution or a bank.

The City’s Great Streets Program supports neighborhood business district revitalization and the economic development work of community-based organizations. Commercial revitalization efforts can range from grants to improve the facade of commercial buildings to activities to organize, promote, and activate neighborhood business districts.

The City facilitates and invests in commercial real estate development to support the revitalization of properties around the city, specifically those located in economically challenged areas. The City sells certain properties for redevelopment and deploys investment tools such as loans, pass-through grants, and bond financing to achieve objectives that benefit the public, such as job creation, rehabilitating buildings, remediating environmental contamination, and expanding the tax base.

Small Business Team: The Small Business Team connects small business owners and entrepreneurs to information, resources, and support to start, stay, or grow in Minneapolis. This work is done through direct, one-to-one assistance, proactive communications and engagement, and support for community organizations that provide small business assistance. It also supports City process improvement efforts to make Minneapolis an easier place to start and grow a small business.

Small Business Team responds to requests for information and assistance from business owners and entrepreneurs in navigating City requirements, regulations, and resources. Liaisons also conduct proactive outreach in priority areas and facilitate engagement opportunities for small businesses.

The Business Technical Assistance Program (B-TAP) provides training and consulting to small business owners and entrepreneurs through community business development centers and neighborhood business associations. Specialized group training and support for co-ops and small developers are also offered through the auxiliary Cooperative Technical Assistance Program (C-TAP) and Developer Technical Assistance Program (D-TAP).

Licenses and Consumer Services: Licenses and Consumer Services provides education and ensures compliance with City and State codes and regulations governing business, trade, liquor, tobacco, entertainment, and mobile vehicle activity. This team licenses more than 200 business types, administers 11,000 licenses and permits annually to businesses, individuals, nonprofit organizations, and event organizers.

Licenses and Consumer Services assists business owners through various stages of the business onboarding processes. These stages include license application intake, review, background checks, collection of license fees with an annual renewal billing system and onsite facility inspections. Onsite facility inspections allow Licenses and Consumer Services to verify that the business delivers on the level of service commitment to its patrons as defined in the license agreement and serves as an opportunity to provide education, where appropriate, to help the business succeed in Minneapolis, and ensure that what the business delivers contributes favorably to public health, public safety and livability for the community it serves.

Adult Workforce Development Program & Youth Development Program: The Adult Workforce Development program annually assists 1400 low-income Minneapolis adults through employment training, career navigation, and job counseling services. An additional 2,700 job seekers are assisted through our place-based initiatives at Career Force Centers and the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center. In 2022, through a network of community-based providers, nearly 700 gained employment (79% BIPOC), 831 earned industry-recognized training and over 500 continue in training into 2023. The average wage gain from program entry to exit is $5.25 per hour.

Youth Training and Development programming works with over 3,000 Minneapolis youth and young adults (90% BIPOC) through internships, education attainment programming, career planning, and stability supports. These programs are community-focused and work to open access to historically marginalized communities, including youth with barriers, youth with disabilities, and BIPOC youth.

Adult Workforce Development program provides career counseling, job readiness training, job search assistance, and job placement services in partnership with community-based agencies, the Adult Workforce Development programs (listed below). Many of the clients served through the programs have multiple barriers to employment, including ex-offender status, lack of consistent work history, unstable housing, low educational attainment, and/or chemical dependency. Programs include:

• Minneapolis Works
• Career Pathways
• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
• Dislocated Worker Program

Youth Development Program aims to create a strong future workforce by reducing youth unemployment and racial employment disparities through the sub-programs below:

• Step Up: Connects Minneapolis youth ages 14-21 with training and paid internships.
• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Program: Provides employment for low-income Minneapolis youth, ages 14-24.

Promise Zone: The North Minneapolis Promise Zone (NMPZ) has been operating in North Minneapolis since 2015 as a designation of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A place-based initiative, NMPZ focuses on leveraging resources for a community that has significant disparities by race (North Minneapolis). The Promise Zone works to connect community stakeholders including residents, small businesses, and community-based organizations to city staff and services. Promise Zone leverages community relationships as well as collaboration with other departments to improve the economic activity, housing options, and safety for Northside residents. We currently work collaboratively with Race Equity, Sustainability, Office of Performance and Innovation (OPI), Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and to move the Northside towards better outcomes. Examples of the work include:

Livability concerns: connecting with residents to identify issues, such as nuisance properties and utilizing relationships with other departments to improve those conditions:

Public Safety: partnering with community and police to bring the necessary resources to address pockets of the Northside where people are living unhoused, with chemical/mental health issues, and/or violent crime.

