The Planning Commission of the City of Saint Paul will hold a public hearing on text amendments to Section 65.701 Auto body shop  of Saint Paul’s Zoning Code on Friday, May 31, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 40 of the City Hall/Courthouse at 15 West Kellogg Blvd.

All comments concerning the amendments will be heard at this hearing.  Written comments may be submitted to the Commission by sending them to City Planner Kate Reilly’s attention at 1300 City Hall Annex, 25 West Fourth St., Saint Paul, MN 55102 or ) until Monday, June 3, 2013.

The proposed amendments may be obtained from Kate Reilly by phone at 651-266-6618 or by e-mail.

The Saint Paul Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to the District 9 Area Plan Summary on Friday, May 3, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 40 of City Hall/Courthouse at 15 W. Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul. All interested persons are invited to attend and address the Commission on this matter. Written comments may be sent to Lucy Thompson, Principal City Planner at or 25 W. 4th Street, Suite 1300, Saint Paul, MN 55102. The hearing record will remain open until 4:30 p.m. on May 6, 2013 for written comments. Questions may be directed to Ms. Thompson at 651-266-6578.

District 9 Area Plan Summary with proposed amendments

The amendments are a set of guidelines proposed by the W. 7th/Fort Road Federation to address urban design issues along W. 7th Street, especially at the gateway node at Grand/Ramsey Street. The overall goal of the guidelines is to ensure compatibility of new construction and building rehabilitation with the scale, proportion and character of adjacent buildings. They address such items as storefronts, windows, exterior materials, roofs, awnings, color, parking and building scale.

On July 14, 2011, after a request from the Highland Park District Council and the Highland Business Association, the Planning Commission initiated a study, undertaken by a task force, of the Highland Village Special District Sign Plan. The task force met between July 2011 and May 2012 and made recommendations to amend the plan and the plan area. The recommendations are modeled on those made for the 2009 update of the Grand Avenue Special District Sign Plan. They clarify langauge and amend the area to which the sign plan applies.

The original Highland Village Special District Sign Plan was drafted by the Highland Village Planning Committee and adopted by the City Council in 1985. It applies to the area shown on this map.

Following a public hearing on the draft amendments on December 14, 2012 the Neighborhood Committee recommended to the Planning Commissiont these edits and this map area. The Planning Commission reviewed it on February 22, 2013 and forwarded the plan to the City Council.

Questions may be directed to  or 651-266-6618.

On December 14, 2012, the Planning Commission initiated a planning and zoning study for the Shepard Davern area of the Highland Park District, after a request from the District Council. The existing Small Area Plan and Shepard Davern Overlay Districts were adopted in 1999, and zoning tools and policies put in place since then will inform this update.  

A task force has been convened to develop reommendations for this study. For more information about this planning process please visit the study website. 

Central Corridor is a light-rail transit (LRT) line that will connect downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul, primarily along University Ave.

The Central Corridor is a major connection between the two downtown areas. This LRT line will increase connectivity and slow the growth of traffic congestion.  The Central Corridor is also a major opportunity for reinvestment in the area. Click here for more information on the Central Corridor.

The Saint Paul Port Authority led a community planning process to determine future uses for the 3M site, located on E. 7th Street & Phalen Boulevard, on Saint Paul's East Side, rebranded "Beacon Bluff." The offices of Saint Paul City Council Wards 6 and 7, as well as the Department of Planning and Economic Development, have helped to support this process.  The Port Authority is marketing the land and the site's existing buildings. Please see the Beacon Bluff Redevelopment website for more information.

The nearly 145-acre Ford property was home to an assembly plant operated by Ford Motor Company for 86 years. In December 2011, Ford Motor Company closed its assembly plant, which was a significant loss for the community, the city and the region.

Ford and is now working towards sale of the property, which provides an unprecedented redevelopment opportunity in the center of the Twin Cities region and in one of the most beautiful, stable and economically strong neighborhoods of Saint Paul.  The Ford property is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the vibrant Highland Park neighborhood, where a bustling residential community and business district grew up around the plant. 

For more information on the Ford site planning, click here.

