Background and Purpose
In 2001, the Metropolitan Council initiated the Plat Monitoring Program with input from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and Metro Cities. The program started with 12 volunteer communities, and now includes 45 communities.
The purpose of this program is to track and monitor residential development patterns on the region’s developing edge, including the number of units and acres platted, the mix of single-family and multi-family housing, land consumption, and average residential density.
Participating communities complete an annual summary worksheet and submit copies of plats approved during the calendar year. This information allows the Met Council to assess the available land supply in participating communities and monitor the density of new development for consistency with Met Council policies. Communities also receive credit for residential plats meeting the Met Council’s density policy. This credit gives them flexibility to approve plats at lower residential densities within the Metropolitan Urban Services Area (MUSA), so long as the overall net density remains above 3 units per acre.
Plat Monitoring in 2023
From 2000 to 2023, participant communities platted an average of 6,008 single-family and multi-family housing units each year; however, there is a great deal of variation within the reporting period with a low of 286 housing units platted in 2009 and a high of 11,530 housing units platted in 2022. In 2023, 6,568 housing units were platted. While this number is significantly lower than the previous year’s total, it is comparable to the 7,000 to 7,500 housing units platted each year between 2017 and 2020.
For more information regarding the 2023 report and presentation to the Community Development Committee, please see the links below: