Agenda - Planning Commission - 04/24/2025

Home

RELEVANT LINKS: Minn. Stat. § 462.352, subd. 7, 8. See LMC information memo, Purchase and Sale of Real Property. Minn. Stat. § 462.354, subd. 2. The official map is not the zoning map required for adoption of a zoning ordinance. In addition, it is not the map adopted as part of the comprehensive planning process. Instead, the official map is a unique map designed to help carry out the policies of the major thoroughfare plan and community facilities plan. The official map can cover the entire city or any portion of the city. The purpose of an official map is to identify land needed for future public uses, such as streets, aviation purposes or other necessary public facilities, such as libraries, city halls, parks, etc. Identification on an official map of land needed for future public uses permits both the public and private property owners to adjust their building plans equitably and conveniently before investments are made that will make adjustments difficult to accomplish. Official maps do not give a city any right to acquire the areas reserved on the map without just compensation. When a city is ready to proceed with the opening of a mapped street, the widening and extension of existing mapped streets, or the use of lands for aviation purposes, it still must acquire the property by gift, purchase, or condemnation. Following the adoption and filing of an official map, building permits issued under the Minnesota State Building Code are subject to the provisions set forth in the city's official map. This puts landowners on notice of possible future uses and allows construction to occur within the constraints of a city's plan. This way landowners can avoid costly expenditures on developments, for example, that sit in a location planned for future public uses. As a result, any building built without obtaining a building permit or in violation of permit conditions, loses the statutory protection for just compensation, and a municipality need not pay a landowner for a building that needs to be destroyed if a street is widened. In other words, while the official map does not give the city a fee interest in land initially, it does authorize the municipality to acquire such interests in the future without having to pay compensation for buildings that are erected in violation of the official map. J. Board of zoning adjustment and appeals A city that has adopted a zoning ordinance or official map should provide for a Board of Zoning Adjustment and Appeals (BZA). By ordinance, a city may delegate the role of a BZA to the city planning commission or a committee of the planning commission. The duties of a BZA include: League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: Planning Commission Guide 12/16/2024 Page 17