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HomeMy WebLinkAboutChapter 4 - Housing FINAL MC doneRosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-1 CHAPTER 4 : HOUSING HOUSING SUMMARY ROSEMOUNT HOUSING CHAR ACTERISTICS The type of housing available within Rosemount and its distribution throughout the community is closely tied to its history. The community started as a small railroad community founded over 150 years ago; became a growing community on the outskirts of the Twin Cities in the early part of the 20th century, and is now a fast growing suburb within the larger metropolitan region. In accordance with these historical growth patterns, housing in Rosemount is generally distributed as follows:  Older, pre-1940’s neighborhoods immediately adjacent to downtown that follow a rigid grid street system west of South Robert Trail located north and south of 145th Street West. The City has seen several redevelopment projects in the past 10 years that have brought new mixed-use development and higher densities into the Downtown area.  Post war construction in the 1950’s up though the 1980’s and the creation of new neighborhoods further to the west, southwest, and northwest of Downtown. These neighborhoods were dominated by single family homes that generally followed the pre-war grid pattern of the City’s historic downtown, but became more curvilinear as development pushed outward. In the latter part of the post war era, the City began to see an increase in townhouse and other attached dwelling units.  Continued outward expansion mostly north of Connemara Trail and south of 156th Street and eventually east of Downtown from the 1990’s to the present. There was a significant increase in housing during this time frame, particularly between 1999 through 2005, during which the City added nearly 400 new dwelling units each year. Townhouses and multi-family units accounted for roughly half of the housing during this growth period; however, starting in 2009, townhouse and multifamily construction significantly diminished.  Agricultural and rural development areas outside of the City’s urban growth areas, including rural large-lot development in the northern part of the City and farmlands east of Akron Avenue. A majority of these areas are within the City’s planned urban service area or within the Metropolitan Council’s urban reserve. Like other communities within the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, the economic downturn of the late 2000’s had a significant impact on the pace of residential construction in Rosemount. In 2011, Rosemount issued permits for 53 new residential units, down from the peak of 551 new units in 2004. Over the past four years, the City has seen an increase in residential building, with an average of 175 new units each year over this time period. Any excess inventory associated with the downturn appears to have been long-since absorbed by the market, and much of the vacant or agricultural land north of County Road 42 along Akron Avenue and north of Bonaire Path and east of Akron Avenue has been subdivided for residential homes. For purposes of future planning, the Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-2 City is estimating that there are approximately 500 acres that are guided for residential development and vacant as of 2018 in the area north of County Road 42 and east of Akron Avenue. This land is not sufficient to meet the expected demand for housing over the time frame of the Plan; therefore, the City is planning for residential construction within two new development areas: The University of Minnesota property known as UMore Park and the area south of County Road 42 and east of US Highway 52. From 2010 to 2018, Rosemount has grown by 11%, which represents a modest rate of growth, but not anywhere near as rapid as the growth experienced in the preceding decade. Consistent with the Metropolitan Council’s regional projections, Rosemount expects to average 200 to 300 new housing units each year through 2030, with the potential for additional units depending on the timing of the UMore development. As noted in the Land Use Chapter, housing units within UMore are being tracked separately for purposes of estimating the City’s future household and population growth. TABLE 4.1: POPULATION AND H OUSEHOLD GROWTH 2010 -2018 Year Population Households 2010 21,874 7,587 2011 22,139 7,666 2012 22,384 7,739 2013 22,605 7,821 2014 22,490 7,852 2015 23,042 8,095 2016 23,559 8,296 2017 23,965 8,455 Source: Met Council Annual Population Estimates Within the past 10 years, the City has seen the demand for senior housing increase and it is projected to remain strong as an aging population looks to stay within the community. EXISTING HOUSING NEE DS HOUSING UNITS In 2000, Rosemount was predominately a community of single family homes, with small areas devoted to townhouses, smaller apartment buildings near 145th Street and Dodd Boulevard, and senior apartment buildings in Downtown. In the early part of the 2000’s through latter part of this decade, the City experienced near equal construction of single family and multiple family housing, and saw townhouses constructed in the Bloomfield neighborhood, along Chippendale Avenue south of County Road 42, and within ½ mile of the intersection of Connemara Trail and South Robert Trail along with some high density housing consisting of the two 55-unit apartments of Bard’s Crossing. