Pretend Environmentalists vs. the 2040 Plan

This episode features endless frustration about fake environmentalism weaponized against something that's unquestionably an environmental good, with guests Adam Wysopal and Alex Schieferdecker. Adam provides an update on the 2040 Plan lawsuit, initiated in 2018 by a group of rich southwest Minneapolis residents unhappy that their neighborhoods would no longer be reserved exclusively for single-family homes. Last last month, an appeals court upheld one part of the district court's decision (regarding the assumed full build out of the plan) while also telling the lower court judge that his decision lacked "findings on the necessity and scope" of the relief provided to the plaintiffs. Alex says it's a mistake to assume a full build out of the housing portion of the 2040 plan, because that's just not how it works. He also wonders if the judges will also assume full implementation of the aggressive transportation and climate policies in the plan. The three of us agree that the courts are poorly suited to resolving these complicated city planning issues. John argues these are political questions, and Minneapolis did a good job answering them with a robust, years-long political process involving policy experts, elected officials, and city residents. John asks Adam if he can sue to stop the city of Lakeville over their comprehensive plan, considering the traffic and environmental impact of the average new Lakeville resident are significantly greater than for Minneapolis. We are more than four years into this lawsuit to stop a ten year plan. No telling how many more years of transparently bad-faith legal arguments the courts will have to hear before it's resolved.

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