Appendix 1: Key Minnesota legislation for the Regional Parks and Trails System

Statutory Direction

Regional Recreation Open Space System (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.302)

“The legislature finds that the pressure of urbanization and development threatens valuable recreational open space areas in the metropolitan area at the same time as the need for such areas is increased. Immediate action is therefore necessary to provide funds to acquire, preserve, protect and develop regional recreational open space for public use.”

Regional Recreation Open Space (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subd. 14)

“’Regional recreation open space’ means land and water areas, or interests therein, and facilities determined by the Met Council to be of regional importance in providing for a balanced system of public outdoor recreation for the metropolitan area, including but not limited to park reserves, major linear parks and trails, large recreation parks, and conservatories, zoos, and other special use facilities.”

Regional Recreation Open Space System Policy Plan (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.147, subd. 1)

“The policy plan shall identify generally the areas which should be acquired by a public agency to provide a system of regional recreation open space comprising park district, county and municipal facilities which, together with state facilities, reasonably will meet the outdoor recreation needs of the people of the metropolitan area and shall establish priorities for acquisition and development.” 

“The policy plan shall include a five-year capital improvement program, which shall be revised periodically, and shall establish criteria and priorities for the allocation of funds for such acquisition and development.”

Grants for Recreation Open Space (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.315, subd. 1)

“The Met Council with the advice of the commission may make grants, from any funds available to it for recreation open space purposes, to any implementing agency, as defined in section 473.351, to cover the cost, or any portion of the cost, of acquiring or developing regional recreation open space in accordance with the policy plan; and all such agencies may enter into contracts for this purpose or rights or interests therein.”

Metropolitan Area Regional Parks Funding (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.351, subd. 1a)  

“’Implementing agency’ means the counties of Anoka, Washington, Ramsey, Scott, Carver, Dakota, the city of Saint Paul, the city of Bloomington, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the Three Rivers Park District.”

Park and Trails Fund (Minnesota Statutes, section 85.53)

“Grants funded by the parks and trails fund must be implemented according to section 16B.98.”

Grant Management Process (Minnesota Statutes, section 16B.98, subd. 6)  

“A granting agency shall diligently administer and monitor any grant it has entered into.”

Metropolitan Parks Interest Earnings (Laws of Minnesota 2015, First Special Session, Chapter 4, Article 4, Section 138)  

“…the Metropolitan Council shall use the interest earnings in Laws 1985, First Special Session chapter 15, section 5, subdivision 2, for the use and betterment of all regional recreational open space lands under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Council.” 

Session law also provides important directives. For instance, the Omnibus Legacy Bill, updated biennially, provides additional guidance and requirements related to Parks and Trails Legacy Fund spending.  

Applicable funding formulas

Parks and Trails Fund (Minnesota Statutes, section 85.53, subd. 3)

“(1) 45% of the money must be disbursed according to the allocation formula in section 473.351, subdivision 3, to each implementing agency; (2) 31.5% of the money must be distributed based on each implementing agency’s relative share of the most recent estimate of the population of the metropolitan area; (3) 13.5% of the money must be distributed based on each implementing agency’s relative share of nonlocal visits based on the most recent user visitation survey conducted by the Met Council; and (4) 10% of the money must be distributed as grants to implementing agencies for land acquisition within Met Council-approved regional parks and trails master plan boundaries under the Met Council’s park acquisition opportunity grant program.”

Operation and Maintenance Funds (Minnesota Statutes, section 473.351, subd. 3)

“The Met Council shall distribute the operation and maintenance money as follows: (1) 40% based on the use that each implementing agency’s regional recreation open space system has in proportion to the total use of the metropolitan regional recreation open space system; (2) 40% based on the operation and maintenance expenditures made in the previous year by each implementing agency in proportion to the total operation and maintenance expenditures of all the implementing agencies; and (3) 20% based on the acreage that each implementing agency’s regional recreation open space system has in proportion to the total acreage of the metropolitan regional recreation open space system.”