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through fees and requirements on utility rate <br />structures. As a result, many water users are <br />choosing to obtain all or portions of their <br />water from wells they place on their own <br />property. This creates risks to public health <br />and safety, can affect the surrounding <br />environment, can affect city water supplies, <br />and can leave city water utilities with <br />massive losses of customer load and rate <br />revenue. <br />Providing clean, safe, cost-efficient drinking <br />water to citizens is an essential service <br />provided by 726 active municipal water <br />systems. The Minnesota Department of <br />Health (MDH) agrees that cities have the <br />statutory authority to determine whether <br />private wells are an appropriate use within <br />their boundaries and that cities must protect <br />the public water supplies from numerous <br />private wells in city boundaries. Private <br />wells in a city increase the risk of <br />contaminating public water supplies and <br />encourage over use of water. Cities have the <br />authority to regulate and even prohibit <br />private wells by local ordinance. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports current law that <br />authorizes cities to protect public health <br />and safety through local controls <br />regulating or prohibiting private wells <br />being placed within municipal water <br />utility service boundaries and would <br />oppose any changes to law to remove that <br />authority. <br />SD -25. Airport Safety Zones <br />Issue: The field of aeronautics is regulated <br />generally by Minn. Stat. ch. 360 and Chapter <br />8800 of the Minnesota Rules. Land use <br />safety zones and other public airport zoning <br />standards are established in Minnesota Rules <br />Chapter 8800.2400, and are adopted by local <br />airport zoning regulations that are submitted <br />to the Minnesota Department of <br />Transportation (MnDOT) commissioner for <br />review and approval before adoption. <br />Airport safety zones are intended to restrict <br />land uses that may be hazardous to the <br />operational safety of aircraft using the public <br />airport, and to protect the safety and <br />property of people on the ground in the area <br />near the public airport. <br />While some of the provisions included in the <br />Minnesota Rules are required by the Federal <br />Aviation Administration (FAA), other <br />provisions go well beyond the federal <br />requirements. In some cases, the Minnesota <br />Rules do not make sense for the community <br />served by a public airport. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports efforts to protect the <br />safety and property of people living and <br />working near public airports. The League <br />also recognizes that the Minnesota Rules <br />related to public airport zoning standards <br />exceed the FAA's and other states' <br />standards and, thus, needlessly infringe <br />on local control. The League supports <br />changes to Minnesota Rules pertaining to <br />airport zoning standards that will more <br />closely align Minnesota's Rules with those <br />in other states, while at the same time <br />retaining local authority to be more <br />restrictive than the Minnesota Rules. <br />SD -26. Sustainable Development <br />Issue: Minnesota cities spend significant <br />time and resources planning for growth, <br />development, and redevelopment that will <br />best serve the future needs of their residents. <br />Numerous factors are considered as part of <br />that process, but an area of increasing <br />interest involves concepts often categorized <br />as "sustainable development." Minn. Stat. § <br />4A.07, subd.1(b) defines this term, as it <br />pertains to local government, to mean <br />"development that maintains or enhances <br />economic opportunity and community well - <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 15 <br />