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M <br />a. Are the districts in the correct location? <br />b. Is the amount appropriate? <br />c. Are the areas supported by infrastructure <br />1. Water and Sewer <br />2. Transportation <br />d. Are the zoning categories (i.e. permitted uses) appropriate for what <br />land uses are intended. <br />e. Are the development processes appropriate for what level of <br />encouragement or scrutiny of specific uses is warranted? <br />f. Are the development standards appropriate? <br />g. What are the incentives and marketing that the County is willing to <br />employ? <br />Planning is working on the infrastructure aspects of economic development and <br />will await and participate in a joint work plan with the Economic Development <br />Department to explore others aspects. <br />4) Review services to identify and protect `safety net' programs and <br />services (Goal 1, 5 votes) <br />Services and programs were reviewed during the FY 2009 -10 budget process to <br />identify agency and non - profit organizations involved in providing safety net <br />services with some priority services given consideration for funding. Requests <br />for emergency assistance (housing, utilities, etc.) have increased significantly <br />since this time last fiscal year. Discussions have begun between County <br />representatives and other agencies to discuss expectations and outcomes <br />related to safety net issues. Two meetings have been held with safety net <br />providers to discuss issues with service provision and to begin work on improving <br />regular communications. The current economic situation is causing most safety <br />net programs to experience high demand, often record demand. The 31 <br />increase in Food and Nutrition cases this year on top of the increases <br />experienced in the previous years clearly identifies the hardships being <br />experienced by many families. All programs are having difficulty assuring that <br />the basic needs of County residents can be met and many of these same <br />programs are being impacted by state and federal budget cutbacks. These cuts <br />often mean fewer staff to administer critical programs and fewer resources to <br />address the needs. Since the economic problems are expected to last several <br />years, the County should plan for continued stress on its safety net providers. <br />Housing and Community Development and the Department of Social Services <br />(DSS) did recently collaborate with other local agencies to develop a grant <br />application for homelessness prevention and received three years of recovery <br />funds. <br />5) Encourage for profit investments in affordable housing and review <br />available tools (Goal 1, 4 votes) <br />