Race equity impacts

Business Development: As part of the City’s goals and policy priorities from the Strategic & Racial Equity Action Plan (SREAP), increasing the number of BIPOC-owned businesses is a key strategy for increasing community and household wealth to equitably grow as a diverse economy. Businesses must be supported through a network of systems to thrive as part of a larger ecosystem that builds on local assets that benefits residents, workers, and the community.

Business Development helps businesses grow in Minneapolis and expand commercial vitality in neighborhoods throughout the city. This includes various strategies that range from supporting individual businesses, investments in district and/or corridor-wide strategies, and City-led real estate development projects.

Access to capital is one of many barriers for BIPOC entrepreneurs that are starting or expanding a business. Lenders have cited the lack of matching equity from BIPOC borrowers due to low appraisals of commercial properties in low-income neighborhoods as collateral for loans, as risky loans for lenders, which results in loans not happening. The Small Business Lending programs fill a need to support BIPOC borrowers who otherwise would not be able to access a business loan through a traditional bank.

Business Development has focused resources to provide grants to community-based organizations to propose and implement strategies that perform business district and revitalization and economic development work. This strategy is realized through the Great Streets Program, which oversees the Facade Improvement Matching Grant to improve the facade of commercial properties, and the Business District Support Grants to fund non-profit organizations to carry out work that revitalize or benefits a business district. The Great Streets program categorizes “priority eligible” locations as areas that are overlapping with other City-recognized areas, which include Cultural Districts, Green Zones, ACP50s, and the Minneapolis Promise Zone.

Small Business Team: Small businesses are integral in growing the Minneapolis economy. Small businesses and entrepreneurship are opportunities to build wealth, especially in communities of color. Many barriers exist for entrepreneurs of color to start or grow an existing business. These barriers include lack of access to capital or business loans, needed assistance with business planning, and/or help with navigating City processes and licensing.

As part of the City’s goals around economic inclusion, the Small Business Team was created to provide a direct service to business owners and entrepreneurs by assisting them in navigating City regulations and resources, with a focus on conducting business outreach and engagement with BIPOC entrepreneurs. The Small Business Program provides this service through staff who are community liaisons that conduct outreach and engagement, and are accessible via community office hours, online, or by phone.

The Small Business Team manages B-TAP (Business Technical Assistance Program), which was created to provide consulting support to economically disenfranchised small businesses located in Minneapolis. Through this program, the City contracts with local non-profit organizations in the community that can provide business training and economic development to new and existing businesses.

Licenses and Consumer Services: The mission of Licenses and Consumer Services is to serve business owners, residents, and visitors in a safe, vibrant, and prosperous environment. Licenses and Consumer Services is responsible for:

• Administering business licenses for over 200 business types
• Inspections to ensure compliance with local and state regulations, as well as operating agreements
• Ongoing education as businesses grow and develop
• Complaint resolution in response to livability concerns

All of these are in effort to protect the health and safety of workers and the general public, while supporting businesses to realize success. Access to the information and services are created through translated materials and language interpretation to serve the diverse communities of entrepreneurs and business owners that choose to operate in the city.

Growing and emerging industries that start to do business in the city may not always fit into a traditional business model or fit with the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances definitions for a business type. This may be the case for new small or microbusinesses that may not have a typical business model, service, or structure. Staff provide ongoing education and service to businesses to assist through the licensing process to ensure the safe operation of their business in the city.

Adult Workforce Development Program: BIPOC communities face particularly high barriers to participating in the economy. The barriers these communities face in accessing job or training opportunities are not only limited to their education or qualifications, but can also be due to historical trauma, personal and family health and stability, or lack of access to programs or resources. These barriers are created by inequities that persist in educational and economic systems that are culturally inaccessible and not property serving the diverse needs of the community. The absence of paid work for economic stability is an important social determinant of health that can impact emotional and mental well-being.

