An official website of the Role of the Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan
Managing a Regional Parks and Trails System that involves a variety of different local entities, in addition to the Met Council, requires coordinated policies and strategies. The 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan lays out objectives and policies for the Regional Parks and Trails System and the actions designed to meet these objectives and policies.
Over the last 50 years, the Regional Parks and Trails System partnership has made significant strides toward achieving the Imagine 2050 values of equity, leadership, accountability, and stewardship. By protecting high quality natural systems and providing a world-class system of recreational opportunities, the Regional Parks and Trails System has contributed significantly to the high quality of life in the region. The policies laid out in the 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan reflect the Met Council’s ongoing commitment to support and protect the Regional Parks and Trails System.
Equity remains an important priority for the Met Council and region. The regional park implementing agencies have various programs and practices to help reach and serve their diverse base of users. The 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan strives to build upon the good work that the regional park implementing agencies have been doing to advance equity.
Accountability is a regional core value in Imagine 2050, including a commitment to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the policies and procedures governing the Regional Parks and Trails System. The Met Council will work with the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, regional parks implementing agencies, and other parks stakeholders to develop a set of Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan performance measures that quantitatively assess progress on the policies in this plan. This has been added to the four-year workplan that resides in Section Nine.
Planning for 2050
The metropolitan area has historically made a substantial investment in conserving green spaces by establishing regional parks, park reserves, special features, and regional trails. Federal, state, and local governments have invested in parks, trails, natural areas, and wildlife refuges that provide additional recreational activities and habitat. Local communities have invested millions of dollars in community and neighborhood parks and recreation areas.
Protecting natural systems in the metropolitan area builds on past investments and offers an excellent opportunity for further investment in the Regional Parks and Trails System as the region grows by 657,000 people from 2020 to 2050.3 The long-range vision, beyond 2050, for the Regional Parks and Trails System includes expanding the system from over 60,000 acres today to nearly 70,000 acres, and nearly tripling the trail system from 487 miles today to over 1,300 miles.
The work of planning, acquiring, protecting, and developing these new parks and trails continues. New regional trails and greenway corridors will link regional parks, park reserves, and special features with one another as well as connect with population centers.
Preserving natural areas with an eye toward the future is critical to the region’s livability, sustainability, stewardship, and prosperity. The Regional Parks and Trails System represents a major, well-established conservation effort for land and water resources. The area’s growing population will need additional large-scale parks and open space lands with interconnected trails in the future. The region will continue to identify natural systems as well as land with restoration potential, to be added to the system and make plans for their acquisition before the opportunity is lost.
System plan
The Met Council has the responsibility of preparing a system plan for the Regional Parks and Trails System. The system planning process begins with the Met Council identifying “generally the areas which should be acquired,” as required by the 1974 Metropolitan Parks Act. The Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan includes the system plan, which identifies the regional parks and trails that are included in the system.
The Met Council reviews the system plan portion of the Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan every four years as part of the policy plan revision process and may add, modify, or delete planned elements to the system. Additions, including major boundary adjustments, or deletions to the system proposed outside the regular plan review process are substantial revisions to the policy plan, and as such require an amendment to the policy plan. Identification of specific boundaries and detailed planning for individual units of the system are addressed in long-range plans for each unit. The long-range plans are prepared by the regional park implementing agencies.
Amending the policy plan
The Met Council will amend the 2050 Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan only for a substantial revision. A substantial revision is defined by the Met Council as (1) a proposed revision that is intended to or could have the effect of changing the direction or intent of adopted Met Council policy, (2) addition or deletion of a policy, or (3) addition or deletion of a system element, or a major boundary adjustment as defined in the Section Five, Action 1, Boundary Adjustment section, with further detail provided in the Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook.
An amendment request initiated by the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission should include documentation to substantiate that it constitutes a substantial revision to the policy plan. A Met Council decision to amend the plan on its own initiative or that of the Commission will be preceded by a finding that a substantial revision is proposed. When amending the policy plan, the Met Council will conduct a public hearing in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, section 473.147 and adopted Met Council policy.
Updating the policy plan
Minnesota law requires the Met Council to conduct a comprehensive review of the Regional Parks and Trails Policy Plan at least every four years (Minn. Stat. 473.147). However, over a four-year period, changes occur in population, acquisition, development, and system use. Updating the data and factual information to keep the policy current with new trends and conditions is not a substantial revision to the policy plan and will be accomplished through the ordinary process of consideration and approval by the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, the Community Development Committee, and the governing body of the Met Council. The regional park implementing agencies will receive formal notice of any proposed update prior to consideration by the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission.
Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook
The Regional Parks and Trails Planning Handbook is a resource that complements this policy plan. The planning handbook contains more detailed procedural guidance on how the policy plan’s policies and actions are implemented. It is a resource guide developed primarily for regional park implementing agency and Met Council staff. It contains policy content requirements, agency-Met Council processes, and planning resources. It provides guidance on the requirements and processes related to implementing agency long-range planning and system protection requests, as well as to serve as a resource for more information, examples, and best management practices.
Requirements and processes detailed in the planning handbook carry the same authority as those outlined or previewed within the policy plan. For example, the policy plan outlines the required components of long-range plans developed by regional park implementing agencies for each unit of the Regional Parks and Trails System, while the planning handbook details the specific content that must be included within each of these components. The planning handbook will continue to evolve and develop as agency and Met Council staff work together to enhance, grow, and promote the Regional Parks and Trails System. For example, regional park implementing agencies occasionally seek guidance from Met Council staff on how to fulfill specific long-range plan requirements. Excerpts of long-range plans or additional guidance on how to meet requirements may be included in future versions of the planning handbook.
3 Metropolitan Council (2023). The regional forecast: population and employment in the Twin Cities region in 2050, p.1. https://metrocouncil.org/Data-and-Maps/Publications-And-Resources/MetroStats/Land-Use-and-Development/The-Regional-Forecast-Update-2023.aspx
