City Council approves Minneapolis 2040 plan

The Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to approve the Minneapolis Comprehensive 2040 Plan, which will help shape how the city will grow and change over the next two decades.

The Comprehensive Plan includes 14 goals with an overarching theme: Minneapolis’ growth must be managed with a focus on undoing barriers created by a history of city policies that have prevented equitable access to housing, jobs and investments, resulting in significant racial disparities.

“We have built consensus, incorporated feedback, and set a tone that pushes back against a history of redlining, commits our City to sound climate policies, and combats our housing and workforce shortages.” said Mayor Jacob Frey.

The Comprehensive Plan calls for allowing more housing options, especially in areas that lack housing choices and access to transit, goods and services. It also includes several policies intended to make the city more resilient to climate change.

“Minneapolis 2040 sets a bold vision for our city’s future and addresses our history of racial exclusion in housing and local contributions to climate change head-on,” said City Council President Lisa Bender, who has been leading the plan’s development for several years.

“This plan sets Minneapolis on a course to increase affordable housing and transportation options in all neighborhoods, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs and opportunities to help eliminate racial disparities in our City,” continued Bender.

Inclusionary Zoning framework, interim ordinance 

The Minneapolis 2040 Plan allows for greater residential and mixed-use building density. The City Council also adopted an Inclusionary Housing Policy today directing staff to develop a comprehensive inclusionary housing policy to be considered for adoption by the City Council at the end of 2019 that supports the affordable housing goals of the Minneapolis 2040 Plan.

The City Council adopted an Interim Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance, effective for new land use applications submitted after Jan. 1, 2019. The ordinance will apply to residential rental developments that include applications to increase a property’s development capacity by 60 percent or more.

The interim ordinance requires 10 percent of units to be affordable at 60 percent of area median income, or 20 percent of the units to be affordable at 50 percent of area median income if the development receives a City subsidy.

Next steps

The City will now submit the Comprehensive Plan to the Metropolitan Council, which requires municipalities in the Twin Cities area to provide updated comprehensive plans every 10 years. It must be consistent with the Metropolitan Council’s regional development guide, Thrive MSP 2040, which sets the direction for the region’s growth and development.

—Information provided by The City of Minneapolis.