To outline priorities and guide city work beyond day-to-day operations, the Plymouth City Council recently selected four strategic themes for the coming years.  

Outlined below, the themes were identified during a strategic planning workshop with city staff and were subsequently adopted at the April 25, 2023 City Council meeting.

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City Center

Reimagining Plymouth City Center – the city’s central area – remains a top priority for City Council. Known as City Center, the city's long-term vision involves exploring land uses and improving infrastructure to encourage redevelopment that will draw people to the area and support commerce, art, recreation, inclusion and community vitality. 

The city will also work to identify partnerships and resources and make necessary investments and policy changes needed to reach the vision of City Center.

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Redevelopment Vision

The primary objective of this theme is to consider how Plymouth can articulate its vision for long-range redevelopment citywide. The city will work to establish clear expectations for projects while partnering with developers to meet the desired outcomes.  

Goals for this theme include:  

• Consider the potential impact of development on all systems, especially transportation, public safety and parks. 
• Provide the right mix of housing options to promote community vitality. 
• Consider transit and transportation as critical factors for livability and commerce. 

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Environmental Stewardship

Plymouth’s environmental efforts remain a priority, and the city will examine its impact and commitment to stewardship.  

Goals for this theme include:  

• Review the city’s existing environmental initiatives and impacts.  
• Discuss future initiatives and policies that proactively support sound environmental stewardship.

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City of Choice

City Council determined that the city must build on its strengths in order to remain a city of choice for residents, businesses, employees, organizations, visitors and events.  

A priority in this theme is a continued commitment to offering high-quality, cost-effective, equitable and inclusive policies and service operations. The city will also focus on strategic investments and partnerships, including investments in its workforce to attract and retain the best staff to serve the community.

Executive Summary

The City of Plymouth functions in a multijurisdictional environment and is often subject to mandates from the State of Minnesota, Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council, and various watershed districts. The city participates in the Municipal Legislative Commission, League of Minnesota Cities, Metro Cities and Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and generally supports their legislative platforms. This legislative agenda is intended to advocate specifically for the community’s residents and businesses, avoid duplication of services, and enable the city to govern itself. Plymouth supports the following legislative priorities:

• City Center Bonding Request. The city requests $32 million in state bond funds for enhancements to Plymouth City Center to support regional tourism, Bus Rapid Transit, as well as multimodal transportation, including improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. (State of Minnesota)

• City Center TIF Legislation. The city seeks special legislation to allow for creation of TIF Districts for the redevelopment of City Center to generate funding to pay for necessary public infrastructure enhancements. (State of Minnesota)

• Three Quarters-Percent Metro Sales Tax. The city urges the state of Minnesota to reevaluate the revenue distribution formula for the recently enacted Metro Area Transportation Sales and Use Tax. Plymouth generates more than $11 million in annual revenue through this sales tax. However, the current formula distributes 83% of revenue to Met Council and 17% of revenue to metro counties and does not provide a direct revenue stream to cities for local transportation needs. (State of Minnesota)

• Local Option Sales Tax. The city requests authorization to conduct a referendum to propose a local option sales tax to support regional projects at City Center, as well as recreational and public works amenities in the community. (State of Minnesota)

• County Road 73. The city seeks support and resources for improvements to County Road 73 and the surrounding area. (Hennepin County, Metropolitan Council, State of Minnesota)

• Highway 55 Bus Rapid Transit. The city supports efforts to complete a Highway 55 Mobility Study to consider advancing bus rapid transit on Highway 55. (Hennepin County, State of Minnesota, and the Metropolitan Council)

• Economic Development Tools. The city supports funding of the State JCF (Job Creation Fund) and MIF (Minnesota Investment Fund) to allow opportunities for business development, job creation and further encourage economic development. (State of Minnesota)

• PERA Duty Disability. The city supports sufficient, ongoing funding and review of the PERA duty disability bill passed in 2023. (State of Minnesota)

• School Resource Officers. The city supports clarifying recent legislative language regarding the role that school resource officers have in schools. (State of Minnesota)

• Lodging Tax. The city seeks additional legislation to remove the 10-year expiration date of 2030 on the special lodging tax granted to the City of Plymouth to pay for recreational facilities, including the Plymouth Community Center, which has a 20-year term on debt repayment. (State of Minnesota)

Download the 2024 Legislative Priorities (PDF)