Barriers are even higher for adults who have ex-offender status, a lack of consistent work history, unstable housing, low educational attainment, and have chemical dependency.

The Adult Workforce Development programs provides access to career counseling, career pathways to sectors of the economy with greater laddering opportunities, and access to higher wages which can lead to better family stability.

Youth Development Program: BIPOC residents and communities face high barriers to participating in the economy. These barriers communities face in accessing job or training opportunities are not limited only to their education or qualifications, but can also be due to historical trauma, personal and family health and stability, or lack of access to programs or resources. These barriers are created by inequities that persist in educational and economic systems that are culturally inaccessible and not property serving the diverse needs of the community. The absence of paid work for economic stability is an important social determinant of health that can impact emotional and mental well-being.

Youth training and development programs are designed to eliminate race-based employment disparities, increase access to employment training, and gain work that is well-paying, sustainable, and provides opportunities for growth. To reduce and eliminate barriers to accessing development and work opportunities, the programs are targeted to serve youth and young adults that are from low-income households, experiencing homelessness, and need assistance to complete an educational program or secure and hold employment. These programs provide qualified youth with training and employment opportunities at local employers and provide job and career exposure in a new job sector. The program provides youth with not only career exploration, but as well as building professional skills and expanding their network for social and professional support.

Promise Zone: The Promise Zone is fundamentally a racial equity initiative. Minneapolis received the designation because of the deep disparities between white and BIPOC people in the city in nearly every area including housing, public safety, economic development, employment, and education. Predominantly Black and low-income residents are impacted by the work of the Promise Zone and the VISTAs. These historically marginalized groups are the center of the work we do. We report semi-annually on the number of small businesses, residents and community base organizations that we support. Nearly all of our participants are Black and all live, work, play and/or worship in North Minneapolis. We have monthly meetings with stakeholders from small businesses, other government agencies and residents, in order to maintain focus on the needs of those who are most in need. Furthermore, the VISTAs directly support many residents, community-based organizations, and businesses on the Northside. These groups have found tremendous value in our support and have indicated that there is a need for additional supports.

Mission and goals

The city’s housing challenges are complex and dynamic, and the City of Minneapolis employs a robust set of strategies, including investment, policy, public-private partnership, innovative new programs, and tenant supports to address them.

CPED has two housing budget activities: Affordable Housing Development, and Homeownership Support and Development.

These budget activities support a set of strategies designed to:

• Eliminate racial disparities in housing
• Expand housing choice and opportunity in all areas of the city
• Prevent the involuntary displacement of Minneapolis residents, especially low-income Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant (BIPOCI), seniors and people with disabilities
• Prioritize resources to invest in households facing the most severe housing instability
• Promote energy-efficient and healthy homes in support of City resiliency goals

Services provided

Affordable Housing Development: Affordable Rental Housing Development & Support provides policies, gap funding and financing for the development, redevelopment, or preservation of affordable and mixed-income rental housing to meet current and future resident needs, leverage other public and private investment, and sustain a healthy housing market. City housing strategies supported by Affordable Rental Housing Development & Support include:

• Increase housing supply, diversity and affordability in all neighborhoods
• Produce more affordable rental housing and preserve subsidized affordable rental housing, for 30 years or more
• Preserve unsubsidized naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH)
• Support renters
• Prevent and end homelessness
• Maximize the potential of publicly-owned land to meet City housing goals

The City is creating new mechanisms through land use policy and zoning to increase housing density, require more affordable units, and allow for more housing types throughout the city. Minneapolis 2040 and the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance and policy are in effect as of January 1, 2020.

The City has long invested in the production and preservation of affordable rental housing with subsidies that have income and long-term affordability requirements. The following programs, Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF), Low Income Housing Tax Credits, housing revenue bonds and the tax increment financing program, have been reshaped to reflect the policies and values of Minneapolis 2040 and the City’s Unified Housing Policy. Increased City investment in affordable rental housing is setting records for new production and expanding our ability to serve the lowest income City residents.

