Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/27/2018

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Metropolitan Agencies environmental, transportation, and land use issues that cannot be solved by the seven -county metro area alone. Metro Cities supports an analysis to determine the impacts of Metropolitan Council's growth management policies and infrastructure investments on the growth and development of the collar counties, and the impacts of growth in the collar counties on the metropolitan area. 4-L Natural Resource Protection Metro Cities supports the Metropolitan Council's efforts to compile and maintain an inventory and assessment of regionally significant natural resources for providing local communities with additional information and technical assistance. The state and region play significant roles in the protection of natural resources. Any steps taken by the state or Metropolitan Council regarding the protection of natural resources must recognize that: • The protection of natural resources is significant to a multi -county area that is home to more than 50 percent of the state's population and a travel destination for many more. Given the limited availability of resources and the artificial nature of the metropolitan area's borders, neither the region nor individual metropolitan communities would be well served by assuming primary responsibility for financing and protecting these resources; • The completion of local Natural Resource Inventories and Assessments (NRI/A) is not a regional system nor is it a required component of local comprehensive plans under the Metropolitan Land Use Planning Act; • The protection of natural resources should be balanced with the need to accommodate growth and development, reinvest in established communities, encourage more affordable housing and provide transportation and transit connections; and • Decisions about the zoning or land use designations, either within or outside a public park, nature preserve or other protected area are, and should remain, the responsibility of local units of government. Metro Cities supports the Metropolitan Council's efforts to compile and maintain an inventory and assessment of regionally significant natural resources for providing local communities with additional information and technical assistance. The Metropolitan Council's role with respect to climate change, as identified in the 2040 regional development guide, should be focused on the stewardship of its internal operations (wastewater, transit) and working collaboratively with local governments to provide information, best practices, technical assistance and incentives around responses to climate change. Metro Cities urges the Legislature and/or the Metropolitan Council to provide financial assistance for the preservation of regionally significant natural resources. 4-M Inflow and Infiltration (I/1) 2018 Legislative Policies 44