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Metropolitan Agencies <br />andnonprofitorganizations,anditspoliciesmustbe balancedandflexible intheir <br />approach; <br />Metropolitan counties, adjacent counties and school districts must be brought more <br />thoroughlyintothediscussionduetothecriticalimportanceoffacilitiesandservices <br />suchascountyroads andpublicschools inaccommodatingforecastedgrowth;and <br />Greater recognition must be given to the fact that the ÐtrueÑ metropolitan region extends <br />beyond the traditional seven-county area and the need to work collaboratively with adjacent <br />counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and the cities within those counties. The region faces <br />environmental, transportation, and land use issues that cannot be solved by the seven-county <br />metroarea alone. MetroCitiessupportsananalysistodeterminethe impactsof <br />MetropolitanCouncilÓs growthmanagementpoliciesandinfrastructureinvestmentson <br />thegrowth and development of the collar counties, and the impacts of growth in the <br />collarcountiesonthemetropolitanarea. <br />Metro Cities opposes statutory or other regulatory changes that interfere with established <br />regional and local processes to manage growth in the metropolitan region, including <br />regional systems plans, systems statements, and local comprehensive plans. Such changes <br />erode local planning authority as well as the efficient provision of regional infrastructure, <br />disregard established publicprocesses,andcreatedifferentguidelinesforcommunitiesthatmay <br />result infinancial,environmentaland otherimpactsonsurrounding communities. <br />4-LNaturalResourceProtection <br />Metro Cities recognizes the Metropolitan CouncilÓs efforts to compile and maintain an inventory <br />and assessment of regionally significant natural resources for providing local communities with <br />additional information and technical assistance. The state and region play significant roles in the <br />protection of natural resources. Any steps taken by the state orMetropolitan Council regarding <br />the protectionofnaturalresources mustrecognizethat: <br />The protection of natural resources is significant to a multi-county area that is home tomore <br />than 50 percent of the stateÓs population and a travel destination for many more. Given the <br />limited availability of resources and the artificial nature of the metropolitan areaÓs borders, <br />andthe numerous entities that are involved in protecting the natural resources of the region <br />and state,neither the regionnor individual metropolitan communities would be well served <br />by assumingprimaryresponsibilityforfinancingandprotectingthese resources; <br />ThecompletionoflocalNaturalResourceInventoriesandAssessments(NRI/A)is nota <br />regional system norisit arequired componentoflocal comprehensiveplansunder <br />the Metropolitan LandUsePlanningAct; <br />Theprotectionofnaturalresourcesshould bebalanced with theneed toaccommodate <br />growth and development, reinvest in established communities, encourage more <br />affordablehousingandprovide transportationandtransitconnections;and <br />2022 Legislative Policies <br />49 <br /> <br />