Comprehensive Plan

2045 Comprehensive Plan

The City of Northfield is currently updating its comprehensive plan.

A Comprehensive Plan is a guidebook for the city looking 20 years into the future. It starts by defining a shared vision with the community then developing steps toward achieving that vision.

Community engagement opportunities

The City of Northfield is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan through 2024 with opportunities to participate throughout. We need you, your friends, and neighbors to lend your voice to the future of housing, transportation, parks, open space, jobs, businesses, and how the city should evolve to benefit us all.

Saturday, October 28, 2023 Kick-off meeting

Greenvale Elementary School, cafeteria, 12 to 3 p.m. Food will be served at 12 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 1 p.m.

Come and share your vision for the future of Northfield at the kick off meeting for Northfield 2045.

This meeting will include interactive stations where participants of all ages, including children, will be able to share their vision for housing, parks, economic development, and transportation.

We look forward to hearing from you!

We value inclusion and access for all participants and can provide reasonable accommodations for full participation in this event. The meeting location is wheelchair accessible and Spanish interpreters will be available. If you have other accessibility needs or if you have any additional questions, contact Jasmine Carey at 651-212-5005 or email Jasmine Carey.

Completing the survey

Please complete the survey and share this link with your friends and neighbors: northfieldmn.gov/2045

Start the 2045 Comprehensive Plan survey

Inicio de la encuesta sobre el Plan Integral 2045

Signing up for project updates

Stay informed on project progress and engagement opportunities.

Overview of comprehensive plans

Cities are granted the authority to regulate land use by the Municipal Planning Act. For those cities engaged in land use regulation, the Municipal Planning Act provides the framework and road map that all cities must follow.

A comprehensive plan is an expression of the community’s vision for the future and a strategic map to reach that vision. It may include a compilation of policy statements, goals, standards, and maps for guiding the physical, social and economic development, both private and public, of the municipality and its environs, and may include, but is not limited to, the following: statements of policies, goals, standards, a land use plan, including proposed densities for development, a community facilities plan, a transportation plan, and recommendations for plan execution.

For many cities, creating a comprehensive plan is the first step in adopting zoning and subdivision regulations for the city. As a result, the comprehensive plan normally lays out a vision for the city’s future land development and land use, identifying where growth should occur, the type of growth that is allowed in various areas of the city, and the density of such growth.

Before adopting, or amending, a comprehensive plan the city’s planning commission must hold at least one public hearing.

A city may develop and approve other types of plans, but the comprehensive plan is the overarching plan for the community and the primary basis for land use, development, zoning and subdivision regulations used to carry out the community’s vision.

The City of Northfield's Comprehensive Plan is a document that outlines long-range plans for managing the growth of the community. The plan provides a framework for establishing policies, standards and principles pertaining to the city’s planning, zoning and public service activities.

2008 Comprehensive Plan

The current plan was updated November 2008 after an extensive revision process. A hard-copy of the plan is on file at Northfield City Hall in the City Clerk's Office and the Planning and Zoning Office and at the Northfield Public Library.

View the 2008 Comprehensive Plan