HF 1135

as introduced - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 03/27/2025 04:44pm

A bill for an act
relating to local government; amending municipal land dedication requirements
and authority; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 462.358, subdivision
2b.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 462.358, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:

Subd. 2b.

Dedication.

(a) The regulations may require that a reasonable portion of the
buildable land, as defined by municipal ordinance, of any proposed subdivision be dedicated
to the public or preserved for public use as streets, roads, new text begin sidewalks, new text end sewers, electric, gas,
and water facilities, stormwater drainage and holding areas or ponds and similar utilities
and improvements, parks, recreational facilities as defined in section 471.191, playgrounds,
trails, wetlands, or open space. The requirement must be imposed by ordinance or under
the procedures established in section 462.353, subdivision 4a.

(b) If a municipality adopts the ordinance or proceeds under section 462.353, subdivision
4a, as required by paragraph (a), the municipality must adopt a capital improvement budget
and have a parks and open space plan or have a parks, trails, and open space component in
its comprehensive plan subject to the terms and conditions in this paragraph and paragraphs
(c) to (i).

(c) The municipality may choose to accept a cash fee as set by ordinance from the
applicant for some or all of the new lots created in the subdivision, based on the average
fair market value of the unplatted land for which park fees have not already been paid that
is, no later than at the time of final approval or under the city's adopted comprehensive plan,
to be served by municipal sanitary sewer and water service or community septic and private
well as authorized by state law. For purposes of redevelopment on developed land, the
municipality may choose to accept a cash fee based on fair market value of the land no later
than the time of final approval. "Fair market value" means the value of the land as determined
by the municipality annually based on tax valuation or other relevant data. If the
municipality's calculation of valuation is objected to by the applicant, then the value shall
be as negotiated between the municipality and the applicant, or based on the market value
as determined by the municipality based on an independent appraisal of land in a same or
similar land use category.

(d) In establishing the portion to be dedicated or preserved or the cash fee, the regulations
shall give due consideration to the open space, recreational, or common areas and facilities
open to the public that the applicant proposes to reserve for the subdivision.

(e) The municipality must reasonably determine that it will need to acquire that portion
of land for the purposes stated in this subdivision as a result of approval of the subdivision.

(f) Cash payments received must be placed by the municipality in a special fund to be
used only for the purposes for which the money was obtained. new text begin The municipality must
maintain records detailing the purposes for which the money was obtained and the manner
in which the municipality spent the money to further those purposes. The municipality must
make the records readily available to the applicant upon request.
new text end

(g) Cash payments received must be used only for the acquisition and development or
improvement of parks, recreational facilities, playgrounds, trails, wetlands, or open space
based on the approved park systems plan. Cash payments must not be used for ongoing
operation or maintenance of parks, recreational facilities, playgrounds, trails, wetlands, or
open space. new text begin The municipality must maintain records demonstrating the manner in which
the municipality used each cash payment.
new text end

(h) The municipality must not deny the approval of a subdivision based solely on an
inadequate supply of parks, open spaces, trails, or recreational facilities within the
municipality.

(i) Previously subdivided property from which a park dedication has been received,
being resubdivided with the same number of lots, is exempt from park dedication
requirements. If, as a result of resubdividing the property, the number of lots is increased,
then the park dedication or per-lot cash fee must apply only to the net increase of lots.

new text begin (j) The municipality may accept a combination of buildable land and cash fees to satisfy
the municipality's dedication requirements set by ordinance pursuant to this subdivision or
the procedures established in section 462.353, subdivision 4a. The municipality may require
buildable land, cash fees, or a combination of both, to be dedicated for the purposes described
in paragraph (a), the total value of which must not exceed ten percent of the fair market
value of the proposed subdivision. Land in the proposed subdivision that is not buildable
may be dedicated, and the value of that land is not factored into the ten percent limit on the
total value of the dedication. Land in the proposed subdivision that is dedicated because of
its current or potential use for regional trails applies to the ten percent limit on the total
value of the dedication unless the land is already dedicated for street, road, or right-of-way
purposes.
new text end

new text begin (k) The municipality must not require a dedication of land for streets, roads, or
right-of-way to a width that exceeds the minimum engineering standards for urban roadways,
as adopted in administrative rules by the commissioner of transportation for the municipal
state-aid street system, as provided under sections 162.09, subdivision 1, and 162.155.
new text end

new text begin (l) A dedication of land for a street that is not a collector or arterial street must not exceed
the amount of land required to construct the street with a curb-to-curb width of 32 feet and
associated utilities and sidewalks, if sidewalks are included in the plan for the proposed
subdivision. The municipality must apply guidance established by national traffic engineering
organizations when designing these streets.
new text end