Local comprehensive plans may need to be changed if planned land uses would have a negative impact on current or planned regional park lands or facilities.

The Met Council may require plan modifications to local comprehensive plans, updates, or amendments if they:

• Are more likely than not to have adverse and substantial impacts on the current or future intended uses of the Regional Parks and Trails System lands or facilities.
• Are likely to have adverse and substantial impacts on land that is officially recommended for acquisition in an adopted policy plan.

There is a strong case for intervention in situations where potentially adverse land uses are proposed after a location for a Regional Parks and Trails System facility has been adopted by the Met Council in the system plan section of this policy plan. Local governments will be notified of any changes to the 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan following Met Council adoption of the changes and will be given nine months to bring local plans and ordinances into conformance with the Met Council’s plan.

The Met Council will review local comprehensive plan amendments and environmental documents to ensure that Regional Parks and Trails System locations and facilities are protected from land uses or projects that represent substantial departures from the Regional Parks and Trails System Plan, or are likely to have a substantial impact on the system. For more information about the Met Council’s review methodology of comprehensive plans please refer to the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook. 

Substantial departures from the Regional Parks and Trails System Plan or impacts on the Regional Parks and Trails System may include, but are not limited to:

• Plans that do not acknowledge the presence of the regional park or trail unit.
• Projects that create safety issues for system users.
• Projects that impair the use and enjoyment of the system unit due to excessive visual, noise, air pollution, or water pollution.
• Projects that interfere with the operation and maintenance of the system unit.
• Projects or plans that ultimately prohibit or significantly reduce the realization (in other words, acquisition, development, and operation) of Met Council-approved long-range park and trail plans.  

Examples of substantial departures to the Regional Parks and Trails System are listed below.

• Existing regional parkland being guided for redevelopment 
• Regional park inholdings being guided for residential or commercial development 
• Transportation plans having collector streets through a regional park 
• Communities changing the alignment of regional trails 

Where appropriate, the Met Council will initiate or accept for initiation a metropolitan significance review of specific projects if it is necessary to help protect the Regional Parks and Trails System.

In the implementation of local comprehensive plans, local governments shall not adopt any official controls, such as park dedication and subdivision ordinances, that permit activity in conflict with the metropolitan system plans—including the Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan (Minn. Stat. 473.858, subd. 1). When a new subdivision is created, the local government must include land for a planned regional trail or be in conflict with the Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan and state statute.  

In accordance with the Met Council’s Imagine 2050 approach, increasing population densities in urban areas is preferable to scattered developments throughout the rural and agricultural areas of the metropolitan region. Increasing population densities adjacent to urban Regional Parks and Trails System units is not a detriment to those units if the development is designed in ways that ensure:

• Natural features and systems, as well as scenic views of the unit, are not impacted.
• Public access is provided to the regional park and/or trail.
• Adjacent and regionally diverse demographic groups are engaged to understand barriers. These groups include but are not limited to historically underserved communities including people of color and American Indian communities; as well as the elder and disability communities. Such engagements support improved access to parks and trails, greater inclusion of cultural amenities, and strengthened community connections.
• Culturally significant landscapes, including American Indian burial grounds, are recognized and preserved. 
• Operation and maintenance of the unit can be completed without interference.

The Met Council will work cooperatively with local governments to help ensure urban development and land use in areas adjacent to the Regional Parks and Trails System units occur in ways that preserve the integrity of the system. Refer to the Met Council’s other system plan chapters, including the 2050 Housing and Land Use Policy Plans, for more information.

Conversion of Regional Parks and Trails System lands to other uses is allowed only in limited circumstances and with approval of the Met Council.

Park and trail land conversions are rare instances where competing conditions occur within regional park and trail boundaries, requiring regional park or trail land to be used for something other than parkland. An example of a land conversion is removing parkland for a transportation interchange improvement. Land conversions are challenging for regional park implementing agencies because they are complex and often originate from reasons outside of the agency’s scope of work. The Met Council reviews land conversion requests in relation to the regional park or trail’s long-range plan, as well as for consistency with this land conversion action and other Met Council systems and policies.

Lands in the Regional Parks and Trails System will only be converted to other uses if approved by the Met Council through an equally valuable land or facility exchange.

Recommended, desired approach

“Equally valuable land” is defined as land that:

• Is contiguous to the Regional Parks and Trails System unit containing the land proposed to be exchanged (within the same park/trail unit). This approach is the preferred option.
• Has comparable or better natural systems or features.
• Could provide comparable or better recreation opportunities than the land being released from the covenant.

Secondary, less desirable approach

In exceptional circumstances, the Met Council may accept as equally valuable land the addition of land located in another unit of the Regional Parks and Trails System. This approach is a less desirable option than securing contiguous land in the same unit. It is viewed as the second-best option where:

• The replacement land has comparable or better natural systems or features.
• The replacement land has comparable or better recreation opportunities than the land being converted.
• No other reasonable alternative exists and where all other provisions of this policy can be met.

Third option, for extenuating circumstances

An “equally valuable facility exchange” is defined as an exchange of land for facilities when recreational benefits and/or natural system benefits are increased as a result of the exchange. For example, some land within a regional trail corridor may be exchanged to widen a highway if a highway department constructs a trail overpass or underpass of the widened road at no cost to the regional park implementing agency. This approach is less desirable than the above two.

The Met Council will consider conversion of regional park or trail land to other uses only if the conversion will not harm the particular regional parks and trails unit.