The programs listed above are highly competitive and over-subscribed. They utilize scoring to incentivize projects that meet the City’s highest-priority rental housing goals: the production and preservation of 30% AMI units, units for people experiencing homelessness, large family units, and units with rental subsidy. In addition to the programs above, CPED implements several targeted initiatives to expand access to housing opportunities that are in extremely short supply in the city’s housing market, including:

• Single Room Occupancy (SRO)/Shared Housing Initiative: Funds SRO or shared housing models as a cost-effective way to provide deep affordability.
• Low Barrier Housing Initiative: Provides capital cost funding for housing with services to help transition persons experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, with a focus on unsheltered homeless persons.
• Inclusionary Zoning: Requires new market-rate rental projects to include affordable units in their projects or meet an alternative compliance option.

More than half of low-income renter households in Minneapolis live in unsubsidized housing, often referred to as naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH). The strong real estate market and low rental vacancy rate have made these properties more attractive to investors, leading to increased sales, higher rents, and displacement of tenants who can’t afford rent increases or aren’t given the choice to stay. The City’s NOAH preservation strategy, launched in 2018, includes a mix of property tax incentives and financing, large acquisition funding, smaller scale preservation financing, and intermediary support with pathways for tenant ownership. Programs include NOAH Preservation Fund, Small and Medium Multifamily (SMMF) Program, and 4d Affordable Housing Incentive Program.

The City’s homelessness response strategy includes investment in affordable housing designated for persons experiencing homelessness, collaboration with Hennepin County and other partners, investments in street outreach and other housing-related services for persons experiencing homelessness. The City funds the production and preservation of permanent supportive housing units, collaborates with key public and private partners, and invests in programs and services to prevent and end homelessness, including resources to support emergency shelters and street outreach. The City and Hennepin County coordinate responsibilities for supporting the Office to End Homelessness (OEH), which oversees the homeless response system. CPED works with other City departments to coordinate responses to unsheltered homelessness and provides funding for homeless street outreach teams to help connect unsheltered residents with shelter and housing options.

Homeownership Support and Development or Minneapolis Homes: Homeownership Support and Development, Minneapolis Homes, is designed to reduce racial disparities in homeownership through programs that improve access, creation and preservation of sustained-affordable homeownership opportunities. Programs align with City goals to:

• Increase housing supply, diversity and affordability in all neighborhoods
• Improve and sustain access to homeownership, especially among low-income and BIPOCI residents
• Maximize potential of publicly-owned land to meet City housing goals

Minneapolis Homes has several sub-programs that provide education, financing, and property development opportunities to homebuyers, homeowners, and developers to access, create, and sustain affordable homeownership housing, including:

• Homeownership Counseling & Outreach: The City contracts with service providers (selected through a competitive RFP process) to deliver counseling services to new homebuyers and existing homeowners to ensure they get the resources necessary to make them successful homeowners. The City also contracts with culturally-specific service providers to perform focused outreach to BIPOC communities and provide financial wellness counseling and improve homebuyer readiness.
• Homeownership Opportunity Minneapolis: Provides up to $10,000 of down payment and closing cost assistance to households at or below 80% AMI that have gone through financial wellness counseling, through American Rescue Plan investment an additional $10,000 ($20,000 total) is available to households below 60% AMI.
• Minneapolis Homes Financing: Leverages City resources with other public and private sources (approximately 3:1) to develop one- to 20-unit developments with either:
  • Perpetually affordable housing units citywide on publicly or privately-owned land through acquisition, rehabilitation, and new construction. The units are enrolled in an equity-sharing formula to maintain affordability for a 30-year term that renews upon each property sale.
  • Development of City-owned land in North Minneapolis for sale with down payment assistance
• City Property Purchase Program: Supports the acquisition and disposition of vacant and blighted properties, which are typically tax-forfeited. The City affirmatively markets the opportunities to rehabilitate the properties and prioritizes sale to residents that will owner-occupy the home upon project completion. The program is an entry point for developers or contractors to work with the City; many participants grow to work with the City in other ways through participation in the program. Additionally, the program supports the ongoing property management efforts for the City-owned land in CPED’s inventory.
• Home Improvement Program: Leverages City funds with resources from Minnesota Housing to offer a variety of products that serve all Minneapolis homeowners with rehabilitation needs. City funds assist households at or below 80% AMI. The program offers forgivable products for households below 30% AMI, and a range of amortizing and deferred products at 0% interest for eligible households. Over half of the households served are BIPOC.