The West Midway is more than 1,500 acres of industrially-zoned land north of Interstate 94 between Snelling Avenue on the east and the Saint Paul/Minneapolis boundary on the west.  The Central Corridor light rail line runs through the West Midway, along University Avenue.

The West Midway study will determine how the area can be strengthened as a strategically-placed industrial sector and employment based for the City and the region.  A community-based task force, convened by the Planning Commission, is studying the issues and preparing recommendations.  The West Midway study has a separate webpage containing additional documents and information relative to the study.

Draft Zoning Code amendments pertaining to industrial districts and uses reflect policies in the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan, support the purpose of industrial districts for employment and economic activities, provide for efficient land use and aesthetic quality, and bring the code up-to-date, incorporating Planning Commission determinations of similar use in recent years. 

The Saint Paul City Council will hold a public hearing on the draft amendments on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, City Hall, Room 300, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul. Comments submitted in writing should be addressed to:  Office of the City Council, 310 City Hall, 15 Kellogg Blvd. West, Saint Paul, MN 55102, or by email to , or fax to 651-266-6549.

Draft Ordinance for the Industrial Zoning Text Amendments
Summary of Draft Industrial Zoning Text Amendments
Summary of Planning Commission public hearing testimony and recommendations
Comp. Planning Committee review of public testimony, analysis, and recommendations
Planning Commission Public Hearing Minutes
Planning Commission Public Hearing Written Testimony

The Planning Commission has released draft amendments to the parkland dedication requirements in the City subdivision regulations to decouple the parkland dedication requirement at the time of building permits from parking, and to base the requirement at the time of platting on the area of new lots for new development, for public review and set a public hearing for February 10, 2012.

The City was awarded a TIGER II planning grant from the US Department of Transportation to develop a Complete Streets Plan. The plan focuses on creating tools for complete streets implementation. Specifically, the grant funded three activities: a citywide complete streets assessment report, a street design manual, and a complete streets action plan.

This process will develop of a set of prioritized citywide streetcar corridors that are physically viable, offer the greatest potential for improving local circulation, support economic development, and complement existing and planned regional transportation systems. The study will prepare Saint Paul for long-term success in financing and implementing a comprehensive streetcar network.

The Urban Agriculture Zoning Study was initiated by resolution in October of 2011 by the Saint Paul Planning Commission.

The goal of the study is to identify how locally grown food-related uses are dealt with in the zoning ordinance and if there is a need to revise the code to remove any undue barriers. Staff reviewed national best practices to develop draft amendments for those topics that are appropriately addressed by zoning.

The study is a part of an ongoing response to a 2009 City Council resolution requesting “necessary changes to City policy (including possible zoning, licensing/permitting, HRA/easement policies” in order to “facilitate a network of resources to support the production, distribution, and consumption of healthy and locally grown food.”

The zoning study and draft text amendments were released for public review on April 6th, 2012 at Planning Commission, and a public hearing was held June 1 at 8:30 am in Room 40 of City Hall. A summary of public hearing testimony was presented to the Comprehensive Planning Committee June 26th, 2012. Revised draft text amendments will be presented to the Comprehensive Planning Committee and a second public hearing will be held at City Council  in the spring of 2013. For more information, please contact Anton Jerve, 651-266-6567.

The Saint Paul Planning Commission held a public hearing on the draft District 1 Transportation Plan on June 15, 2012. In August, the Commission recommended approval of the plan, and forwarded it to the City Council for their review.

The purpose of the document is to update and supplement previous neighborhood planning, more adequately addressing transportation issues.  Policies span many transportation topics, from transit planning and service, freight rail, trails and bikeways, pedestrian issues, vehicular access, and commercial traffic.

In August 2012 the City Council put in place a moratorium on certain types of development along the portion of Grand Avenue west of Fairview, and requested that the Planning Commission take a closer look at what scale of development is most appropriate for West Grand Avenue and whether or not zoning changes are needed. On March 8, 2013, the Planning Commission released study findings and recommendations for public comment. A public hearing has been scheduled for April 19, 2013. For more information about the study findings and recommendations and the public hearing, click here.