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Frequently Asked Questions: Redevelopment Ready Communities
Information for Communities
Redevelopment Ready Communities® (RRC) is a voluntary technical assistance initiative available to communities across the state, which empowers communities to shape their future by building a foundation of planning, zoning, and economic development best practices and integrating them into their everyday functions.
RRC promotes communities to be development ready and competitive in today’s economy by actively engaging stakeholders and proactively planning, making them more attractive for projects that create places where people want to live, work, and invest. The Redevelopment Ready Communities ® (RRC) program supports the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) community development focus on supporting the growth of vibrant, diverse, and resilient communities across Michigan.
Developed by experts in the public and private sector, the RRC Best Practices are the standard for providing a community driven and predictable development review experience. As part of the RRC process, communities can choose between two levels: Essentials or Certified. Communities can determine which path is most appropriate for their needs based on capacity, community goals, and other local factors.
To empower communities to chart their own growth, RRC engagement is also used as a criterion to assess and prioritize MEDC Community Development investments.
Working through and accomplishing the RRC Best Practices is beneficial to a community for several reasons:
RRC is a no cost, technical assistance program. While staff time is required to participate, meeting the Best Practices criteria can often save time in the long run by having clearly outlined processes with documented timelines.
Communities may request RRC technical assistance match grant funding to assist with the cost of some larger RRC-related projects like plan or zoning updates.
To become formally engaged in the RRC Program, communities must have at least one representative complete the best practice training and pass a resolution of intent outlining the value the community sees in participating in the program.
For guidance throughout this process, please contact the RRC Planner for your region or your Community Assistance Team (CATeam) Specialist. All completed documents will be submitted directly to them.
Once engaged, the MEDC legal team will send an RRC Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to the community point of contact. The MOU should be signed by a municipal executive and sent back to the contact on the MEDC legal team. The community will then be placed in the pipeline for a formal evaluation by RRC staff.
You can also find more information on the RRC Process webpage.
With two RRC designations (sometimes called paths) to choose from, you may be wondering which is the right fit for your community. You are never locked in on only one path, but to help the RRC Team provide appropriate guidance and support, it is important that we know your intended goal. To help you determine this, consider the following factors:
RRC Essentials may be a good fit for your community if….
RRC Certified may be a good fit for your community if…
More details on the two designations can be found here.
The “RRC Best Practices Training Series” is a self-guided online tool that can be completed at any time. This free system provides an up-to-date overview of RRC and in-depth courses on each of the best practices. This is an especially great opportunity for planning commissions, councils, and DDAs to get some easy, flexible training. The more local officials and staff who are trained, the more effective RRC will be to the community over time as it integrates the best practices. Users can learn more and register for the system by going to www.miplace.org/rrctraining.
Additionally, RRC hosts an online Virtual Academy twice a year for Local Officials. The RRC Virtual Academy provides an opportunity to learn the basics about Redevelopment Ready Communities and how your community can benefit from being engaged in RRC and pursuing the Essentials or Certified path. This free training has eight sessions that are presented by the RRC planners one evening a week.
Due to COVID-19, RRC is not hosting any in-person training sessions currently.
No. Your community is not expected to meet all of the Best Practices criteria prior to engaging in RRC. As you go through the process, your community will work to complete the missing criteria. Your RRC Planner will be available to assist as needed.
The RRC process is designed to be completed at the community’s own pace. Some communities have gone from baseline to certification in as little as nine months, while others have been working for over five years. The RRC team works to provide resources and support within whichever context the community has capacity for.
Ultimately, RRC helps communities build capacity by streamlining and documenting processes, preserving, and sharing institutional knowledge and building partnerships. Participation in RRC is a long-term relationship between MEDC Community Development staff and your community. We are here to provide you with examples from other communities, resource guides and ongoing technical assistance.
Other things to keep in mind:
The planner assigned to your community will present the findings of your community's Baseline Assessment to your governing body and other stakeholders. This serves as a decision point for the community: if it agrees with the recommendations and wishes to continue, it must pass a resolution to proceed. It may also determine that it does not wish to proceed; RRC will close out the community's records in that instance though we'll continue to stay in touch.
For progress reporting, RRC uses an online system called Trello to provide real-time access to the community’s RRC status and best practice progress. This free browser-based software allows the community to have a direct line of communication with the RRC team, upload items as they are completed, and organize its RRC workload to fit its capacity. Once finalized, the baseline report findings will be added to the community’s Trello board. Your RRC Planner will invite you to your Trello board and meet with you to go over the free online system.
Best Practice examples and guides to meet missing criteria can be found on the RRC Resource Library or by asking your assigned RRC Planner. Once all the criteria have been achieved, essentials or certification is awarded.
RRC is voluntary. To empower communities to chart their own growth, RRC engagement will be a criterion used to assess and prioritize Community Development investments.
Information for Developers
To find a community, view the map of RRC engaged and certified communities.
Engagement is initiated by each local government on a voluntary basis. If you are interested in seeing a community you currently work with join the program, encourage their elected officials and staff to visit the RRC webpage or contact the appropriate regional Community Assistance Team (CATeam) Specialist.
RRC engagement is a criterion used to assess and prioritize Community Development investments.
If you are seeking a community development incentive for your project, investing in an RRC engaged community will result in a more competitive application. RRC communities also provide transparent, predictable and efficient development review processes which reduce time and uncertainty with local approval, thus allowing you to begin your project as soon as possible.