Race equity impacts

Minnesota, and specifically Minneapolis, has some of the highest homeownership disparity rates, 36 percentage points, in the country (Source: Decennial Census, American Community Survey). The homeownership disparity rate is the difference between white homeownership rates and BIPOC homeownership rates. The disparity is an intentional outcome of decades of policy with racism at its core, including:

• Redlining, a practice that devalued BIPOCI communities and made it challenging to impossible to secure a loan.
• Racially restrictive covenants, which prevented BIPOCI households from purchasing land or property in large portions of the City, a practice that was most pronounced in South Minneapolis in proximity to lake amenities.
• Sub-prime lending, which targeted BIPOCI households with high interest rate, overvalued, and variable term loans that led to the housing market crash of 2008-2013 and most effected the same neighborhoods were redlining was pronounced.

To address these issues, Minneapolis Homes staff disaggregated data by race and sought to define programs based on centering BIPOC households to collaboratively frame our next steps. Over 1,000 people were engaged through 26 meetings, including caucused conversations with Black, Hispanic, and American Indian stakeholders, whose communities have the highest disparity rates in homeownership and have been most harmed by past policies. Through that process, staff learned:

• Approximately two-thirds of BIPOC renters are below 80% AMI and half are below 50% AMI. In response, Minneapolis Homes programs focused on creating new housing opportunities or accessing existing housing opportunities citywide were adjusted to serve households below 80% AMI exclusively and to provide meaningful pathways and incentives to serve households below 60% AMI.
• There is strong support for creating more perpetually affordable housing throughout the city to preserve access for generations of residents to sustainable affordable homeownership for households that need a significant affordability investment. However, the land trust model that exists doesn’t serve all communities – for some, there is an aversion to the concept of another entity owning the land where your house is built and distrust of a value-based equity formula to determine home appreciation. Through two facilitated workshops, consultants led community members through the options for perpetually affordable housing and a new City-sponsored model with a 2% annual compounded increase, secured with a declaration of covenants was selected. In 2021, the City’s perpetually affordable housing model was launched to accompany the land trust model and provide more options for perpetually affordable housing, citywide.
• The North Minneapolis communities of Camden and Near North are where most City-owned land is concentrated and where tax-forfeited properties continue to be available for purchase. Community members in North have specifically requested better access to land development opportunities offered by the City. Minneapolis Homes worked in partnership with residents to revise programming, resulting in a change from 11 organizations developing property between 2008-2013 (during the height of the foreclosure crisis) to over 70 different organizations and individuals developing property from 2014-2019, over half of whom are BIPOC-led. To better support the wealth creation and community ownership goals in North, development of City-owned land for ownership has affordability requirements for the first purchaser only.

As a result of engagement and collaboration with residents and stakeholders and adaptations over several years of programming, over 70% of the beneficiaries of Minneapolis Homes programs are BIPOC and most households served are Black households. Over half of the developers active in Minneapolis Homes: Financing are BIPOC led and new developers have been funded in every application cycle.

BIPOC households are more likely to be renters in Minneapolis, compared to white households. BIPOC renter households are also more likely to be cost-burdened compared to white households. Data also shows that African American and American Indian households are disproportionately affected by homelessness. By promoting the production and preservation of deeply affordable units, including units reserved for people experiencing homelessness, the City’s Affordable Rental Housing Development & Support programs are addressing racial disparities in housing.

The City has also revised its NOAH Preservation Fund program guidelines to expand program access to BIPOC and emerging developers. As a result, approximately 80 percent of City-funded NOAH preservation projects in 2022 were led by developers who identify as BIPOC.

Mission and goals

The Planning division helps the residents and property owners invest in the city in a way that aligns with the City’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations. This program is responsible for managing, reviewing and enforcing land use, zoning, preservation, and environmental review applications, conducts policy research, and provides oversight and management of data analytics.

