Author: <span>Tracy Davis</span>

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There’s a growing awareness nationwide that encouraging kids to walk and bike to school may pay off in several ways. Besides all the Norman Rockwellesque feelings the idea engenders, potential…

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Ross was asked to give an update to the Northfield Chamber of Commerce board regarding the status of the Comprehensive Plan revision process. The Chamber, as you might expect, seemed most concerned with the Economic Development and Transportation chapters of the Comp Plan. Since I was fresh off the previous day’s meeting with the Land Development Code advisory group, I offered to tag along and report on that as well.

It came as a surprise to me to learn that the Chamber is proposing a 320-acre business park rather than the 120 acres recommended by TIP Strategies in the Economic Development Plan.

As an EDA member during the process, I was able to watch TIP Strategies in action, and they did an excellent job of viewing our economic development situation in both a regional and global context. I believe their recommendations are solid. From the Plan:

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Once again, another week goes by and I’m not sure where it went. I attended or participated in several meetings of various City and civic orgs this week, and I thought some of you would find this information both interesting and helpful.

On Tuesday, the NDDC had a meeting of the Retail Strategies group at the Grand, where they presented an overview of their Work Plan. The first slide presented the list of opportunities identified in the EDA’s Economic Development Plan, some of which are clearly within the purview of the NDDC’s:

Retail Support Strategies
Summary 1 – Economic Development Plan

Opportunity 1: Diversifying the Economic Base
1a: Land for Business Expansion
1b: Concentrate on Needs of Existing Businesses
1c: Implement a Targeted Recruitment Strategy
1d: Raise Awareness of Northfield within the Region
1e: Explore Options for Leveraging Existing Fiber Networks

Opportunity 2: Maintaining Northfield’s Quality of Place
2a: Maintain and Enhance the Existing Downtown
2b: Develop Coordinated Retail Strategy

2c: Redefine Northfield’s Relationship to its Neighbors

Opportunity 3: Attracting and Retaining Talent
3a: Increase Connections with Current and Former Students
3b: Continue to Engage the Leadership of the Colleges in Economic Development
3c: Increase the range of Housing Options
3d: Create Entrepreneurial and Innovative Start-Up Opportunities
3e: Take Steps to Integrate City’s Growing Latino Population

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