MINNEAPOLIS — The hotly contested 10-year development plan, Minneapolis 2040, was struck down by a judge on Wednesday.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Joseph Klein sided with a group of environmental nonprofits who said the Minneapolis 2040 plan's environmental effect had not been thoroughly investigated among other concerns.
Judge Klein ordered the city to temporarily revert to its 2030 plan for its residential development portions and land use ordinances.
During the nine years the 2030 plan was in effect, it remained unchallenged in court as being in violation of the state environmental policy, unlike the 2040 plan which has faced hurdles since its inception.
In a statement to KARE, the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office said it disagreed with the ruling and will appeal it.
At the center of the controversy is the plan's rezoning initiative, which would create more triplexes across the city.
The city has said the plan is necessary to address the anticipated rise in population over the next several years and the plan calls for the elimination of single-family residential zoning.
On the plan's website, the city says, "In neighborhood interiors farthest from downtown that today contain primarily single-family homes, (the plan will) increase housing choice and supply by allowing up to three dwelling units on an individual lot."
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, however, say the city never completed an environmental analysis of the plan.
"We're not anti-development, but you know we want the city to be livable for everyone," said David Hartwell, a former board member of the Minneapolis Audubon Chapter to KARE back in 2022.
He went on to ask, "Do you want a city that doesn't have any yards, that's built out completely? Do we want to go to a Chicago or a New York model and then have all the resulting air pollution, water pollution, water quality issues that go with that?"
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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