THE DISPUTE BETWEEN LAKE ELMO MINN....

THE DISPUTE BETWEEN LAKE ELMO MINN., and the Metropolitan Council counterfeits a familiar storyline in the density wars: A small rural community forward the suburban edge refuses sprouting citing traffic concerns and other issues. Thwarted, builders and developer either downscale their plots or leave for friendlier communities.

But there's an important difference between that scenario and the situation playing not at home in Minnesota, which involves a disagreement through the whole extent of Lake Elmo's comprehensive plan, a long-range land planning document that localities create to address and manage hereafter growth. The rural St. Paul suburb hasn't told a builder that it doesn't want development--it has