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-3 Starting in 2008, townhouse and apartment construction in Rosemount decreased substantially while the number of new single family homes built each year remained fairly consistent, albeit at a slightly lower level than earlier in the decade. The City also saw a general trend with approved medium and higher density projects being amended through the City approval process for lower density development. Over the last four years, townhouse and apartment activity has picked up substantially, including projects such as the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) Prestwick Townhomes workforce housing, St. Croix Homebuilders infill project near the Chippendale water tower, continued development of townhouses and multi-family within Harmony, two larger senior projects in downtown, and the 225-unit Rosemount Crossing multi-building apartment development immediately east of Downtown. During the latter part of the 2000’s the City received several requests to lower approved project densities within approved higher density residential developments. With the recent resurgent demand for apartments and multi-family housing, the City recognizes the need to plan for new higher density housing areas to ensure that there is adequate room to accommodate these uses in the future and to clearly identify such sites early in the planning process. TABLE 4 .2 – TYPE OF HOUSING 1990 2000 2010 2017 Single Family Detached 2,133 3,592 5,248 5,764 Townhomes 168 714 1,428 1,518 Duplex. Triplex and Quad 101 66 76 84 Multifamily (5 or more units) 243 306 920 1,072 Manufactured Home 197 165 181 175 Other (Boat, RV, Etc.) 24 0 0 0 Total 2,866 4,843 7,853 8,613 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Census and Met Council Housing Stock Estimates In 1990, over 81% of the City housing consisted of single family detached dwellings; however, this percentage has been decreasing each decade since and as of 2017 stands at 69% of the overall number of units in the community (For the calculation of housing type, manufactured homes are combined with the single family detached number, although they are also considered a medium density residential development pattern). Since 2010, the mix between single family and multi-family units has remained fairly constant, with roughly 1/3 of all units multi-family. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-4 TABLE 4 .3 – TYPE OF HOUSING BY PERCENTAGE Year Single Family Units Multi-Family Units (Including Duplex and Townhomes) 1990 81.3% 17.9% 2000 77.6% 22.4% 2010 69.1% 30.9% 2017 69.0% 31.0% Source: U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Census and Met Council Housing Stock Estimates BUILDING PERMITS Data from the City’s building department illustrates the long range construction trends in the community, and further helps describe the timing and allocation of different housing types. The chart below clearly illustrates the housing boom in the 2000’s, the severe downturn in 2009, and the recent period of recovery back to normalized pre-recession levels. TABLE 5.4 – NUMBER OF BUILDING PERMITS BY YEAR 1980-2018 Source: Rosemount Building Department HOUSING AFFORDABILIT Y The Area Median Income (AMI) is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution: half of households in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median. For housing policy, income thresholds are set relative to the area median income, for instance, 50% of the area median income, to determine the affordability of a given unit. To help determine the relative need for housing within the City of Rosemount, the City is required to document the amount of housing that is affordable across various income thresholds. 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 SF TH MF Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-5 In 2016, the Metropolitan Council estimated that there were 8,469 housing units in Rosemount, and of those units 1,073, or 12.7%, were considered affordable (units affordable to households with low incomes (below 50% of AMI). A full breakdown of these estimates for three income thresholds is included in the following chart: TABLE 4 .5 – EXIST ING AFFORDABLE HOUSING U NITS 2016 Household Income Number of Units Percentage of Units At or Below 30% of AMI 360 4.3% 31% to 50% of AMI 713 8.4% 51% to 80% of AMI 3,317 39.2% Units at or Below 80% AMI 4,390 51.9% Total Housing Units 8,469 100% Another way to look at housing affordability is to examine the number of households that utilize a larger share of their income for housing. A dwelling unit is generally considered affordable when a household spends less than 30% of their gross income on housing. Conversely, if the household spends more than 30% of the gross household income on housing, it is considered a housing cost burden. The Metropolitan Council has estimated that within the income ranges documented in this plan (up to 80% of AMI), there were 1,600 housing cost-burdened households in Rosemount as of 2016. The full breakdown of these households is as follows: TABLE 4 .6 – HOUSING COST-BURDENED HOUSEHOLD S IN 2016 Household Income Number of Households Percentage of Households At or Below 30% of AMI 359 4.2% 31% to 50% of AMI 612 7.2% 51% to 80% of AMI 629 7.4% HH at or Below 80% AMI 1,600 18.9% Total Households 8,469 100% As of 2016, the City estimated that there are 535 publicly subsidized housing units in Rosemount, which includes 143 subsidized senior units and none that are subsidized for people with disabilities. (This information is derived directly from the Housing Link Streams public database and Dakota County Community Development Agency records). Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-6 HOUSING TENURE AND TYPE Tenure is a term to describe the difference between a house that the owner resides in and a house that the owner rents to another family. Overall in Rosemount 85% of housing units are owner- occupied while slightly fewer than 14% are renter-occupied. Over the last two decades, the rate of ownership has decreased slightly, primarily due the increased number of multi-family units that have been built in relation to single family homes. Throughout Dakota County, in communities that area considered “growth communities”, 77% of multi-family housing is rental. Single family homes in these communities are primarily owner-occupied, with slightly more than 93% in this category. TABLE 4 .7 – HOUSING TENURE AND VACANCY Type 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2017 % Owner Occupied 2243 78.3% 4188 86.4% 6639 84.5% 7124 84.5% Renter Occupied 536 18.7% 554 11.4% 948 12.1% 1174 13.9% Vacant 87 3.0% 103 2.1% 266 3.4% 132 1.6% Total 2866 - 4845 - 7853 - 8430 - Source: US Census Bureau and American Community Survey The City of Rosemount’s tenure by housing type is projected to be single family homes consisting of 93% ownership and 7% rental, and multiple family homes consisting of 25% ownership and 75% rental. TABLE 4 .8 – TENURE BY TYPE OF COMMUNITY 2011 Rental Home Ownership Housing Type Dakota County Growth Communities Dakota County Growth Communities Single Family 7.5% 6.8% 92.5% 93.2% Multiple Family 81.6% 77.0% 18.4% 23.0% *Source: Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment for Dakota County (2013) Housing Values Map 4.1 depicts all owner-occupied housing within Rosemount along with range describing the estimated market value for this housing. According to the 2012-2016 ACS, the median housing value in Rosemount was $240,300, and values have been rising steadily since 2013. No new single family owner-occupied or rental units have been built since 2011 that met the affordability threshold described in the projected housing need section of this Chapter (as of 2017 this represented a home purchase price of $236,000 or a rental housing opportunity of $1,627/month for a two-bedroom unit). Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-7 SENIOR HOUSING In 2006, Rosemount had 470 senior focused units, ranging from the two 55- unit four story buildings of Bard’s Crossing to the 150 detached townhouses units of Evermoor Crosscroft. Since this time the City added two larger senior housing in the downtown area consisting of the Cambrian Commons and Rosemount Senior Living projects to bring the total number of senior units up to 622. 104 of these units are owned by the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) as affordable senior housing. There is the opportunity for additional senior housing in the Prestwick neighborhood, where high density residential is designated and was part of the AUAR for the area. Rosemount expects additional senior units to be constructed in the future as the baby boomers retire and current Rosemount residents age. TABLE 4 .9 – LOCATION OF SEN IOR HOUSING Name Location Number of Units Bard’s Crossing SW Corner of Connemara Trail and S. Robert Trail 110 Evermoor Crosscroft Connemara Trail and Evermoor Parkway 150 Harmony Senior Housing1 NE Corner of Connemara Trail and S. Robert Trail 60 Rosemount Plaza 145th Street and Burma Avenue 21 Rosemount Plaza 2nd Add. 146th Street and Burma Avenue 39 Cameo Place Cameo between 146th and 147th 44 Wachter Lake Chippendale Avenue south of 150th 46 Cambrian Commons Lower 147th Street and South Robert Trail 60 Rosemount Senior Living South Robert Trail and 143rd Street West 92 Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-8 Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-9 CONDITION AND AGE OF HOUSING STOCK Due to the significant growth that has occurred over the last three decades, the majority of the housing stock within Rosemount is relatively new. A little less than 20% of Rosemount’s housing stock is over 35 years old, the age at which major maintenance efforts need to take place such as furnace or roof replacements. This percentage has been increasing in recent years, and the total number of homes over 35 years old is expected to double over the next 10 years. The City will need to monitor carefully the condition of the aging housing stock to ensure that it is maintained. The City works with Dakota County to identify homeowners who may be income eligible for low interest loans for house repairs and energy efficiency improvements. TABLE 4 .10 – AGE OF HOUSING STOCK Number Percent After 2010 461 5.5% 2000 – 2009 3,042 36.1% 1990 – 1999 2,059 24.4% 1980 – 1989 1,302 15.4% 1970 – 1979 586 7.0% 1960 – 1969 531 6.3% Before 1960 449 5.3% *Source: 2017 ACS HOUSING NEED ANALYSI S Rosemount will continue to be a community predominantly comprised of single-family detached homes consistent with its regional designation as part of the “Emerging Suburban Edge” within the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. Housing affordability continues to be a concern, especially for those households with incomes well below the median income. With an aging population, the City will also need to plan for ways to provide for “aging in place” to allow residents who wish to continue living in Rosemount to continue to do so as they get older and their housing needs change. As the City’s supply of land readily available for development declines, new growth areas are farther from existing services, including the UMore property and the agricultural land east of US Highway 52. Care must be taken to ensure there is enough land designated for non-residential uses to provide convenient services to new and future neighborhoods as the community continues to expand eastward. Some of the potential barriers for addressing these needs include the following:  Ensuring that there is enough land available to support the City’s housing needs will become more difficult as the supply of land near urban services is developed. Since the last Comprehensive Plan, Flint Hills Resources has acquired a substantial amount land for buffering around its facility. Flint Hills has indicated it has no intention to allow residential development within the buffer area, which has reduced the amount of MUSA land available for new residential development in the community. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-10  Land and development costs can make it difficult for builders to construct housing, especially single family homes, that are affordable. Increased development costs are likely as developable land becomes scarcer. It is estimated that much of the new affordable housing created will be attached rather than detached units.  New development areas within UMore and east of US Highway 52 will require major service extensions and will require coordination between several land owners and the City.  Siting multi-family housing in existing neighborhoods or rezoning existing developed areas for higher density housing can lead to neighborhood opposition or infrastructure capacity issues when higher densities were not included with initially approved development plans. The City’s land use plan identifies locations suitable for higher density housing and will encourage these areas to be considered with specific development plans.  The demand for certain types of housing has varied considerably in the past, and future housing construction will be subject to the current market conditions. HOUSING ON INDIVIDUA L SEPTIC SYSTEMS There are approximately 575 homes in Rosemount that are on their own individual septic system. Generally, these homes are located in the rural residential area in northwest and north central portions of Rosemount. Most rural residential lots are 2.5 acres or larger, but there are a number of lots that are less than one acre in size. Lots 2.5 acres are larger are sized to provide multiple drain fields should any one system fail. Unfortunately, lots less than one acre would have difficulty locating a secondary drain field should their existing septic system fail. The City is making provisions to assist neighborhoods with less than one acre lots within Transitional Residential areas to connect onto a municipal system should the neighborhood request the assistance. New rural residential housing on well and septic systems will be limited to the areas designated for rural residential development in the north part of the City. Rural development lots will need to meet requirements for providing both a primary and secondary system for new parcels and meet current septic design standards. PROJECTED HOUSING NE ED HOUSING PROJECTIONS The Metropolitan Council projects that Rosemount will construct 2,300 additional housing units between 2020 and 2030, and that it will add another 2,400 units in the subsequent decade. TABLE 4 .11 HOUSEHOLD PROJEC TIONS 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 Households 2,779 4,742 7,587 9,300 11,600 14,000 New HH 1,323 1,945 2,845 1,713 2,300 2,400 Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-11 In 2013, the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) hired Maxfield Research to create a Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment for all of Dakota County. The Maxfield Research findings for Rosemount are provided on Table 4.12, with numbers from the previous study also shown for the years 2000-2010 (included here for comparison purposes). These projections show that single family housing will continue to generate the greatest market interest in Rosemount, but with a steady demand for multi-family housing to support an older and increasingly diverse population. For purposes of determining future demand and allocation of housing units, Rosemount is using a rough approximation that 70 percent of new units will be single-family while 30 percent will be multi-family. The Maxfield projections for 