Guiding the Community

Neighborhood planning is the cornerstone of St. Cloud's Comprehensive Plan, the larger tool for guiding the community. It calls for the city to enhance livability in St. Cloud's neighborhoods. As a result, in 2005 the community embarked upon a neighborhood planning effort to create vibrant, safe and healthy core neighborhoods that continue today.

The following highlights a number of planning initiatives focused on preserving and building upon the high quality of life in core neighborhoods. 

Neighborhood Best Practices Task Force/Action Plan (2016)

The City reconvened the Neighborhood Best Practices Task Force in late 2015 to review accomplishments from the earlier rounds and focus on new initiatives addressing the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. In addition to discussing a wide array of topics impacting quality of life in St. Cloud neighborhoods, the Task Force compiled the Neighborhood Best Practices 2016 Action Plan in order to more fully vet the 2015 Comprehensive Plan's Residential Area Framework recommendations, revise the recommendations as appropriate, and identify resources or implementation.

Healthy Neighborhood Partnership Program (2007/2008/2011)

The Healthy Neighborhood Partnership Program (HNPP) helps neighborhoods determine unique assets, needs and goals through visioning and sharing perspectives of residents. Growing out of this effort, the St. Cloud Neighborhood Coalition formed as a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve quality of life for residents in established neighborhoods.

Joint Cities Neighborhood Best Practices Study (2006)

The City of St. Cloud, along with Mankato and Moorhead, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota underwent a joint planning process to learn from the experiences of one another and identify a variety of approaches to improve neighborhood quality of life. Phase I Memo (2005) and Phase II Memo (2006) served as a basis for decisions made by the city and provides support for changes needed from other levels of government.

Neighborhood Best Practices Task Force/Action Plan (2006/2007/2008)

The Neighborhood Best Practices Task Force defined initiatives to address neighborhood quality of life in the St. Cloud Neighborhood Best Practices Action Plan (2006). The Core Neighborhood Progress Report (2007) is a summary of initiatives, responsible parties, timeline and action taken. The Task Force reconvened and compiled the Neighborhood Best Practices Task Force Report (2008) outlining new initiatives and modifications to existing city practices and policies.

South Side University Master Plan (2009)

The South Side University Master Plan offers a community based vision and series of strategies for enhancing the neighborhood. It is a comprehensive plan coordinating not only land use, but also perspectives of St. Cloud State University faculty and students as well as residents.