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CAP Board receives zoning and design rules update; staff to slow process for additional outreach
Summary
Staff and consultant Opticos updated the board on draft zoning and design rules tied to the 2040 comprehensive plan, highlighting clarifications to definitions, revised block standards, congregate-living definitions alignment, and removal of parking minimums with conditional maximums; the board asked staff to report net parking impacts and will resume rulemaking later this year.
CAP Board staff and consultant Opticos presented an update on proposed zoning and design rule changes the board is developing under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Eric Dahl outlined the rulemaking schedule and said the board is in early rule-development stages (SONAR) and plans to continue outreach across the summer and fall before returning with an action item. Cecilia Kim of Opticos described the approach to align rules with the 2040 comprehensive plan while avoiding major built-form changes. Notable items included: a new capital-area map to clarify where rules apply; revised block standards (a 500-foot block length combined with a 1,600-foot perimeter to avoid oversized blocks); updated congregate-living definitions to align to 2025 municipal and state definitions and City of Saint Paul code; and parking policy changes that remove minimums and establish conditional parking maximums and a formula for calculating maxima by use.
Board members asked for more precise data on net parking impacts from the proposed changes and expressed concerns about where out-of-area visitors would park if surface parking is limited. Staff agreed to provide a net-parking analysis and additional small-group workshops for board member input before initiating the formal public-comment stages.
Next steps: staff to continue outreach, produce net parking impact information, and return with an action item in the fall to advance the administrative-rule process.
