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Chapter 3: Using the Plan / 13 <br />Elk River Comprehensive Plan <br />Promote Housing Maintenance and Revitalization <br />The residential neighborhoods in the Mississippi Connections Area contain some of the oldest <br />homes in Elk River. Housing in this area helps to provide more affordable housing options. <br />Creating tools for maintaining and revitalizing the housing stock is an important part of the <br />Mississippi Connections initiative. <br />Distinct edges between single-family residential neighborhoods and commercial districts should <br />be defi ned and maintained because residential and commercial uses typically have different <br />objectives for the use of property. Commercial properties need signs to attract customers, <br />and successful businesses create traffi c and require parking. None of these conditions fi t <br />the objectives for a single-family neighborhood. Edges and buffers can allow residential and <br />commercial uses to coexist. Without this approach, commercial uses may erode the edges of <br />neighborhoods, and may discourage maintenance of the existing housing stock. <br />The success of the City in preserving the Mississippi Connections Area identity will play a <br />role in maintaining the housing stock because establishing a desirable place to live will attract <br />homeowners and encourage investment. Property owners will then be able to capture monies <br />used for home improvements at the time of resale. Some potential public actions related to <br />housing in the Mississippi Connections Area could include: <br /> ·Incentives to encourage home ownership. <br /> ·Financial assistance for home improvements. <br /> ·Regulations to prohibit undesirable activities and land uses.