Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/27/2018

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Metropolitan Agencies In order to accommodate this growth in a manner that preserves the region's high quality of life: • Natural resource protection will have to be balanced with growth and development/reinvestment; • Significant new resources will have to be provided for transportation and transit; and • New households will have to be incorporated into the core cities, first and second -ring suburbs, and developing cities through both development and redevelopment. In order for regional and local planning to result in the successful implementation of regional policies: • The State of Minnesota must contribute additional financial resources, particularly in the areas of transportation and transit, community reinvestment, affordable housing development, and the preservation of parks and open space. If funding for regional infrastructure is not adequate, cities should not be responsible for meeting the growth forecast set forth by the Metropolitan Council; • The Metropolitan Council and Legislature must work to pursue levels of state and federal transportation funding that are adequate to meet identified transportation and transit needs in the metropolitan area; • The Metropolitan Council must recognize the limitations of its authority and continue to work with cities in a collaborative, incentives -based manner; • The Metropolitan Council must recognize the various needs and capacities of its many partners, including but not limited to cities, counties, economic development authorities and nonprofit organizations, and its policies must be balanced and flexible in their approach; and • Metropolitan counties, adjacent counties and school districts must be brought more thoroughly into the discussion due to the critical importance of facilities and services such as county roads and public schools in accommodating forecasted growth. • Metro Cities opposes statutory or other regulatory changes that interfere with established regional and local processes to manage growth in the metropolitan region, including regional systems plans, systems statements, and local comprehensive plans. Such changes erode local planning authority as well as the efficient provision of regional infrastructure, disregard established public processes, and create different guidelines for communities that may result in financial, environmental and other impacts on surrounding communities. • Greater recognition must be given to the fact that the "true" metropolitan region extends beyond the traditional seven -county area and the need to work collaboratively with adjacent counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the cities within those counties. The region faces 2018 Legislative Policies 43