Hugo council votes to seek hearing to appeal Metropolitan Council population forecasts

The Hugo City Council approved a resolution Monday to request a hearing to appeal the Metropolitan Council’s system statement after staff said the regional agency’s growth forecasts are markedly lower than the city’s projections.

Community Development Director Rachel Juba summarized the Met Council’s forecast numbers presented to the city: “you can see in 2030, we have a population of 18,520, 20,500 in 2040, and in 2050, a population of 23,500,” she said, and added that the council’s expected growth is higher. Juba said staff provided documentation to Met Council arguing Hugo’s growth will exceed the forecast and that Met Council staff has not resolved those differences.

Juba said the Met Council forecasts appear to be “capped” for communities impacted by the White Bear Lake issue and that the cap is limiting Hugo’s official growth assumptions. She recommended requesting a hearing before the Met Council’s Land Use Advisory Committee or, if necessary, an administrative-law proceeding to seek revision of the system statement.

Council members asked whether the cap applied to other communities and whether the Met Council controls water appropriations; Juba said the cap appears tied to the White Bear Lake-impacted communities and clarified that water appropriations are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, not the Met Council.

Councilmember Muron moved that the city request a hearing to appeal the system statement; the council approved the resolution by roll call vote.

What happens next: staff will file for the hearing and pursue the Land Use Advisory Committee process (and administrative appeal procedures if needed), and the council will await a hearing date to contest the population forecasts used in the 2050 comprehensive-plan kickoff.