St. Paul City Council votes 4-3 to overhaul zoning code, allow duplexes, density
A divided St. Paul City Council voted 4-3 on Wednesday to approve a sweeping overhaul of the city’s zoning code, lifting restrictions that since the 1970s have prevented duplexes and denser development in many corners of the city.
The zoning overhaul, initially dubbed the 1-to-4 unit housing study, is intended to boost housing affordability and housing choices by adding more housing units on city blocks previously zoned exclusively for single-family homes.
Council President Amy Brendmoen joined Mitra Jalali, Nelsie Yang and Rebecca Noecker in approving the changes, while Council Members Jane Prince, Chris Tolbert and Russel Balenger cast the dissenting votes after expressing concerns over housing teardowns.
“What we’re trying to do is change the rules so we can have more use on the same amount of land, in the same amount of space … to create more housing and places to live,” said Jalali, who envisioned local community developers getting a leg up.
“This is important for the affordability of our city,” she added. “This is important for the sustainability of our city. … Selfishly, I’d like to see more cats on more porches, because that’s also fun.”
In all, six residential zoning districts (R1-R4, RT1, RT2) will be consolidated into just two (H1 and H2), in an effort to simplify the zoning code, especially along major transit corridors. The rules allow a “density bonus” of one or two units for developers who install affordable workforce housing or retain an existing building.
Critics fear teardowns
Prince expressed concerns about parking impacts, storm water run-off and housing teardowns.
“It creates a huge incentive for outside investors buying up single-family homes, renting them at higher rates,” Prince said, quoting St. Paul Planning Commissioner Gaius Nelson. “Why is it reasonable that a potential first-time homeowner loses a bid on a starter home to a developer who will tear down the house to build five or six units?”
Tolbert, who chairs the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority, called for a more targeted, neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach. He noted that a study of housing teardowns in Highland Park and Mac-Groveland once found that the smallest, cheapest housing stock was the most vulnerable.
“Most single-family homes that are torn down are 800-1,200 square foot homes,” Tolbert said. “I still expect the 800 square foot homes on the 5,000 square foot lot are probably going to be the ones to be bought out by developers. … These blocks will add some of the larger buildings, which will be quite a change on these blocks. I just think we can do a little bit better with this proposal.”
Yang said she would support a future amendment, previously recommended by Jalali, to expand higher-density zoning from within an eighth of a mile to a quarter of a mile of major transit junctures. Those nodes are fairly limited on the East Side.
“On the East Side, we don’t have robust transit options for folks in our community,” she said. “The expansion of our transit nodes radius to 1/4 mile, it’s really important to increase access to housing, to jobs.”
Given construction costs, rent control restrictions, lending markets and the general return on investment, Brendmoen predicted varying impacts depending upon each neighborhood, but less dramatic change than some feared. “I don’t believe this code change is going to trigger a stampede of development,” she said.
