Stopping MN Environmental Laws From Being Weaponized Against Environmentalists

Wedge LIVE!

John is joined by PeggySue Imihy Bean (President of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association) and Alex Schieferdecker (also a planner). We're talking about the effort at the state legislature to protect municipal comprehensive plans from bad-faith environmental lawsuits (contact your state legislators!). The group of wealthy pretend environmentalists currently holding up the Minneapolis 2040 plan in court - over too much housing density - could be a sign of things to come for every city in the region. Not only is this potentially costly for cities who can't afford it, it has the potential to distort the process and discourage thoughtful and thorough long-range planning. The world's climate scientists agree that dense pedestrianized cities are good for the environment, allowing people to use less energy and driving less. PeggySue explains how comprehensive plans are already a form of environmental review. And as she wrote in a recent Star Tribune opinion, the tools available for environmental review in Minnesota are intended for specific projects or sites, not for speculative visions of the future, like citywide comprehensive plans. Alex notes that what's missing from the discussion and the court record is that the 2040 Plan isn't solely about housing density - it's about planning for stormwater runoff and a less car-centric transportation system. While a dozen of the state's realest environmental organizations (like Sierra Club) have signed on to fix state law, the plaintiffs in the anti-2040 case were created for the sole purpose of this lawsuit (and are represented by a lawyer who typically represents big polluters). We talk about how the Moorhead, MN and Washington state examples (of places that use environmental review for their comprehensive plans) are bad ones. And much, much more.

It also comes to light during this episode that PeggySue is draining my small business of cash by purchasing her Wedge LIVE apparel through ad links, wiping out my already thin margins - so it's more important than ever to support Wedge LIVE (patreon.com/wedgelive).

PeggySue's Star Tribune opinion: https://www.startribune.com/counterpoint-from-an-urban-planning-perspective-2040-dispute-is-mystifying-worrisome/600348208/

Please only use the direct link to the Wedge LIVE store, never an ad: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WedgeLIVE

Watch: https://youtube.com/wedgelive

Join the conversation: https://twitter.com/wedgelive

Support the show: https://patreon.com/wedgelive

Wedge LIVE theme song by Anthony Kasper x LaFontsee