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6 more pleasant and more economical environment for residential, commercial, industrial and public activities, to preserve agricultural and open lands, and to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare. This statute recognizes that the development of land is not merely a private venture. Instead, private landowners create a partnership with the public to develop the land - the landowner provides the private land (as well as the capital to develop it) and public agrees to provide access to properly maintained roads, highways, sanitary sewer treatment, water supply, stormwater management systems, parks and recreation, police and fire protection, and other public functions. Because the public has such a great stake in the ongoing cost of serving private land uses, the legislature has granted communities the ability to plan for development and make sure that the public’s costs will be manageable in the future. In the seven county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, the legislature has established an overarching set of requirements for local Comprehensive Plans. The purpose of these additional requirements, found in Minn. Stat. Minn. Stat. §473, especially §473.175, is to help ensure that development in the various metropolitan communities is consistent with abutting municipalities, and to ensure that local plans are consistent with metro-wide systems and goals, such as regional highways, transit, parks, wastewater systems, water supply, and housing. A municipality’s Comprehensive Plan, and requests for its amendment, are routinely reviewed by the Metropolitan Council in this regard. Me tro or Non-Metro ? The primary difference between metro and non-metro counties in Comprehensive Plan impact relates to priority of Plan or Zoning. In the seven county area, the Comprehensive Plan is considered primary in the event there is a conflict between the Plan and the Zoning Ordinance. For instance, if the Comprehensive Plan calls for an area to be guided commercial in the land use plan, but the City has designated the area as a residential zoning district, courts will give deference to the Comprehensive Plan land use designation over the zoning. In contrast, in the communities not in the Twin Cities seven county area have the reverse condition – Zoning regulations (and map) are prioritized over the Comprehensive Plan. In these localities, the Comprehensive Plan serves more as a guide plan, but land use disputes rely on the zoning to determine the actual effective regulations. However, most zoning actions include reference to consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, so there is some force in the Plan that filters down into individual planning and zoning decisions. Land Us e P lan . The most recognizable component of the Comprehensive Plan is the Land Use Plan. This plan identifies various areas of the community as being guided for various types of land use, including land needed for public uses. However, the Comprehensive Plan is usually made up of many other important sections, including transportation and community facilities plans, housing plans, and natural resources plans, to name just a few. Goals and Policies . Perhaps the most important (although often overlooked) chapter of the Comprehensive Plan is the statements of Goals and Policies of the community. This section really defines what is meant by all of the rest of the text and maps that comprise the Plan document. The Comprehensive Plan, at its essence, is a policy document relating to land use and community development, although the maps and pictures usually get the most attention.