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Staff outlines multi-year Imagine 2050 comprehensive-plan update and schedule
Summary
City planning staff reviewed the statutory process for updating Woodbury’s comprehensive plan to align with the Metropolitan Council’s Imagine 2050 regional framework and described an expected multi-year schedule and local task force role.
City planning staff briefed the Woodbury Planning Commission on May 5 about the multi-year process to update the city’s comprehensive plan to align with the Metropolitan Council’s Imagine 2050 framework and the schedule that will guide local review.
Eric, a city planning staff member, told commissioners the update is a statutorily required review and that Woodbury will receive Metropolitan Council system statements in September to guide local plan work. He said the Imagine 2050 document (approved by the Met Council in February 2025) replaces Thrive MSP 2040 and provides regional goals the city must consider.
Why it matters: Comprehensive plans direct long-range land use, infrastructure and housing policy. Eric emphasized the Met Council’s role in system statements and in projecting population, household and employment needs, and he highlighted the council’s assessment of affordable-housing needs by area median income levels (including the difficulty of delivering 30% AMI housing without deep subsidies).
What staff presented and next steps: - Timeline and process: Staff described receipt of Metropolitan Council system statements in September and a roughly three-year review period to update the comprehensive plan; staff said the city may request extensions but currently plans to meet Met Council deadlines. - Plan structure and substantive chapters: Staff expects chapters similar to the prior comp plan on topics including land use, housing, transportation, utilities and environment; staff noted the City Council has requested proactive policy work on several topics that will feed into the comp plan (bike-and-pedestrian planning, environmental stewardship, South of Dale master plan and drinking-water strategic initiatives). - Local advisory bodies: Staff recommended the council appoint a roughly 15-member citizen advisory task force to work on the detailed drafting and that the Planning Commission serve as an early reviewer prior to City Council review. - Legislative context: Eric reviewed recent state legislative discussion about shifting planning functions or preempting some local zoning tools; he said the legislation did not pass committee at that time but observed the topic remains under discussion and will continue to create uncertainty for local planners.
Commissioners asked about public access to plan materials and status updates; Eric pointed them to the city’s development map and annual report and said staff could prepare a simple status outline for the South of Dale work.
Discussion versus decision: This item was informational. No formal action or vote was taken. The commission’s role will be advisory as the task force and staff develop drafted plan chapters for later council review.
What’s next: Staff expects system statements from the Met Council in September and will proceed with citizen-task-force formation and commission review as the project advances over multiple years.
