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Planning Commission adopts zoning amendment to allow regulated safe outdoor parking for people living in vehicles
Summary
The Minneapolis Planning Commission approved a zoning text amendment to authorize interim "safe outdoor parking" sites for people sheltering in passenger vehicles; sites would require an interim use permit and business license, be limited to a 5-year interim use and a minimum 10,000-square-foot lot, and disallow RVs and tents.
The Minneapolis Planning Commission on April 6 approved a zoning code text amendment that creates a new interim-use category to allow managed "safe outdoor parking" sites where people already sheltering in personal passenger vehicles can legally stay overnight.
Staff planner Madel Mouta told commissioners the proposal responds to the City Council's Dec. 15, 2023 declaration of homelessness as a public health emergency and aligns with key policies in Minneapolis 2040 aimed at expanding access to health, social and emergency services. "This amendment adds a new use to the zoning code that allows people to legally stay in their cars overnight in designated managed parking lots," Mouta said, framing the measure as a way to reach people who do not use traditional shelters.
Planner Aspen Pflanz described the ordinance language and operational structure. The use would be…
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