Planning staff:

• Work to create quality neighborhoods in all parts of the City through analysis and professional recommendations on zoning and preservation applications that require action by the Board of Adjustment (BOA), City Planning Commission (CPC), Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), and City Council. Staff evaluates these applications for consistency with the zoning ordinance and adopted City policies, implementing thoughtful planning and design.
• Implement adopted policy, such as Inclusionary Zoning, by communicating, monitoring and enforcing policies on a project-specific basis.
• Assist homeowners, contractors, developers, business owners and architects in developing conceptual designs and executing approved plans in a manner that is consistent with adopted City policy and the zoning code. This work is imperative to the design and development of sustainable, healthy, livable, high performance and resource efficient communities.
• Prepare and assist in preparing technical, physical, economic, social, or statistical data to aid in planning activities and communicate City policy using mapping and graphic software packages. They serve as Change Leaders and subject matter experts on the Enterprise Land Management System and ProjectDox software. Planning staff also acts as a lead on ProjectDox, particularly related to the software upgrade and on-going staff training to over 300 staff members.

Zoning Administration and Land Use, Design and Preservation staff answer questions and respond to general inquiries about planning issues from the public and other agencies through the Public Service Area and 311. Staff review and approve building permits and administrative land use applications.

Code Development staff lead regulatory reform efforts, including implementation of Minneapolis 2040. These ordinance revisions play a critical role in making our city more equitable, sustainable, and resilient.

Community Planning staff provides leadership in land use planning, urban design, and other policy and strategic planning initiatives. Coordinates within CPED and across departments on place-based plan implementation in Light Rail Transit (LRT) station areas and other places where changes are planned and necessary for achieving Minneapolis 2040 goals. Staff works with Code Development, Land Use, Design and Preservation, and Zoning Administration, and the Policy, Research, and Outreach team, to implement Minneapolis 2040.

Zoning Inspectors work to ensure enhanced livability within our communities. The zoning inspectors respond to constituent concerns about possible violations of City zoning code as well as inspect new construction to ensure compliance with approvals.

Policy, Research, and Outreach (PRO) leads CPED’s work in cross-jurisdictional and interdepartmental initiatives to achieve City goals on housing, anti-displacement and equitable development, and conducts data analytics to advance policy development.

Services provided

Code Development, Land Use, Design & Preservation, Community Planning, and Zoning Administration, and Policy, Research and Outreach.

Planning staff:

• Supervises and administers public processes, including public meetings of the City Planning Commission, Heritage Preservation Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
• Performs administrative reviews and issues preservation permits at the customer service center, as well as guiding ongoing regulatory reform affecting land use and development.
• Guides development as required by law, helping residents and property owners invest in the city in a way that aligns with the City’s Comprehensive Plan and development regulations.
• Manages, reviews and enforces land use, zoning, preservation, and environmental review applications.
• Conducts policy research to inform policy and program decisions, and leads the development of new housing and equitable development policy initiatives.

City Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Adjustment and Heritage Preservation Commission: Planning staff works to create quality neighborhoods in all parts of the City through analysis and professional recommendations on zoning and preservation applications that require action by the Board of Adjustment (BOA), City Planning Commission (CPC), Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC), and City Council. Staff evaluates these applications for consistency with the zoning ordinance and adopted City policies, implementing thoughtful planning and design.

Public Service Area and 311: Answer questions and respond to general inquiries about planning issues from the public and other agencies, review and approve building permits and administrative land use applications.

Regulatory Reform: Lead regulatory reform efforts, including the implementation of Minneapolis 2040. These ordinance revisions are expected to play a critical role in making our city more equitable, sustainable, and resilient.

Policy Implementation: Implement adopted policy, such as Inclusionary Zoning, by communicating, monitoring and enforcing said policies on a project-specific basis.

Administrative Review and Building Permits: Work with homeowners, contractors, developers, business owners and architects in developing conceptual designs and executing approved plans in a manner that is consistent with adopted City policy and the zoning code. This work is imperative to design and develop sustainable, healthy, livable, high performance and resource efficient communities.

