<p> TCRPC Sub contractees: Leap, Inc. & LPI at MSU. HUD Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Summary Scope of Work</p><p>The Background The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC), the metropolitan planning organization for Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, in partnership with Lansing Economic Area Partnership, Inc. (Leap), the region’s coalition of public, private, nonprofit, and community business partners, propose with the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University, and with a consortium of local and regional stakeholders to leverage existing regional growth plans and vision strategies to support progressive metropolitan and multijurisdictional sustainable planning efforts. This project will include refinements to existing planning efforts to result in a comprehensive Regional Plan for Sustainable Development, as well as implementation steps for catalytic projects in the region. </p><p>The Greater Lansing region is well positioned to serve as a national model in the development and implementation of planning efforts which integrate housing, land use, economic and workforce development, transportation, and infrastructure investments. The region has already developed and begun to implement strategies identified in the TCRPC-led "Regional Growth: Choices for our Future" 2005 project, which actively engaged local governmental entities and citizens, and built consensus around various future scenarios of regional land use and other growth trends The plan focuses on strengthening the urban core areas of the region and recognizes that long-term regional stability depends on strong cities and viable, affordable neighborhoods which remain quality places to live; planning for clustered, focused growth with development of clear transitional edges to minimize strip development and sprawl as well as phased, focused growth to preserve quality of life; and maintaining a healthy agricultural economy by focusing on appropriate locations for new growth and preserving agricultural areas and open space.</p><p>Complimentary to the Regional Growth plan, Leap released a 10-year regional vision, Greater Lansing Next in 2009, which represents the voice of the business community and opinion leaders channeled toward making strategic choices around a common economic vision. This effort examined the assets of the region, compared Greater Lansing to sister regions, established benchmarks, and laid the foundation to position the region for continued success. It embraces places within the region that are unique, attractive, and diverse and is also built on varied transportation choices, linked green infrastructure systems, and a wide range of housing options. At the core of the Greater Lansing Next vision are our quality of place assets – our central geographic location in the state, a strong of higher education, exceptional natural features such as rivers, parks and trails, transportation and business development infrastructure, cultural amenities, low cost of living, highly skilled workforce, and a broad employment base. </p><p>Our own Regional Plan for Sustainable Development Taken together, the Regional Growth Plan and the Greater Lansing Next vision encompass the defined requirements of a comprehensive Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. Through this project, certain elements will be enhanced and implemented to address the full compliment of the six Livability Principles as promoted by the Office of Sustainability in an integrated fashion. The TCRPC- Leap partnership will co-lead a consortium of stakeholders including governmental entities, community groups, business leaders, and nonprofit organizations who will work together to identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide knowledge of other existing plans (e.g. transportation, green infrastructure, HUD Consolidated Plans, clean energy, arts and culture, watershed, master plans, etc.) that supplement these complementary regional efforts and will ensure that the full complement of livability principles are addressed in our planning efforts.</p><p>The Proposal The consortium will work to drive implementation of key action strategies identified in the Regional Growth plan, which represent catalytic projects for the region. These pre-development planning activities and implementation steps were identified within the Regional Growth project Action Steps by a diverse group of stakeholders and include:</p><p> A Model Zoning Ordinance: Form based code policy recommendations for land use/transportation/housing/environmental and other community-based scenarios to be implemented in identified areas along the Michigan Avenue, Grand River Avenue corridor, and presented for adoption and replication in the greater tri-county region  A Regional Housing Needs Assessment: Compare the cost of housing with incomes to determine extent of housing needs based on affordability. Extend methodology employed by HUD communities (Lansing & E. Lansing) to other areas across the region.  An Economic Impact Assessment: An analysis that will depict the corridor-wide and region- wide economic impacts of implementing the strategies within the Model Zoning Ordinance.  A Tri-County Sustainable Communities Online Planning Portal: An interactive online mapping tool and planning library of all existing regional, county and local plans related to the elements of sustainability: housing, environmental, land use, zoning ordinances, transportation, green infrastructure, etc.  Public Engagement: 8-10 workshops held throughout the 3-year project that engage stakeholders in designing our corridor and the outlying region.  A Tri-County Sustainable Communities Consortium: a steering committee made up of regional and local offices and agencies, to be active for the life of the 3-year project </p><p>As plans will continue to evolve over time, we propose to develop a comprehensive website to a) catalog various plans and analyses of their connectivity to one another, and where applicable, provide GIS overlays of plans; b) provide an interactive tool for local/regional planners, economic developers, and other stakeholders to address planning within a broader context and unify actions; and c) provide a communications and outreach tool for the local, regional, state, and other regions across the country to reference best practices in sustainable planning and implementation. </p><p>In addition to leveraging the reach of the web to share best practices in our planning and implementation efforts with other regions across the country, we propose to establish a Peer Exchange program enabling planners and practitioners from across the country to visit Greater Lansing to meet with key stakeholders and conduct site visits. We will also continue our existing efforts to “share our story” with other regions through conference presentations, webinars, and one-on-one communications to advance the replication of our plans and strategies throughout the US. Public engagement is a very important aspect of this project. TCRPC intends to host eight to ten public workshops during the project to promote community design and sustainable practices. </p><p>2</p>