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MA-11 REGIONAL GROWTH <br />Local governments are responsible for zoning and local officials should have full <br />authority to approve variances to remain flexible in response to the unique land use <br />needs of their own community. Local zoning decisions, and the implementation of <br />cities’ comprehensive plans, should not be conditioned upon the approval of the <br />Metropolitan Council or any other governmental agency. <br />Metro Cities supports local authority over land use and zoning decisions and opposes <br />the creation of non-local appeals boards with the authority to supersede city zoning <br />decisions, and statutory modifications that would diminish the ability of cities to set and <br />implement local zoning ordinances and policies. <br />The most recent regional population forecast prepared by the Metropolitan Council <br />projects a population of 3,555,000 people by 2040 and 3,820,000 by 2050. <br />Metro Cities recognizes cities’ responsibility to plan for sustainable growth patterns and <br />the integration of transportation, housing, parks, open space, and economic <br />development that will result in a region better equipped to manage population growth, <br />provide a high quality of life for a growing and increasingly diverse metropolitan area <br />population, and improved environmental health. <br />In developing local comprehensive plans to fit within a regional framework, adequate <br />state and regional financial resources and incentives and maximum flexibility for local <br />planning decisions are imperative. The regional framework should assist cities in <br />managing growth while being responsive to the individual qualities, characteristics and <br />needs of metropolitan cities, and should encourage sub-regional cooperation and <br />coordination. <br />In order to accommodate growth in a manner that preserves the region’s high quality of <br />life: <br />•Natural resource protection will have to be balanced with growth, development, and <br />reinvestment; <br />•Significant new resources will have to be provided for transportation and transit; and <br />•New households will have to be incorporated into the core cities, first and second- <br />ring suburbs, and developing cities through both development and redevelopment. <br />In order for regional and local planning to result in the successful implementation of <br />regional policies: <br />MA-10 LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY <br />67