Frequently Asked Questions: Redevelopment Ready Communities
Information for Communities
The Redevelopment Ready Communities® (RRC) program is available to communities across the state. It is designed to empower communities to shape their future by establishing a solid foundation that retains and attracts business investment and talent.
RRC is a no-cost, technical assistance, statewide certification program. It evaluates and certifies
that a community has integrated transparency, predictability and efficiency into daily development practices through a set of best practices. RRC is not a cookie cutter approach. While every community must meet all of the best practices criteria to achieve certification, communities can meet the criteria in a variety of ways. You do what works best for your community.
RRC supports the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) community development focus on building vibrant communities. Business needs talent, talent wants place, and place needs business.
To empower communities to chart their own growth, RRC engagement will also be a criterion used to assess and prioritize Community Development investments (beginning October 1, 2017).
Working through and accomplishing the RRC Best Practices is beneficial to a community for a number of 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.
To engage with the RRC program, a community must follow a 3-step process. It first must take part in the RRC Best Practices training series and then complete the RRC Best Practices self-evaluation. Finally, the community’s governing body must pass a resolution of intent to participate in the program.
For guidance throughout this process, please contact your assigned Community Assistance Team (CATeam) Specialist. All completed documents will be submitted directly to them. The community’s information is reviewed by an RRC planner and then placed in the pipeline for a formal evaluation by RRC staff.
You can also view the step-by-step outline of the RRC process or find more information on the RRC webpage.
The RRC Best Practices trainings are offered at various locations across the state several times each year. You can find upcoming trainings on our Trainings & Events page.
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 time it takes communities to achieve certification varies. The shortest time to achieve certification was 9 months after receiving the formal evaluation, while other communities have taken approximately three years.Timing depends on what criteria remains to be accomplished; a master plan update alone can take over a year.
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.
The planner assigned to your community will present the Report of Findings to your governing body and other stakeholders. Your governing body is required to pass a resolution to proceed with the recommendations outlined in the report.
RRC staff and your Community Assistance Team (CATeam) Specialist can provide your community with examples and guides to meet missing Best Practices criteria. Technical assistance match funding is also available to communities in good standing. Regular progress reports outlining criteria completed are also required. Once all of the criteria have been achieved, 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 (beginning October 1, 2017).
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 provided 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.
