Background
The Overnight and Emergency Shelter text amendment was approved by the City Council on December 19, 2015. The public outreach was extensive, three steering committee meetings, a homeless shelter forum, and three community meetings. That amendment allowed overnight shelters as a principal use in certain districts and introduced a new shelter type, Emergency Shelters. Since 2015, several shelter operators have proposed emergency shelters that exceeded the duration of stay, occupancy limit currently imposed, closer than the existing spacing requirement of 1,000 feet, or located in Industrial Districts; none have been opened.
The purpose of the amendment is to revise the zoning code to increase the number of people that may be served in emergency shelters and to allow the use in Industrial Districts.
Goals of the amendment
The proposed amendment is intended to help the city achieve the following Minneapolis 2040 goals:
- Produce housing units that meet the changing needs of Minneapolis residents in terms of unit sizes, housing types, levels of affordability, and locations while preserving existing housing using targeted, priority-based strategies.
- Pursue innovative housing types and creative housing programs to help meet existing and future housing needs.
- Eliminate homelessness through safe, stable, and affordable housing opportunities and strategies for homeless youth, singles, and families.
- Expand equitable access to health, social, emergency preparedness, and emergency response services.
Applicable sections of the zoning code
The following chapters of the zoning code are expected to be impacted by the proposed ordinance and are under consideration as part of the amendment:
- Chapter 520, Introductory Provisions
- Chapter 536, Specific Development Standards
- Chapter 546, Residence Districts
- Chapter 547, Office Residence Districts
- Chapter 548, Commercial Districts
- Chapter 549, Downtown Districts
- Chapter 550, Industrial Districts
Meetings
- November 5, 2020 – Planning Commission Committee of the Whole
- November 16, 2020 – City Planning Commission Public Hearing
- December 8, 2020 – BIHZ Committee
- December 18, 2020 – City Council
- November 10, 2020 - Stakeholder Engagement
Supporting documents
- November 5, 2020 CPC COW Memo
- City’s Homelessness Response