End Parking Mandates in Robbinsdale

Before someone can open a café, build a duplex, or turn an empty storefront into something new in Robbinsdale, they first have to answer one question: where will the cars go?

City code sets a minimum number of off-street parking spaces for nearly every kind of building (Robbinsdale City Code §510.17). In commercial districts the requirement is tied to floor area: as much as one space for every 200 square feet for some uses (§520.01). A parking space plus the aisle to reach it takes up about 300 square feet, so a shop can be required to pave more land for cars than it uses for customers.

We think the city should get rid of these mandates.

Parking isn't free. Someone pays for it.

Parking costs real money to build:

  • about $8,000 per space in a surface lot, counting the land (VTPI),
  • about $33,000 per space in a parking garage, before land and design costs (WGI),
  • about $73,000 per space underground, before land (UCLA).

The driver doesn't pay that. It gets passed on in higher rent, higher prices and smaller buildings, so everyone pays, including people who don't own a car. As the Happy Urbanist puts it, "if parking is free and housing is expensive, we have our priorities backwards" (Happy Urbanist).

What mandates do to a town

Parking minimums decide what gets built, and often whether anything gets built at all (Climate Town; Strong Towns):

  • They kill small projects. A small business or builder can afford a building but not the land for the required parking, so the project never happens. Old main-street buildings like the ones downtown are often impossible to build under today's rules.
  • They spread everything apart. Every building gets surrounded by its own lot. Places get farther apart, walking stops making sense, and everyone has to drive, which creates demand for more parking.
  • They raise housing costs. Required parking adds to the cost of every new home and apartment, whether the people living there own a car or not.
  • They shrink the tax base. A parking lot pays a fraction of the property taxes of a building on the same land, but the city still maintains the streets and pipes that serve it.
  • They make streets more dangerous. Lots and driveways mean more cars turning across sidewalks and fewer reasons to walk.

Ending mandates doesn't ban parking

Removing a minimum doesn't remove parking. It lets the people building and running a business decide how much they need. A grocery store will still build a lot. A café near the future Blue Line station might choose patio seating instead. A homeowner adding an accessory apartment won't be stopped by a parking rule (Happy Urbanist).

It's working next door

Minneapolis removed parking minimums citywide in May 2021, and St. Paul followed that August (St. Paul).

  • New buildings in Minneapolis still include parking, just less of it. The average fell from about one space per apartment to under 0.75 (Metro Abundance).
  • Developers started building apartments with little or no parking, including a 23-unit building with none (Metro Abundance).
  • From 2017 to 2022, Minneapolis grew its housing stock by 12% while rents rose just 1%. The rest of Minnesota added 4% to its housing stock while rents went up 14%. That came from several reforms together, not parking alone (Pew).

At the state level, SF 1268 and HF 1309 would end minimum parking mandates across Minnesota. The Senate bill cleared a committee in March 2025, but neither has become law (SF 1268; HF 1309).

What we're asking for

  1. Eliminate parking minimums in Robbinsdale, starting with downtown and the area around the future Blue Line station.
  2. Keep the rules that matter, like accessible parking, bike parking and loading zones.
  3. Support SF 1268 / HF 1309 so every Minnesota city does the same.

This also helps make a downtown made for people possible.

Zoning changes are adopted by the City Council. For the state bills, find your representative and senator with the Legislature's district finder.

Email the council

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Sources

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