01-08-2025 Workshop Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MA-8 COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING PROCESS MA-9 COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING SCHEDULE stakeholders to identify common ground and resolve conflicts between respective goals for flexible residential development and achieving consistency with the Council’s system plans and policies; and •Require entities, such as private businesses, nonprofits, or local units of government, among others, whose actions could adversely affect a comprehensive plan, to be subject to the same qualifications and/or regulations as the city. Metro Cities supports examining the comprehensive planning process to make sure that the process is streamlined and avoids excessive cost burdens or duplicative or unnecessary planning requirements by municipalities in the planning process. Metro Cities supports resources to assist cities in meeting regional goals as part of the comprehensive planning process, including planning grants and technical assistance. Metro Cities supports funding and other resources from the Metropolitan Council for the preparation of comprehensive plan updates, including grant funding. Grants and other resources should be provided to all eligible communities through a formula that is equitable, and recognizes varying city needs and capacities. Cities are required to submit comprehensive plan updates to the Metropolitan Council every 10 years. A city’s comprehensive plan represents a community’s vision of how the city should grow and develop or redevelop, ensure adequate housing, provide essential public infrastructure and services, protect natural areas, and meet other community objectives. Metro Cities recognizes the merit of aligning comprehensive plan timelines with the release of census data. However, the comprehensive plan process is expensive, time consuming and labor intensive for cities, and the timing for the submission of comprehensive plans should not be altered solely to better align with census data. If sufficient valid reasons exist for the schedule for the next round of comprehensive plans to be changed or expedited, cities should be provided with financial resources to assist them in preparing the next round of plans. Metro Cities opposes cities being forced into a state of perpetual planning because of regional and legislative actions. Should changes be made to the comprehensive planning schedule, Metro Cities supports financial and other resources to assist cities in preparing and incorporating policy changes in local planning efforts. Metro Cities supports a 10- year time frame for comprehensive plan update submissions. Metro Cities supports the Metropolitan Council’s consideration to reduce requirements for 10-year Comprehensive Plan updates for cities under 2,500 residents. 66