KELSEY FOGT XINJIA OUYANG JOHN PIERCE MARIANA POSKUS MICHAEL VARIEN UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA - HUMPHREY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS This page intentionally left blank TOD ON PUBLICLY-OWNED LAND MURP Capstone Paper In Partial Fulfi llment of the Master of Urban and Regional Planning Degree Requirements The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs The University of Minnesota TOD on Publicly-Owned Parcels on Publicly-Owned TOD Kelsey Fogt Xinjia Ouyang John Pierce Mariana Poskus Michael Varien Tuesday, May 5th, 2015 Date of Oral Presentation Approval Date of Final Paper Capstone Instructor: Capstone Instructor: 1 Lee Munnich Lyssa Leitner DEFINITIONS Area of Concentrated Poverty (ACP) Parcel Score Census tracts where more than 40% of the A numerical score at the parcel level, calculated residents live at or below 185% of the federal by a combination of distance from the station, poverty line (185% of the poverty threshold for size of the parcel, and vacancy of the parcel. a typical family of four in 2012 was $43,460). Publicly-Owned Parcels Database All parcels owned by governmental A spatial database containing or public agencies. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY information about land parcels. Public Agency Equity All state, local, federal, and other government “Equity is just and fair inclusion into a society agencies including MnDOT, Port Authority, in which all can participate, prosper, and reach Metropolitan Council, Dakota County, Hennepin their full potential.” (Policy Link, 2014) County, Ramsey County, City of Minneapolis, City of St. Paul, and other federal and state agencies. Equity Score A numerical score at the parcel level, Transit Oriented Development calculated by a combination of carless Walkable, moderate to high density development households, household transportation costs, served by frequent transit with a mix of housing, retail, and whether the parcel is in an ACP. and employment choices designed to allow people to live and work without need of a personal automobile. Opportunity Site A singular parcel or cluster of parcels that has preliminary TOD potential. TOD on Publicly-Owned Parcels on Publicly-Owned TOD ACRONYMS LIST ACP LRT Area of Concentrated Poverty Light Rail Transit aBRT MnDOT Arterial Bus Rapid Transit Minnesota Department of Transportation BRT TOD Bus Rapid Transit Transit Oriented Development FHWA TPP Federal Highway Administration Transportation Policy Plan GIS VMT Geographic Information System Vehicle Miles Traveled 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Metro Transit’s Transit Oriented Development along several existing and proposed transitway (TOD) Offi ce was established to support TOD corridors from the 2040 Transportation Policy throughout Twin Cities metropolitan region. Plan. This Database can provide a way to In anticipation of an expanding regional easily explore land ownership patterns along transit system, the TOD Offi ce can facilitate future transitway corridors and data has the collaboration among public entities to leverage potential to be shared. One of the goals of EXECUTIVE SUMMARY the development potential of property along this Database is to become a resource to existing and future transitways. However, foster collaboration across the public sector. TOD facilitation requires an understanding of where publicly-owned parcels are located and the characteristics of these parcels. Certain While existing tools such as the TOD development opportunities may present Classifi cation Tool quantify and qualify TOD themselves only when the region has taken a station area types, the region does not have a thorough inventory of publicly-owned land. parcel-level prioritization tool. The suitability analysis in this report makes the leap from station area classifi cation to individual parcel The goal of this report is to address how prioritization. This parcel-level suitability much public land is available near transitway analysis identifi es parcels with preliminary corridors, where those parcels are located, potential for TOD. These opportunity sites Parcels on Publicly-Owned TOD and who owns those parcels. Additionally, incorporate parcel information such as size, the report provides a Parcel Score that distance to the station, and occupancy to refl ects preliminary development status. estimate TOD potential on individual parcels. The top ten Opportunity Sites (ranked by Parcel Score) are listed by corridor in Section 3. The report includes an Equity Equity is one of the Metropolitan Council’s Score that refl ects three demographic TOD goals and is critical for the region’s future. indicators to encourage equity from the very Equity must be included from the very fi rst beginning of any development process. step to ensure that it is not an afterthought. To that end, the parcels received an Equity Score to identify the opportunity sites with The fi ndings are reported in two major sections: higher potential to advance equity. 