Commission amends minimum‑height rules: reduces some minimums and exempts parks, utilities and small production uses

The Minneapolis Planning Commission on Aug. 4 voted to amend zoning rules that establish minimum building heights in the city’s built‑form overlay districts, approving CPED staff recommendations to reduce several minimums and to create carve‑outs for specific low‑bulk uses. The commission also amended staff’s proposal, setting a six‑story minimum in the newly defined Transit 30A district.

What CPED proposed and why

CPED principal planner May Ling Smith told the commission the proposal arose from several projects and variances that highlighted implementation challenges where minimum height requirements were blocking otherwise permissible development. Minneapolis 2040 established built‑form overlay districts with minimum and maximum heights; staff said the strict minima can make development infeasible for certain uses (for example, production or utility buildings), can raise construction costs (especially where a 10‑story minimum requires a more expensive structural type), and can deter smaller developers from building in key transit corridors.

Staff recommendations

Staff proposed: (1) lowering the Transit 15 minimum from 4 to 3 stories and Transit 20 from 6 to 4 stories; (2) splitting Transit 30…