Bloomington 2050 Comprehensive Plan

The Comprehensive Plan sets the City's 20-year vision through a set of goals, strategies, and actions that guide future growth and change in the City. It is a once-in-a-decade effort that will guide how the city grows, connects, and thrives. 

Bloomington 2050 will outline the vision and priorities for future land use management, transportation investments, housing policy, community infrastructure and park investments, as well as climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. 

The Comprehensive Plan is a road map for the city’s future. All cities in the metropolitan region work to update their plan every 10 years. This allows elected officials and city leadership to continue to respond to the changing needs, challenges, and opportunities for those who live, work, and recreate within the City of Bloomington.  

It is an opportunity to take inventory of where the city is, engage community members on where they want to go, and then outline the vision to get us there.

The current Comprehensive Plan, Forward 2040, was adopted by the City Council on August 5th, 2019. Minnesota State law requires all cities in the seven-county metropolitan region to update their comprehensive plan every 10 years. This is to ensure consistency and regional coordination amongst communities to align with the Metropolitan Council’s Regional Development Guide. The 2050 Regional Development Guide is Imagine 2050 and defines the core components for the next update.   

When city staff and elected officials are able to capture the community’s vision for its future growth, it allows the city to be proactive instead of reactive and ensures that the day-to-day decisions reflect the shared values in Bloomington 2050. The plan guides where new development could occur and identifies open space to preserve. 

Bloomington’s population is projected to continue to grow: by 2050, we are forecasted to have an additional 13,000 residents for a total population of 103,400. This update will identify needed improvements to community infrastructure, guide development and zoning decisions, as well as document aspirations to support our projected growth. 

It is important to gather the knowledge and ideas about Bloomington’s future from community members and involve as many people as possible. The feedback collected will help to determine the goals and strategies of the plan and provide the roadmap for actions that the City could pursue in the future. 

There will be numerous ways to engage over the course of 2026 and 2027. Community engagement it taking a phased approach. Phase 1 and Phase 2 will help to provide the overall framework and guiding principles for Bloomington 2050. Phase 3 will help identify the goals and strategies for land use, housing, transportation, community infrastructure, sustainability, and public health. Phase 4 will give community stakeholders an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the draft Comprehensive Plan before going to the City Council for adoption.

There will be a variety of engagement opportunities throughout 2026 and 2027. This will include community dialogues, online surveys, pop-ups at city events, and activities to collect 6-word stories for Bloomington’s future. Community members could also have an opportunity to serve on a Community Advisory Committee to support the selection of the Goals for the plan. 

All information about Bloomington 2050 will be shared on blm.mn/2050 and community members can email 2050@bloomingtonmn.gov to learn more.