The Minneapolis 2040 Plan, which sought to end single-family zoning citywide and improve housing affordability, could move forward without the threat of continued environmental lawsuits.

A couple paragraphs tucked into a 1400-page bill passed in the waning hours of the 2024 legislative session exempts comprehensive plans — which are guiding documents for cities’ zoning and land use — from environmental review. The law applies retroactively to the most recent comprehensive plans created in the seven-county metro area, including the Minneapolis 2040 Plan, which has been stymied in recent years by environmental lawsuits.

Individual projects, like new apartment buildings, would still be subject to environmental review.