In 2010, a regional consortium led by the Region Five Development Commission (R5DC) was awarded an $825,050 Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a sustainable development plan for Central Minnesota. The resulting plan, the “Resilient Region Plan,” identified goals, strategies, and action steps around 11 key themes for the region. Chief among these themes was transportation.
In addition to the regional plan itself, a key deliverable of this process was the creation of model codes and policy recommendations that could be used by local units of government throughout the region to revise ordinances and update comprehensive plans to ensure that they were aligned with the sustainability goals of the Resilient Region Plan. Recognizing the importance of complete streets, public transit, and alternative transportation, R5DC and their partners completed an analysis of existing policies, crafted a regional vision for transportation, and provided localities with model policies and ordinances that could be adapted to local conditions. The consortium also released a sustainable policy toolkit, which provides local leaders with additional information and resources for the development and implementation of policies that provide more transportation options and provide better connectivity between and within communities throughout the region.
A committed group of “Resilient Region Champions” continue to work toward implementation of the Resilient Region Plan and within the last 24 months have leveraged over $21 million for various high-impact projects. The Resilient Region Plan and the various resources produced throughout this endeavor, including the policy toolkit and model ordinance language, can be accessed on the Resilient Region website.
Resilient Region Policies: Sustainable Community Comp Plan Language and Ordinances were awarded a 2014 Excellence in Regional Transportation Award. View descriptions of other award winning projects here.
