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Council hears staff presentation on minor zoning text amendments; ordinance laid over to July 9
Summary
City planning staff described a package of minor text amendments to multiple chapters of the legislative code intended to correct errors and clarify long-standing interpretations; the ordinance was laid over to July 9 for second reading and public hearing.
City planning staff briefed the Saint Paul City Council on a package of minor text amendments—described as cleanup changes to multiple chapters of the legislative code—during the meeting’s first-reading item. Bill Dermody, Planning and Economic Development staff, said the changes fix typos, remove outdated terms and codify long-standing interpretations of the zoning code.
Dermody highlighted examples including removing an inadvertent committee-recommended insertion that was not part of the planning commission recommendation, clarifying references left over from a prior 1–4 zoning study, and amending electric-vehicle parking provisions so surface parking-lot reconstructions would not trigger building electrical upgrades that were never intended for such projects.
Dermody also said the code has a long-standing interpretation permitting campus building heights up to 90 feet for colleges and universities on campuses of five acres or more; the amendment aims to clarify that text to reduce confusion.
Councilmembers asked procedural questions about whether such minor text amendments go to the planning commission (they do) and whether this work is part of a recurring cleanup process. Dermody said the city used to perform this cleanup more regularly and that it is appropriate to return to doing so every few years.
The council laid the ordinance over to July 9 for a second reading and public hearing.
