The Greater Minnesota Environmental Trust will direct its efforts toward attaining sensible land use policies both within and outside of cities in greater Minnesota.

The lack of good land use planning has resulted in the loss and fragmentation of agricultural land, forests and open space. It has also endangered Minnesota’s lakes, streams, and groundwater.

In urban areas, vacant buildings lay dormant while business development and schools leapfrog out, dominating the once rural landscape. That kind of development leads to more and bigger roads, more motorized traffic and congestion, extended municipal utilities, and a higher cost to government.

In addition to protecting our land and water, sound land use can also help Minnesota achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. As people move away from populated areas, they have less access to mass transit, fewer opportunities to walk or bike, and spend more time driving their cars. Those extra miles add to our greenhouse gas emissions, which is why land use planning is the key to tackling these challenges.

The Greater Minnesota Environmental Trust will promote land use practices that benefit greater Minnesota’s environment through educational seminars, policy research, legal action, and advocacy at the state level.

Resources

Handouts and Reports:

• Land use planning key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG) recommendations on land use and transportation
• Minnesota Department of Agriculture study on cost of public services

Presentations:

• Growing Cooler: The evidence on urban development and climate change, prepared by Reid Ewing, National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland
• Getting it Built: A developer’s perspective, prepared by Michael Lander, founder and president of Lander Group
• Urban land use and transportation green house gas, prepared by Julian Marshall, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering Department, University of Minnesota
• Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group: Transportation and land use, prepared by William Shroeer, state policy director for Smart Growth America and transportation and land use technical working group lead on the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group (MCCAG)
• Minnesota Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan: Land use recommendations, prepared by John Shardlow, planning consultant and co-project lead of the University of Minnesota’s “Minnesota Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan”

Applicable Statutes: 

• Counties Planning Development and Zoning, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 394
• Municipal Boundary Adjustments, Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 414
• City Housing, Redevelopment, Planning, and Zoning, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 462

Land Use Legislation:

• H.F. 898/S.F. 549 (Hornstein/Dibble)
• H.F. 1035/S.F. 913 (Hosch/Bakk)

Videos:

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) produced the following videos related to land use reform. The first video below is a 30 second television commercial. If you are interested in having this commerical run on your city’s local access cable channel, or if you are interested in donating money for state-wide play, please contact Bradley Peterson. 

The following video provides greater detail about the necessity for and benefits of land use reform.