| Program | Program Description | Available Funding (2022) |
|---|---|---|
| Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA) | Support development and redevelopment projects that link housing, jobs and services and use community and regional infrastructure efficiently | $9 million |
| Transit Oriented Development (TOD) | Grants focused on high density projects that contribute to a mix of uses in TOD-eligible areas. TOD-eligible areas can be along light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit, and high frequency bus corridors. | $5 million |
| Pre-development | Pre-development grants are for teams who are defining or redefining a project that will support Livable Communities and Thrive MSP 2040 goals. | $2 million (includes policy development) |
| Policy Development | Provides funding to participating cities to support locally adopted policies that influence physical development and further both LCA and Thrive MSP 2040 goals with an emphasis on equitable development | $50,000 max per city |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Clean-Up (TBRA-Clean-Up) | TBRA grants support redevelopment that eliminates or reduces the risk from contamination, increases the tax base, and creates or preserve jobs or affordable housing; clean up grants are intended for projects that have completed environmental site investigation or abatement assessment and seek public funding to assist with cost of implementing clean up or abatement plan | $2.375 million |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Site Investigation (TBRA Site) | Intended for redevelopment sites with suspected or perceived contamination and are seeking public funding to determine the scope and severity of the contamination and to develop a clean up plan for a specific project | $125,000 |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Seeding Equitable Environmental Development (TBRA-SEED) | SEED grants are for sites within equitable development areas, that show potential for job creation or housing development but do not have a specific redevelopment project in progress, and are seeking public funding for site investigation, partial cleanup, or both | $500,000 |
| Local Housing Incentives Account (LHIA) - Affordable Housing | Helps expand and preserve lifecycle and affordable housing, both rented and owned | $3.5 million |
| Local Housing Incentives Account (LHIA) - Affordable Homeownership | Pilot provides grants to support affordable homeownership development, including acquistion and rehabilitation | TBD |
16 Encourage land use design that integrates highways, streets, transit, walking, and bicycling.
Encourage local land use design that integrates highways, streets, transit, walking, and bicycling.
16.1 Livable Communities Act (LCA) funding
At the Met Council, there are several different grant programs within the Livable Communities Act (LCA). These programs are meant to create more housing choice, support living wage jobs, improve connectivity, and achieve more equitable development outcomes. Table 16.2 shows the scoring criteria that are related to transportation, access, or connectivity for the LCA development programs.
| Area | Scoring Criteria Related to Transportation | Percent of Overall Scoring Related to Transportation |
|---|---|---|
| Livable Communities Demonstration Account (LCDA) | ||
| Step 1 | Increase density or intensity of land use on the site or in the project area if new construction OR preserve land use and density on the site or in the project area in a way that uses an existing building more efficiently | 14% |
| - | Take advantage of available connection between housing, jobs, services and amenities across the region using existing and planned transit and transportation systems | - |
| Step 2 | Provide design-led strategies that support or expand infrastructure for people to walk, bike, or use other kinds of transportation in or around the project site | 17% |
| - | Catalyze or position the station area for additional transit-oriented development in a way that leverages public infrastructure | - |
| Transit Oriented Development (TOD) | ||
| Step 1 | Increase the level of station area activity through greater density or intensity of land use | 26% |
| - | Increase the diversity of uses and activities and/or access to services and amenities in the transit corridor and station area | - |
| - | Take advantage of available connections between housing, jobs, services, resources and amenities across the region using existing and planned transit and/or transportation systems | - |
| - | Generate transit ridership, a higher diversity of trip purposes via transit, and reduce the need to use and own a personal vehicle | - |
| - | Further the transit-oriented nature of the station area as a node and/or district of TOD priority for projects that implement part of a broader adopted plan or vision for the transit station or corridor | - |
| Step 2 | Provide design-led strategies that support or expand infrastructure for people to walk, bike, or use other kinds of transportation in or around the project site | 22% |
| - | Catalyze or position the station area for additional transit-oriented development in a way that leverages public infrastructure | - |
| Pre-development | ||
| - | Intensify land uses on the site and take advantage of connections between housing, jobs and services and amenities across the region and in the project area, including accessibility and universal design | 31% |
| - | Minimize climate impact by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving natural resources | - |
| Policy Development | ||
| - | Intensify and increase density of land uses that better support multimodal transportation and connections between jobs, housing and amenities | 50% |
| - | Minimize climate impact by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving natural resources | - |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Clean-Up (TBRA-Clean-Up) | ||
| - | Increase the use of transit and alternatives such as walking or biking | 13% |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Site Investigation (TBRA Site) | ||
| - | Increase the use of transit and alternatives such as walking or biking | 21% |
| Tax Base Revitalization Account - Seeding Equitable Environmental Development (TBRA-SEED) | ||
| - | Potential to increase the use of transit and alternatives such as walking or biking | 29% |
| Local Housing Incentives Account (LHIA) | ||
| Affordable Housing | No transportation related criteria | 0% |
| Affordable Homeownership | No transportation related criteria | 0% |
These criteria indicate that transportation and connectivity are important considerations when awarding LCA funds. In 2021, the scoring criteria were expanded to become more flexible, meaning fewer measures that directly mention transportation. However, this broader scoring process allows for a wider diversity of applications and a greater focus on equity that is not necessarily represented in the table above.