Comment on changes to parking lot rules at April 28 hearing

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Anyone who has ever struggled to cross a busy parking lot to get to Green Line light rail or an A Line bus may appreciate proposed changes to how future lots are designed in St. Paul. Changes in how new parking lots are designed is the focus of a public hearing before the St. Paul Planning Commission at 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 28 at City Hall.
The hearing is in tandem with a hearing on master plan amendments for a proposed University of St. Thomas baseball-softball complex in Highland neighborhood on the former Ford Motor Company site. Plans there call for a 330-space parking lot.
The proposed changes for lots within proximity of a transit stop or station may interest longtime Midway area residents who were involved in light rail-related land use planning. With development such as Midway Target and Midway Marketplace, there was debate as to how buildings were placed far from university and the planned rail line. While Midway Marketplace has a walkway along Albert Street, getting to and from Hamline station means that Midway Target shoppers just use the Hamline or Syndicate Street sidewalks.
Parking lot design regulations are nothing new in St. Paul, with requirements for landscaping around lots for screening, plantings and trees within a lot. Measures must be taken to provide space for stormwater runoff, manage heat reflected from lots, and help shield lots and headlights from view.
But the current landscaping requirements are only for lots adjoining a public street or sidewalk. The St. Thomas proposed lot doesn’t meet the requirements. It would be on a property line, and not along a public street or sidewalk. While that lot’s initial plans call for landscaping, it isn’t required today. The project prompted another look at parking regulations.
The changes would ensure that all parking lots have quality landscaping, said city planner Spencer Miller Johnson. He said the current regulations are more applicable to larger, suburban-style parking lots and need to be amended to fit smaller-scale urban lots.
The city’s adoption of traditional neighborhood zoning years ago promotes new developments to be built up to the street, with parking at the rear. That has exempted many newer lots from being landscaped. The proposed changes would remove that exemption.
Another impetus for change is how walkways in larger parking lots are handled, with a goal of walkability and better access to transit. The current requirement is that parking lots larger than 125,000 square feet are required to provide internal walkways in addition to landscaping requirements. The key change would be that parking lot of 80,000 or more square feet would have to have walkways if they are within one-quarter mile of a light rail, streetcar or bus rapid transit line. This would affect future development along the proposed Riverview Corridor in the West End and Highland neighborhoods, B Line rapid bus along Selby Avenue, and other future rapid bus lines.
Walkways in parking lots must be a minimum width of five feet and should connect primary buildings on the site with access to parking areas, the public sidewalk system on adjacent streets, and transit stations if any are nearby. With the exception of walkway/driveway crossings, walkways should be separated from vehicle parking or maneuvering areas by grade, different paving material, markings or landscaping. Internal sidewalks must meet accessibility standards and other design and construction standards adopted by the city.
View the study at https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/planning-and-economic-development/planning/planning-commission

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