Forest Lake, MN — The City Council unanimously approved a resolution objecting to portions of the Metropolitan Council’s system statement tied to the regionwide planning process and requested a hearing.

Staff said the Met Council proposes changing Forest Lake’s density requirement from 3 units per acre to 3.5 units per acre and asked the council to request ‘density flexibilities’ for areas that should not be counted as developable acreage, such as stormwater ponds and maintenance access. Abby said staff is also asking the council to request a modest increase in forecasted households (from 9,300 to 9,750) and to register an objection to the Met Council’s proposed affordable housing band allocations, which emphasize deeper affordability (30–50% AMI) that staff sees as difficult to attain.

“Today is the last day we could submit this and request a hearing,” Abby told the council; staff recommended forwarding a resolution (Resolution 11 24 25 06) and asking for a hearing before the Met Council’s Land Use Advisory Committee. The council voted in favor and the resolution will be submitted immediately; if granted, a hearing would be scheduled within 60 days.