1. Publicly-owned land Database While the outcomes from this capstone report refl ect a specifi c scope of analysis, the Database 2. Suitability analysis with opportunity sites and suitability analysis provide a conceptual a. Parcel Score framework that is adaptable to evolving circumstances in the region. No existing study b. Equity Score has looked at all publicly-owned land along c. Results transitways. By treating all publicly-owned land equally, the report encourages the public sector to achieve collaborative, innovative, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used and equitable TOD, ultimately improving the to create a Database of publicly-owned land quality of life for all in the Twin Cities region. 3 Image Credit: Metro Transit TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 VISION STATEMENT 6 1. PROJECT OVERVIEW 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Introduction What is Transit Oriented Development (TOD)? Equity and TOD Existing TOD Studies and Tools 2. PUBLICLY-OWNED LAND DATABASE 14 Overview of Project Scope Sources Council-Owned Land Inventory Methodology Database Results 3. TOD SUITABILITY ANALYSIS 22 Parcels on Publicly-Owned TOD Filtering the Data Cluster Identifi cation Parcel Score Equity Score Prioritization Results Opportunity Sites 4. RECOMMENDATIONS & ACTION STEPS 78 Introduction First Phase Action Steps Second Phase Action Steps Action Steps for Opportunity Sites Action Steps for Database Maintenance Plan Action Steps Conclusion REPORT CONCLUSION 85 5. PROJECT APPENDICES 86 Literature Review Database One-Pager Database Documentation Comprehensive Public Agency List Classifi cation Tool Implementation Activities 5 Interview List The following is a hypothetical Vision VISION STATEMENT of TOD, written from the year 2030. A 2030 SNAPSHOT OF TOD Since the early 2000s, the Twin Cities region concentrated urban density and diversity of the two has undergone an unprecedented buildout major downtowns, suburban TOD districts function of its transit system. New light rail transit, bus as walkable neighborhoods in the immediate blocks rapid transit, and local bus lines synergize with around the transit station. Suburban-style TOD districts each other to allow for effi cient service network not only serve as mini employment hubs, they provide across the region. The transit experience is a variety of lodging types to allow singles, couples, A VISION FOR 2030 world-class for amenities and ease of use. and families of many different income levels to locate there. Transit oriented child care facilities are common The physical transit buildout of the system is only in TOD districts, allowing parents to drop off their child part of the story. Over the years, cities have allocated either at their origin or destination transit station. resources and funding towards data optimization and consistent open-data practices and sharing, Increased transit-adjacent amenities now attract especially in the area of land records and mapping. residents from all over the metro area via transit. As the metro region developed a shareable parcel Downtown residents routinely travel to entertainment mapping dataset, synergistic opportunities paved and shopping districts along the Blue Line extension the way for land use collaborations. Data-sharing and Orange Line BRT. Meanwhile, suburban has allowed neighboring cities and economic students, academics, and staff travel to universities development authorities to combine land strategically and college campuses along the corridors. and merge their redevelopment efforts to create marketable sites for development, including challenging infi ll and brownfi eld sites near transit. Land Use and Efficiencies As the benefi ts and success of TODs have become Metro Transit has lowered fare prices as revenue apparent, cities have streamlined development from TOD ground leases subsidize the cost of the projects and RFPs. With increased community buy- agency. Due to the proven fi nancial benefi ts of TOD on Publicly-Owned Parcels on Publicly-Owned TOD in, cities have designated strategic growth TOD permitting denser neighbors, suburban city councils overlay zones to set the groundwork for a diverse and staff routinely court developers for denser building portfolio for residents and businesses projects with the support of their constituents. alike. Leasing costs in TODs vary widely across the To many residents of the region, “density” in a region and companies have become increasingly TOD means walkability, convenience, value, and dedicated to locating in transit-accessible areas. the preservation of lower-density neighborhoods elsewhere. Increased infrastructure effi ciencies have lowered maintenance costs for