Background

On May 14, 2021, the City Council adopted a comprehensive overhaul of the city's parking, loading, and travel demand management zoning regulations. The amended regulations include the elements below.

• Eliminates minimum off-street parking requirements citywide.
• Incrementally lowers maximum parking allowances citywide.
• Increases bicycle parking requirements, and requirements for associated shower and locker facilities in large-scale developments.
• Establishes requirements for electrical vehicle charging infrastructure in new parking lots and structures.
• Amends the travel demand management (TDM) ordinance to apply more broadly and reorient regulations toward achieving the City’s climate goals, which includes having three out of every five trips taken in Minneapolis by walking, bicycling or transit.

The ordinance advances several Minneapolis 2040 goals, including climate change resilience and a clean environment by reducing reliance on cars and supporting the growth of electric vehicle infrastructure. It also promotes the goals of affordable and accessible housing and complete neighborhoods by improving the feasibility of development at varying scales in locations throughout Minneapolis.

Goals of the amendment

Elimination of minimum parking requirements does not signal the end of development providing parking in Minneapolis. Paired with strengthened limits on maximum parking allowed, increased bicycle parking requirements, and a more consistent and robust travel demand management ordinance, these changes are intended to shift the city’s regulatory approach away from a focus on controlling the perceived negative externalities to development, and toward requiring and incentivizing the types of development that will reduce the occurrence of negative externalities in the first place. These amendments focus on achieving city mode split goals and goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also directly address the Minneapolis 2040 goals of…

• Climate change resilienceand Clean environment through reduction on the reliance of automobiles, and supporting the growth of electric vehicle infrastructure.
• Affordable and accessible housingand Complete neighborhoods by improving the financial feasibility of development at varying scales in locations throughout Minneapolis.
• High-quality physical environmentthrough design standards that support a variety of transportation modes.
• More residents and jobsby regulating the efficient use of land.
• Eliminate disparitiesby ensuring access to a variety of transportation options, technologies, and destinations through new development.

Timeline

City Planning Commission Committee of the Whole – August 20, 2020

Planning Commission Committee of the Whole – March 11, 2021

Planning Commission Public Hearing – April 12, 2021

Business, Inspections, Housing, and Zoning Committee – May 4, 2021

City Council – May 14, 2021

Published Ordinance in Effect – May 22, 2021

Resources

• August 20, 2020 CPC COW Memo
• March 11, 2021 CPC COW Memo
• March 12, 2021 – Draft Ordinance
• April 12, 2021 – Draft Ordinance
• Final Adopted Parking, Loading, and Mobility Zoning Code Text Amendment - May 14, 2021
• Legislation Details: Regulation of off-street parking and travel demand management ordinance (2020-00704)
• Minneapolis 2040 Parking, Loading, and Mobility Regulations project website