St. Louis Park council approves comprehensive plan and first reading of new residential zoning structure

The St. Louis Park City Council voted to adopt amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan and to approve the first readings of a zoning‑text amendment and a zoning‑map amendment that reshape residential rules citywide.

What changed: City staff proposed replacing the existing five residential zoning classifications with four neighborhood districts (N1–N4). The ordinance changes create standardized tables of dimensional standards (lot width, minimum lot area, yard and height rules) and explicitly permit a wider range of “house‑scale” and “low‑rise” housing types in select districts, including duplexes, triplexes, courtyard cottages, small townhomes and low‑rise apartment buildings. Staff also proposed maximum impervious‑surface limits by housing type, clarified driveway access rules that require alley access when an alley is available, relaxed an accessory‑dwelling‑unit (ADU) owner‑occupancy requirement and reduced ADU rear‑yard setbacks from 15 feet to 5 feet in…