Months after a judge threw out Minneapolis’ 2040 Comprehensive Plan — prompting in-progress housing projects to grind to a halt — local developers are still hoping that the plan that made Minneapolis the first American city to end single-family zoning can be reinstated, and their projects resurrected.
One way that could happen? The city could comply with court orders and conduct an environmental study of the 2040 Plan. But though they have few other options, Minneapolis leaders have little interest in going that route.
The problem, said Mayor Jacob Frey, is that while 2040 is an environmentally conscious plan, it has been undermined by groups weaponizing environmental law to stall development patterns that are, ironically, designed to use energy more efficiently, reduce the need for cars and contain urban sprawl.
“Environmental laws, they were set up with benevolent intentions decades ago,” Frey said. “More recently, we have seen them utilized in a way that has a negative impact on the environment.”
The state Supreme Court ruled that the landmark Minnesota Environmental Rights Act gives residents the right to sue for environmental reviews of cities’ comprehensive plans. But the mayor is adamant that such reviews only make sense for individual projects with concrete specifications because “the smartest minds in the world can’t determine” the environmental impacts of a theoretical citywide build-out.
Yet there are examples of other cities — ones that pay special mind to their water resources — that do environmental studies of comprehensive plans.
— Susan Du, Star Tribune