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General Government <br />2-A Mandates, Zoning & Local Authority <br />Metro Cities opposes statutory changes that erode local authority or create <br />additional mandates that add to local costs without a corresponding state <br />appropriation or funding mechanism. New unfunded mandates potentially increase <br />property taxes, which impedes cities' ability to fund traditional service needs. <br />Metro Cities believes that zoning decisions should be made at the local level. Metro <br />Cities supports legislation that gives local officials greater authority and discretion <br />to approve or deny variances in order to allow flexibility in responding to land use <br />needs of their own community. <br />Metro Cities also supports legislation to remove barriers to uniform zoning <br />ordinance amendment processes for all cities, regardless of city size classification. <br />To allow for greater collaboration and flexibility in providing local services, Metro <br />Cities encourages the removal of barriers or hurdles to cooperation and <br />coordination between cities and other units of government or entities. Metro Cities <br />supports local decision-making authority. <br />2-13 City Enterprise Activities <br />Creation of an enterprise operation allows a city to provide the desired service while <br />maintaining financial and management control. The state should refrain from infringing <br />on this ability to provide and control services for the benefit of community residents. <br />Metro Cities supports cities having authority to establish city enterprise operations <br />in response to community needs, local preferences, state mandates or to ensure <br />residents' quality of life. <br />2-C Firearms on City Property <br />Cities should be allowed to prohibit handguns and other weapons in city -owned <br />buildings, facilities and parks. This would allow locally elected officials to determine <br />whether to allow permit -holders to bring guns into municipal buildings, liquor stores, city <br />council chambers and city sponsored youth activities. It is not Metro Cities' intention for <br />cities to have the authority to prohibit legal weapons in parking lots, on city streets, city <br />sidewalks or on locally approved hunting land. <br />2016 Legislative Policies 11 <br />