Minnesota Housing - Single Family Green Communities Overlay Survey

Minnesota Housing will be updating the Single Family Overlay and Guide to Enterprise Green Communities and has been engaging with external partners over the summer. The agency will host a virtual meeting to share updates on the progress of this process and hear additional feedback.

To help shape both the updates to the Overlay as well as the agenda for the meeting, we invite you to fill out this brief survey. This survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

Survey contact information (optional):

1.Name

2.Organization

3.Title

4.Email

Survey questions:

Minnesota Housing will be updating the 2026 Single Family Overlay and is considering an approach that requires both mandatory criteria and a minimum number of optional criteria points. Specific language for each criterion may be updated, including the addition of new mandatory and optional criteria. This change would allow developers the flexibility to pick and choose which criteria work best for their particular community and housing development. This change would also align with the national Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, which can be found here.

5.Which considerations should Minnesota Housing take into account as we further explore this pathway?

6.What assistance can Minnesota Housing offer to help developers feel more confident in complying with both mandatory criteria and minimum optional criteria points?

Compliance models/pathways that show examples of which optional criteria could be combined to meet the required point threshold

E-New Communications announcing the change and technical assistance opportunities

Live group trainings

Recorded webinars

One-on-one technical assistance

Other (please specify)

7.In addition to incorporating minimum optional criteria points into the Overlay, Minnesota Housing will also be updating the criteria requirements. What criteria are out of date and/or difficult to comply with? How would you recommend we update them?

8.In addition to our housing goals, Minnesota Housing is also encouraging projects that meet healthy housing, climate resiliency, and other sustainability priorities. What types of criteria should Minnesota Housing require or further incentivize that would help us meet those goals?

9.Through this update process, Minnesota Housing would also like to make the Overlay more usable and easier to understand. What changes would help you most?

General reformatting of the documents

Split the Overlay and Intended Methods Worksheet into two versions: New Construction and Rehabilitation

Include more of the source text from the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria into the Overlay and Intended Methods Worksheet

Trainings and technical assistance from Minnesota Housing

Other (please specify)

10.Are Minnesota Housing's proposed changes?

Exciting

Concerning

Both exciting & concerning

11.Is there anything else you'd like to share with Minnesota Housing?