The Met Council will review land conversion requests using the criteria below. If the Met Council approves the conversion request, then the long-range plan boundary will be updated in the system plan and the Geographic Information System dataset to reflect the changed boundary. Any removals or replacements that are outside of the current park or trail boundary will require a boundary adjustment. This may be accomplished through a secondary Met Council action.

Land conversion criteria

The intent of the land conversion criteria is to ensure that the proposed change will not have an adverse effect on the regional unit and it will continue to be able to function as it was conceived in its long-range plan. For more information related to park and trail classifications, refer to Section Two, System Plan – Action 1: Classifications.

Additionally, the proposed change must be consistent with the locating and acquisition criteria in Section Three, Natural Systems – Action 1: Locate and Acquire Land.

The following land conversion criteria will be used to determine whether Regional Parks and Trails System lands may be exchanged for other land or a facility.

Issues with respect to the existing park system unit:

• The regional park system unit can continue to function as originally planned, meeting Met Council standards for sites and site attributes established for the particular type of park system unit (regional park, park reserve, trail greenway, or special feature)
• The environmental features (for example, wildlife habitat, water quality) will not be adversely affected and can be protected or mitigated with the new use.
• The loss of land or function will be made up through acquisition of equally valuable land in acreage, natural, and/or recreational benefits or a facility exchange that is equally valuable to the value of the land proposed for removal.  
• The replacement land or facility exchange is consistent with Met Council policies.
• The replacement land or facility exchange benefits the regional park or trail unit.  

Issues with respect to the land proposed for removal:

• The proposed project is unique and/or critical.
• The proposed project does not create safety issues or impair the use and enjoyment of the regional park or trail due to excessive traffic, public services, visual, noise, air pollution, or water pollution.
• The project does not interfere with the operation and maintenance of the regional park or trail.
• The proposed project does not have the potential for a cumulative or material impact on the regional park or trail’s recreational opportunities, natural areas, or cultural resources.

Restrictive covenants

The Met Council requires that a restrictive covenant be recorded on all land that has been acquired for the Regional Parks and Trails System using Met Council funds. The restrictive covenant ensures the parkland is used in perpetuity for Regional Parks and Trails System purposes and ensures that there is no sale, lease, mortgage of the parkland or other conveyance, restriction, or encumbrance filed against the property unless the Met Council approves the action in writing and the Met Council’s approval is recorded on/with the parkland.

Land conversion proposals with no equally valuable exchange

The only instance in which the Met Council will consider a consent to easement or land conversion where no land is required to be exchanged is if:

• The proposed change is a benefit to the regional park or trail.
• The Met Council-approved long-range plan can still operate as planned or is in a better state after the improvement.
• The proposed change does not change the above-ground use from regional recreation open space, nor does it adversely impact the quality or function of the natural area.
• The proposed project does not have the potential for a cumulative or material impact on the regional park or trail’s recreational opportunities, natural areas, or cultural resources.

The Met Council reserves the right to determine if the magnitude of the conversion proposal warrants an equally valuable exchange or a long-range plan amendment. Additionally, this provision does not exempt the proposal of requirements from other funding sources. Refer to the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook for more information about funding requirements.

Telecommunication towers will only be allowed in regional facilities if there is no alternative location and if mitigation efforts are made to minimize the impact on Regional Parks and Trails System lands and users.

The growth in wireless cellular and broadband systems and implementation of the regional public safety radio system has resulted in requests that Regional Parks and Trails System land be leased for antenna towers, or that towers be located on or near system lands. Federal laws allow local governments to regulate the placement of towers as long as there is no ban preventing reasonable market access for that communication system.

Generally, antenna towers for telecommunication services and the regional public safety radio system are prohibited on regional park and trail lands within Met Council-approved long-range plan boundaries unless certain criteria are met. Regional park implementing agencies must prepare a focused long-range plan amendment on the proposed tower placement for the Met Council’s review and approval. For more information about the process and requirements related to including telecommunication towers within a regional park and trail boundary, refer to the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook.

Regional wastewater infrastructure

Regional wastewater conveyance facilities are sometimes located in regional parks or trails to serve the unit and/or other areas. The Met Council works cooperatively with regional park implementing agencies to locate facilities when needed. In situations where the Met Council constructs new wastewater infrastructure or needs to repair existing infrastructure in the regional park or trail, they will work to restore the park or trail to a similar or better condition than they found it. Collaborative opportunities between the Met Council and regional park implementing agencies to educate visitors about the importance and benefits of the Regional Wastewater System are encouraged.

To provide sanitary sewer services to Regional Parks and Trails System facilities and/or to implement the regional wastewater system plan, the Met Council will work cooperatively with regional park implementing agencies to locate regional wastewater conveyance facilities on system lands in a manner that minimizes the impact on existing and planned park system facilities and natural systems.

If the Met Council maintains regional wastewater infrastructure on existing Regional Parks and Trails System land without an easement, the Met Council shall have the option to negotiate the terms of an easement. For new system facilities, the Met Council reserves the option to include an easement for future regional wastewater infrastructure as a condition of a Met Council grant used to acquire land, provided that the conveyance is consistent with the Met Council-approved long-range plan.

Other utilities

To distribute electricity, natural gas, oil, drinking water, and other utilities, it may be necessary to place underground conduits/pipes or above ground transmission poles/towers on Regional Parks and Trails System lands. Such utilities may be needed to serve visitors at that system unit, as well as to serve the greater community.

Utilities should be placed in a way that minimizes impacts on the Regional Parks and Trails System unit’s natural systems and on its existing and future recreation and visitor support facilities, while providing reasonable access to utility lines for repair and maintenance. The Met Council will consider utility easements through the land conversion program discussed in Action 2 of this section.