Watch CBS News

Minneapolis City Council Approves 2040 Plan

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis City Council has voted to approve the city's comprehensive 2040 plan, by a 12-1 vote.

The plan has been in the works for years, and council members talked for about an hour and a half Friday morning, even making edits to the plan during the meeting.

The plan has been controversial during its run-up to this point. Many council members talked about how they had never seen this much public opinion on one issue.

Some citizens think think the plan goes too far, some people think it doesn't go far enough.

The overarching theme of this plan is to make sure Minneapolis grows in a way that works for every resident, of every racial background. The goal is to eliminate all racial disparities in the city.

Council president Lisa Bender said she thinks this plan is one of the tools the city needs to tackle racial disparities.

"We have places of great wealth and privilege in Minneapolis, and we have places of deep poverty. And those are often found along lines of race, the consequence of decisions that were made over decades to exclude people from neighborhoods in the city of Minneapolis," Bender said. "I'm really proud of the work and grateful for the work that our staff did along with partners at Augsburg College and at the University of Minnesota to acknowledge that head on."

Council member Linea Palmisano was fired up about the plan, and was the only one who voted against it.

Friday's vote won't change what the city allows in neighborhoods yet, but it will serve as a guideline for future decisions.

"Together in partnership with the City Council and our communities, we have made sure that our Comprehensive Plan is not apprehensive in its ideals or vision," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. "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."

The next step for the plan is to go in front of the Metropolitan Council.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.