MINNEAPOLIS — A development plan first approved by the Minneapolis City Council in 2018 is back in the news after the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned a court injunction on Monday.
The "Minneapolis 2040" plan has bounced back and forth between courts since 2018. The comprehensive plan, which was originally scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, included 14 goals with a vision for Minneapolis' development. It would add public transit and affordable housing, plus jobs for residents.
In September 2023, two environmental groups who had rallied against the plan were granted a victory in Hennepin County District Court when a judge agreed that the city's looser zoning requirements under the Minneapolis 2040 plan could cause "irreparable harm to the environment, the protection of which is viewed by this state as being of paramount concern."
"The 2040 Plan's provision for nearly 150,000 new residential units," Hennepin County District Court Judge Joseph Klein wrote in the fall of 2023, "is 100 times more than the minimum number of new unattached residential units and 150 times more than the minimum number of new attached residential units that trigger a mandatory environmental impact statement (EIS)."
Monday's decision overturned that ruling.
The appeals court opinion cited three main points:
1. The district court erred by shifting the proof of an environmental burden to the city of Minneapolis
2. Records don't support a finding from the district court that reversion to the plan is necessary or appropriate in protecting the environment
3. It was an abuse of discretion on the part of the district court to order relief causing unnecessary hardship to Minneapolis.
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