2020-2030 show demand for units far in excess of the Met Council projections; for the purposes of this Plan it is assumed that these units will likely be developed sometime after 2040 and outside the current MUSA. TABLE 4 .12 HOUSING GROWTH P ROJECTIONS Dakota County Community Development Agency1 Met Council2 Single Family Multiple Family Total Total Number Percent Number Percent Number 2000-2010 1,850-1,950* 54% 1,515-1,680* 46% 3,365-3,630 2,845 2010-2020 1,280-1,301 60% 865-883 40% 2,145-2,184 1,713 2020-2030 4,400-4,527 85% 780-820 15% 5,180-5,347 2,300 2000-2030 7,530-7778 79% 3,160-2883 21% 10,690-11,161 8,958 * From 2005 Housing Needs Study Rosemount expects to construct 7,303 new housing units between 2018 and 2040. The breakout of these units by land use type is 3,028 low density (single family) units; 2,477 medium density (townhouse) units; and 1,798 multi-family (apartment) units. The term “apartment” is used generally to apply to all multiple story residential buildings regardless of rental apartment units or ownership condominiums. The information on Table 4.13 will be used within the Land Use Element to guide the proper location of these additional housing units. TABLE 4 .13 – ADDITIONAL HOU SING UNITS Low Density Medium Density High Density Total 2018-2020 375 150 200 725 2020-2030 1,740 1,369 1,040 4,874 2030-2040 913 958 558 2,429 2018-2040 (Total) 3,028 2,477 1,798 7,303 AFFORDABLE HOUSING A LLOCATION To fulfill the requirements of the Metropolitan Land Planning Act, the Metropolitan Council allocates the number of affordable housing units each community needs to plan for in order to address their share of the regional need for affordable housing units. The full methodology used for determining Rosemount’s allocation is found in the Metropolitan Council’s Thrive MSP 2040 Housing Policy Document. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-12 In terms of fulfilling Rosemount’s regional obligations for affordable housing, the Metropolitan Council’s allocation of affordable units within Rosemount for the 2020-2030 timeframe is 783 housing units. This definition translates into a home purchase price of $236,000 (or less), or a rental housing opportunity of $1,627/month (or less) for a two-bedroom unit (as of 2017). If Rosemount would like to retain and attract younger residents and families, it is critical to encourage greater affordability within the future housing stock as well as provide options for rental housing. TABLE 4 .14 ROSEMOUNT AFFORD ABLE HOUSING NEED AL LOCATION Affordable Housing Need Allocation At or Below 30% AMI 397 From 31 to 50% AMI 215 From 51 to 80% AMI 171 Total Units 783 In order to meet its obligation for affordable housing, Rosemount has guided land at densities consistent with the Metropolitan Council guidelines for providing such housing, which includes:  12 units/acre to address the allocation of affordable housing need at <50% AMI. This combines the allocation at <30% AMI and 31-50% AMI.  6 units/acre to address the allocation of affordable housing need at 51-80% AMI. The table below is derived from the projections in Table 4.13, and has been calculated based on the amount of vacant or undeveloped land within the 2030 MUSA boundary for Rosemount (excluding the UMore area) and uses the low end of the projected density range for each land use category. The high density number assumes that 13 acres (25% of the land area) in Downtown may be redeveloped for high density housing at 20 units per acre, consistent with the City’s minimum density requirement for the DT land use category. TABLE 4 .15 AFFORDABLE HOUSI NG CAPACITY Total Undeveloped Area (2020-2030) Projected Number (At Minimum Densities) 20 units Per Acre (DT) 12.9 258 12 Units Per Acre (HDR) 62 744 6 Units Per Acre (MDR) 217 1,302 The above chart illustrates that the City of Rosemount has the capacity to provide 1,002 units at densities above 12 units per acre, which exceeds the City’s goal of 612 units at <50% AMI. The potential for 1,302 units at 6 units per acre also exceeds the City’s requirement of 171 units at 51- 80% AMI. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-13 HOUSING GOALS AND PO LICIES 1. Design subdivisions to create distinct neighborhoods that are part of the greater Rosemount community. A. Facilitate neighborhood planning for improvements which reinforce neighborhood unity, safety, and community. B. Preserve existing natural corridors or buffer yards to maximize the use of existing landforms, open space, and vegetation to enhance resident’s quality of life. C. All transitional residential areas shall provide a unique urban/rural character with a mixture of housing types, but with a relatively low average net density of 2.0 dwelling units per acre, with a lower density along areas guided for rural residential use. D. Encourage the use of planned unit developments to protect and enhance natural features, open space, and to provide appropriate neighborhood transitions. E. Ensure connections between neighborhoods through natural and the built environment to maintain a greater sense of community. 