Local Planning Assistance Grants

Investing in planning that builds on community strengths
The Met Council recognizes that updating local comprehensive plans requires significant time, knowledge, and resources from municipal partners. This burden often falls most heavily on the region’s least populous communities. The Met Council is offering direct funding assistance to assist the region’s smallest and resource-limited communities with their Imagine 2050 Comprehensive Plan updates.
Grant funding levels are under review by the Met Council and will be identified by the end of December 2025.

The Comprehensive Planning Assistance Grants Program provides direct funding assistance to support a subset of communities in the region with 2050 Comprehensive Plan updates. 

Eligible communities for the non-competitive grants were identified based on selection criteria adopted by the Met Council. The criteria aimed at selecting communities in the region with a greater need for assistance to fund and manage a Comprehensive Plan update. The two criteria used in estimating need were current population and adjusted net tax capacity per capita of the community compared to the metro median. 

Communities eligible for a 2050 Comprehensive Planning assistance grant meet one of the following three criteria: 

  1. Current population (2024) is between 2,500 to 14,999 AND adjusted net tax capacity per capita (2024) is less than or equal to 125% of metro median net tax capacity per capita; or  

  1. Current population (2024) is between 15,000 to 35,000 AND adjusted net tax capacity per capita (2024) is less than or equal to 100% of metro median net tax capacity per capita; or  

  1. County with land use planning authority for townships within their jurisdiction OR a consortium of 5 or more Dakota County communities in the Rural Service Area working collaboratively on their comprehensive plan updates.   

Under these criteria, a total of 64 individual communities, 2 counties, and 1 consortium group are eligible for planning assistance grants.  

Communities eligible for planning assistance grants are identified on this list and map.