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-1- I. SOURCE OF PLANNING AND ZONING AUTHORITY It is a fundamental principal of local government law that local governmental units have no inherent authority. For any power to exist at the local ~overnmental unit, there must be a delegation of authority by action of the state legislature. Absent some source of authority from the legislature, local governments cannot regulate land use. Before going any further, we must establish the source of authority for local governmental units to plan and zone. In Minnesota, the autho'rity to regulate land use can come from the legislature in t~o ways. First, some municipalities in the State of Minnesota are charter municipalities. They have been granted a charter by the state legislature, and the charter establishes the powers of the local government. The vast majority of municipalities, and counties and townships, derive their authority to zone from laws enacted by the legislature. These statutes are known as enabling acts. This discussion will not go any further into the powers granted to municipalities through charters. This is because charters vary from city to city, and for the most part, the state enabling legislation provides much more guidance to the city as to what its land use powers are than the charter does. Charters are mentioned here because charter cities may have specific requirements in their charter regarding notice, public hearings, and so forth, which may differ from the state enabling legislation. Enabling Legislation. A. Municipal Planning and Zoning. Minnesota Statutes .Section 462.351 through 462.364 is the enabling legislation for municipal entities in the State of Minnesota. It is these sections of legislation that authorize a municipality, whether a city operating under a home rule charter or a statutory city, to carry on planning activities and to implement the plan by adoption of official controls, which include the adoption of zoning ordinances, subdivision. ordinances, capital improvement programs, and other regulatory activities. Certain procedural steps must be established before a municipality can exercise the authority given by the enabling legislation, including, for example, the establishment of a planning agency, the designation of a board of appeals and adjustments, and other procedural matters. Any city which has a zoning ordinance has likely already complied with these provisions at some time in the distant past. B. Count~ Planning and Zoning. Counties which had less than.300,O00 population in 1950 are authorized by Hinn. Stat. 394.21 to 394.37 to carry on planning and zoning activities. Court, es are not authorized to control the development of land within an ir, cor~oratad municipality unless requested to do so by the municipality. C. To',..'F~ship Planning and Zoning. and zone. Hinn. Stat. 462.35i-~,62.364.