2. Provide recreational opportunities within and between neighborhoods. A. Implement the Parks System Plan when locating parks and recreational facilities within neighborhoods. B. Incorporate pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with sidewalks and trails as important design elements. C. Provide pedestrian and recreational trail connections with the adjacent land uses. D. Trails shall be planned to connect public areas and create pedestrian pathways within natural corridors. E. Design medium density housing with private amenities and open space for the residents of the medium density housing. 3. Design neighborhoods to incorporate the existing environment and natural resources. A. Streets shall be designed to follow the natural contour of the property and shall provide necessary vehicle connections throughout the geographic area. B. Steep slopes shall be protected from development. C. Development near wetlands and woodlands shall follow the Wetland Management Plan and Tree Preservation Ordinance to ensure their preservation/protection and incorporation into the natural landscape design of each development. D. Clustering of housing units shall be designed into planned unit developments and the transitional residential area to conserve the land’s natural resources. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-14 4. Provide a mixture of rental and home ownership opportunities to provide life cycle housing. A. Encourage the construction of a variety of single family home sizes and styles to increase home ownership opportunities. B. Encourage the development of owner occupied and rental medium density housing. C. Provide ownership opportunities for seniors with access to transit and public/institutional facilities. D. Provide rental opportunities for young adults and recent college graduates returning to Rosemount. E. Provide an opportunity for student housing near Dakota County Technical College. 5. Locate the different housing styles within the appropriate areas. A. Identify areas in the plan for multi-family housing to clearly communicate City’s plan for these areas and preserve land for higher density housing where it can be best integrated with the surrounding development. B. Disperse medium density residential throughout the community to avoid entire neighborhoods of densities greater than 4 units per acre. C. Disperse high density residential in appropriate areas throughout the community to provide mixed residential density neighborhoods and lifecycle housing opportunities. D. Differing housing opportunities should provide variation in housing style and price point for residents E. Locate high density residential with access to the collector and arterial street network. F. Locate high density residential in conjunction with Downtown and the commercial areas along County Road 42 to create mixed use neighborhoods and transit oriented districts. G. Provide opportunities for seniors to live near their children and families. 6. Provide workforce and affordable housing opportunities through cooperative effort with other agencies. A. Work with the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) and other state and federal agencies to provide workforce and affordable housing opportunities. B. Work with Habitat for Humanity and similar organizations, along with Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) and other state and federal agencies, to provide affordable housing opportunities and to redevelop and rehabilitate older homes in the City. Rosemount 2040 Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – Housing 4-15 7. Maintain the rural character of northwest Rosemount. A. Discourage the placement of structures on top of exposed ridge lines. B. Allow clustering where natural areas and active agriculture can be retained. C. Maximize the retention of vegetation, maintain natural landforms, and minimize lawn areas. D. Define, during the platting process, building envelopes that avoid the location of structures in areas needing to be preserved. E. Protect open space or conservation areas with conservation easements. These tools are intended to be used for environmental and scenic resource protection, not public access. IMPLEMENTATION 1. Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances The Planned Unit Development process removes barriers to developments that provide a mixture of rental and home ownership opportunities and offer life cycle housing. The PUD process allows developers to include a mix of housing types as well as commercial uses that serve the immediate vicinity. 2. Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA) The City can apply for funds to be used in support of developments that encourage higher density and affordable or workforce housing. 3. Dakota County Community Development Agency Coordination with the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) will allow the City to align its resources to promote the development of more affordable and workforce housing. The City will partner with the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) to provide low interest loans to maintain and improve upon the communities’ housing stock. 4. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Tax increment financing may be appropriate for developments that help achieve City goals with regard to housing affordability. Site assembly and preparation are two examples of ways these funds can be used.