Planning & Development

Planning Library

In the document library you can find a variety of published documents that the Community Planning Division has developed.  At any given time the city is working on numerous visioning, planning, and reporting documents.

Guiding Documents | Plans | Reports | Reference Documents

Guiding Documents

The Community Planning Division has a few primary documents that guide decision making and set priorities for the future. These documents address land use, transportation, development, environment, as well as, identify community needs and funding priorities for disbursement of federal funds.

 The Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Imagine Duluth 2035, was adopted in 2016. An update to the 2006 Comprehensive Land Use Plan, it is a policy document that describes the 20-year vision for the city.  It is also the foundation upon which Duluth’s regulatory tools (zoning, subdivision, shoreland, floodplain, and other ordinances), and capital improvement program rest.  

The Consolidated Plan is a five year planning document. It lays out the goals for the City of Duluth’s Community Development program. Based on a collaborative process involving community members and local organizations, the City establishes a unified vision for effective, coordinated neighborhood and community development strategies. The current Consolidated Plan outlines the community’s goals and objectives for 2015 through 2019.

Plans

Plans identify and prioritize goals and visions for the future of our community.

The 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness embraces the shift from managing homelessness to ending it. According to recent research, successful Ten-Year Plans require both "closing the front door" by preventing future homelessness, and "opening the back door" by offering new housing options that accept the homeless as they are.

Annual Action Plans outline how the City plans to strategically invest federal resources to meet current challenges for low-to moderate-income people.  The Plan also highlights how this year's funding will address a portion of the five-year Consolidated Plan goals.

The Citizens Participation Plan serves as a guidelines and procedures to address citizen participation requirements under the Consolidated Plan and the Department of Housing and Urban Development programs.

Reports

Reports analyze data to help us better understand historic and current situations in our community. We can use this information to inform our plans for the future and better address community needs and wants.

The CAPER is a document that outlines annual accomplishments in community development and housing.

* Note about Historic Resource Studies: the information contained within the reports is not the end of eligibility for properties in those respective areas.  Properties not identified as being potential historic at this time may be reexamined in the future for potential eligibility.

  • Kayak Bay Village. Public comment from October 30 to November 29, 2017
  • Spirit Mountain Recreation Area 2016-2017 Improvements.
  • Hartley Park Phase I Implementation of Master Plan.
  • Knowlton Creek Stream Restoration Project. Public comment from July 20 to August 19.
  • Slip 2 Capping and Shallowing. Public comment period from September 1, 2014 to October 1, 2014.
  • Steelton Hill Double Track.  Public comment period from May 12, 2014 to June 11, 2014.
  • Stewart Creek Bank Stabilization. Public comment period from March 17, 2014 to April 16, 2014.
  • Coffee Creek Bank Stabilization in Enger Park. Public comment period from February 3, 2014 to March 5, 2014.
  • Duluth Traverse Mountain Bike Trail System. Public comment period from February 4, 2013 to March 6, 2013.

A deep dive in to the history of redlining in Duluth and how it's legacy still affects our city today.

Redlining in Duluth video presentation (approx. 45 minutes)

Redlining in Duluth slides 

Redlining in Duluth video transcript

Reference Documents

These documents outline information related to particular activities, for example, the bylaws that outline the procedures for our committees and commissions.