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INTRODUCTION In the 1985 legislative session, an amendment to Minnesota's planning enabling legislation was adopted stating that "If the comprehensive municipal plan is in conflict with the zoning ordinance~ the zoning ordinance supersedes the plan." The change was made to the state-wide municipal planning law, Minnesota Statute, Section 462.357, Subd. 2 and to the Metropolitan Land Planning Act, Minnesota Statute, Section 473.858, subd.1. The new provision took effect July 1~ 1985. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact the new legislation may have in the Metropolitan Area on the use of comprehensive plans and the implementation of those plans through official controls, specifically the zoning ordinance. The impact of the zoning ordinance superseding the comprehensive plan where the two conflict is of special concern to the Metropolitan Council for two reasons. First, the Council reviews only comprehensive plans for their consistency with regional goals and policies. Official controls in conflict with a comprehensive plan may cause plan implementation to conflict with regional policies, limiting the Council's ability to guide development and change in the seven-county region to achieve regional goals. Second, the Land Planning Act prohibits local governmental units from adopting official controls which permit activity in conflict with metropolitan system plans. Since the Council does not review official controls, it must rely on a local government adopting official controls consistent with its comprehensive plan. Only the comprehensive plan is reviewed by the Council for consistency with the metropolitan system plans. The adoption of legislation giving zoning ordinance precedence over the comprehensive plan where the two conflict prompted Metropolitan Council concern about the comprehensive planning process in the Metropolitan Area. After a Planner's Forum indicated a great deal of interest in the consistency issue and the impact of the new law on comprehensive planning, the Council conducted a survey of each city, township and county in the seven-county area. The results of the survey comprise the bulk of this report; the report also offers an assessment of what the results mean for the Council's ability to encourage coordinated and orderly development in the Metropolitan Area. BACKGROUND ON THE CONSISTENCY ISSUE The Concept of ConsisteDcy In essence, consistency means that local land use regulations bear some direct relationship to local comprehensive plans. Consistency is typically defined as compatibility between zoning and planning objectives and policies. In this interpretation, a zoning ordinance is considered to be consistent with a comprehensive plan when the allowable uses and standards contained in the text of the ordinance further the policies of the plan and do not inhibit or obstruct the attainment of those policies. Conversely, a zoning ordinance would be in conflict with a comprehensive plan where its regulations do inhibit or obstruct the attainment of the plan's policies. Consistency Requirements in the Metropolitan Area In the Metropolitan Area, consistency means "not in conflict with." The