This document summarizes a presentation given in Dallas, TX about reducing parking minimums in Minneapolis to promote transit-oriented development and housing affordability. Key points include: - An advisory group with city staff, council, and stakeholders helped develop new parking regulations near transit. - The new ordinance allows up to 100% reduction in minimum parking requirements for housing within 1/4 mile of high-frequency bus or 1/2 mile of rail. - In the first few months of implementation, three housing projects utilized the parking reductions, constructing fewer spaces than the previous minimum. - The ordinance aims to reduce costs of housing while supporting the city's long-term plans to encourage transit, walking and biking

1. TOD
and
Parking
Rail~Volu*on
2015
Dallas,
TX
October
26
Jason
Wi>enberg,
AICP
City
of
Minneapolis,
MN

2. Twin
Ci/es
Context
• 16th
largest
metro
area
(pop.
3,495,176);
right
between
Sea>le
and
San
Diego
metro
areas
• 15th
largest
transit
system
in
the
U.S.
by
daily
ridership
• 2014
• Bus
–
80%
of
regional
transit
trips,
67.8
million
rides
• Rail
–
20%
of
regional
transit
trips,
16.7
million
rides

3. Previous
Minneapolis
Parking
Reform
• Substan*al
off-­‐street
parking
revisions
adopted
in
2009;
focused
on
commercial
uses.
• Most
2009
revisions
did
not
change
rules
for
residen*al
development.

4. Context
Prior
to
2015
Revisions
• Most
areas:
minimum
of
1
space/residen*al
unit
• Modest
transit
incen*ve:
10%
parking
reduc*on
• No
parking
required
in
downtown
districts
for
any
uses
(since
2009)

5. Factors
Influencing
2015
Parking
Reform
Housing
Affordability
Land
Use/
Urban
Design
Transporta*on
Focus:
Housing
in
transit
corridors

6. Informal
Advisory
Group
• City
staff
and
City
Council
office
worked
with
representa*ves
from:
• Transit
and
bicycle
advocacy
groups
• Environmental
organiza*ons
• Metro
Transit
• City
Planning
Commission
• Architects
• Developers
• Affordable
housing
providers
• Strong
leadership
from
City
Council
member—the
chairperson
of
the
City’s
Zoning
&
Planning
Commi>ee

7. Housing
Affordability
• Construc*ng
parking
is
expensive!
• Construc*on
and
maintenance
costs
are
passed
onto
renters
and
buyers,
including
those
without
vehicles.

8. Transporta*on
Policy
Framework
The
Minneapolis
Plan
for
Sustainable
Growth:
“The
City
is
commi>ed
to
a
policy
direc*on
designed
to
reduce
car
use,
and
thereby
moderate
both
vehicle
traffic
and
demand
for
parking.
This
includes
land
use
policies
and
parking
strategies
that
encourage
increased
use
of
transit,
walking,
biking,
and
carpooling.
To
address
parking
and
mobility
issues
comprehensively,
these
strategies
need
to
address
the
supply,
management,
and
demand
for
parking
spaces.”

9.
Household
Access
to
Vehicles
Availability
of
Vehicles
in
Minneapolis
Households
No
vehicle
available
18%
1
vehicle
available
42%
2
vehicles
available
31%
3
vehicles
available
6%
4
or
more
vehicles
available
3%
Source:
2013
American
Community
Survey

10. Geography
of
Household
Automobile
Ownership

11. The
Influence
of
Parking
on
Design

12. The
Influence
of
Parking
on
Design

13. The
Influence
of
Parking
on
Design

14. New
Ordinance
Transit
proximity
and
frequency*
Authorized
reduc8on
from
minimum
parking
requirement
(3
–
50
dwelling
units)
Authorized
reduc8on
from
minimum
parking
requirement
(51
dwelling
units
or
more)
Within
one-­‐quarter
(1/4)
mile
of
a
bus
transit
stop
with
midday
service
headways
of
fiseen
(15)
minutes
or
less,
or
within
one-­‐half
(1/2)
mile
of
a
rail
transit
stop
with
midday
service
headways
of
fiseen
(15)
minutes
or
less
100
percent
50
percent
Within
three
hundred
fisy
(350)
feet
of
a
bus
or
rail
transit
stop
with
midday
service
headways
between
fiseen
(15)
minutes
and
thirty
(30)
minutes
10
percent
10
percent
Table
541-­‐4.5
Transit
Incen/ve
for
Mul/ple-­‐Family
Dwellings
*In
addi*on
to
exis*ng
transit
stops,
incen*ves
shall
apply
to
rail
transit
stops
that
are
included
in
a
project
that
has
been
approved
to
enter
the
Project
Development
phase
by
the
Federal
Transit
Administra*on

15. Scope
of
New
Ordinance

16. Zoning
Districts
in
Affected
Areas

17. U*liza*on
of
the
Ordinance
Within
the
First
Several
Months
• 3535
Grand
Ave
• 24
units
• 18
parking
spaces
Parking
variance
was
filed
but
returned
following
ordinance
adop*on.

18. U*liza*on
of
the
Ordinance
Within
the
First
Several
Months
• 602
N
1st
St
• 71
units
• 44
parking
spaces
Parking
variance
was
filed
but
returned
following
ordinance
adop*on.

19. U*liza*on
of
the
Ordinance
Within
the
First
Several
Months
• 113
E.
26th
St
• 70
units
+
ground-­‐floor
commercial
• 46
parking
spaces

20. 2015
Timeline
Six-­‐month
process
• January
30
–
Ordinance
introduc*on
• May
21
–
Informa*onal
open
house
• June
15
–
City
Planning
Commission
public
hearing
• July
10
–
unanimous
City
Council
adop*on
• July
18
–
Effec*ve
date

21. Lessons
Learned
• Ensure
that
the
policy
framework
is
in
place
• Iden*fy
and
engage
key
stakeholders
• Balance
the
desire
to
be
bold
with
whatever
the
poli*cal
reality
might
be
in
your
community
• Emphasize
range
of
benefits.
Ideally,
policy
framework
already
ar*culates
benefits.

22. Addi*onal
Informa*on
Project
web
page
h>p://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/cped/residen*alparkingrevision_2015
…or
Google
“Minneapolis
parking
revisions”
Jason
WiNenberg,
AICP
City
of
Minneapolis
jason.wi>enberg@minneapolismn.gov