Technology Initiatives and Research: Prepare or assist in preparing technical, physical, economic, social or statistical data to aid in planning activities and communicate City policy using mapping and graphic software packages. Planners serve as change leaders and subject matter experts on the Enterprise Land Management System (ELMS) and ProjectDox software. Planning staff also acts as a lead on ProjectDox, particularly related to the software upgrade and on-going staff training to over 300 staff members.

Zoning Enforcement: Inspectors work to ensure enhanced livability within our communities. The zoning inspectors respond to resident concerns about possible violations of City zoning code as well as inspect new construction to ensure compliance with approvals.

Community Planning: Manages the implementation of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, which aligns City planning, economic development, housing development and transportation planning functions into a sustainable, regional framework for managed growth over the next generation. Staff prepare and maintain the City’s comprehensive plan, small area plans, citywide thematic, rezoning studies, and strategic planning initiatives, and guides the creation of public realm and urban design principles.

Policy, Research, and Outreach (PRO): This team provides data analysis leadership and support, and leads the development of new housing and equitable development policy initiative for CPED and the City enterprise. The team uses information to answer questions and inform policy and program decisions. The team responds to internal and external requests for data analysis and pro-actively creates new data tools to illustrate CPED’s work with internal and external stakeholders and to inform policy development and project work. This team leads CPED’s work in several cross-jurisdictional and interdepartmental initiatives related to housing, anti-displacement and equitable development.

Race equity impacts

Racial disparities persist for BIPOC communities in accessing safe, accessible, and affordable housing. This disproportionately impacts renters who are more likely to be BIPOC and immigrant households. The increase in rents, decrease or stagnant incomes, and loss of affordable housing units have put many renters at risk of living in housing that may not be decent, affordable or healthy.

As part of the City’s role in eliminating disparities across these various systems, comprehensive planning is a key function that aligns the City’s land use, economic development, housing development, and transportation policies of the city. One of the main deliverables is the Comprehensive Plan, which guides the city’s growth through its policies, and is implemented through the zoning ordinance, development activities, public capital investments, and City programs.

Minneapolis 2040, the city’s recent update to the comprehensive plan, focused on strategies to engage with historically underrepresented communities in planning processes: BIPOC communities, renters, and people from low-income backgrounds. Feedback from this engagement led to the formation of 14 comprehensive plan goals, the overarching goal of eliminating disparities, and provided the framework for the City’s Strategic and Racial Equity Action Plan (SREAP).

As part of the City’s role in ensuring safe housing and buildings, staff reviews plans to make sure that work that is done to buildings are compliant with current codes, and the work is inspected by staff to certify that it is done properly.

Navigating City systems and programs can be a difficult task for the public. Language can be another barrier for community members who are accessing information and City services. To remove these barriers staff provides live phone interpretation for the public and has applications and information that are commonly requested translated and made readily available in print and online.

The PRO Team leverages their expertise to advance policy and develop strategies to measure and track data that helps achieve CPED goals on housing and equitable development. They are also responsible for supporting the department in identifying and development tools to report program results and data in a way that is accessible and provides accountability. Through this focused effort on collaboration and reporting, stakeholders across the city will have routine access to information that help advance transparency in the department’s work.

Mission and goals

Debt Service & Transfers administers and manages specific Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) financial resources, both with external partners and between CPED funds.

Services Provided

This program provides for:

• The internal transfer of eligible funds to finance other CPED development activities
• The expenditure and transfer of funds necessary to pay:
  • debt service on bonds
  • internal loans
  • pay-go tax increment financing (TIF) notes
  • other contractual obligations that are issued to undertake CPED activities

Race equity impacts

Debt Service & Transfers program relates to the administration and management of CPED financial resources that are necessary to pay debt service on bonds and other contractual obligations related to CPED development activities.

Many of the CPED development projects and activities that involve this program have utilized TIF. TIF is a development tool used by the City to provide financial assistance to projects that meet a wide range of City development objectives, including:

• The production of affordable rental housing
• Increasing the number of living wage job
• Expanding the City’s tax base
• Remediating contaminated land

Projects that seek TIF assistance from the City are evaluated by City staff to ensure that they meet various City goals, objectives, and policies. In the TIF evaluation and approval process staff seek community input on the adoption of these districts and plans for how the funds are used.