There’s a new bill bouncing around the Minnesota state house that would change the course of parking lots and parking throughout the state. Depending who you ask, this is either a great thing or a terrible thing.
Here’s Five Fast Facts About Minnesota’s Statewide Parking Requirements:
- 🚗 Spot - The bill doesn’t eliminate existing parking, but it creates a statewide law that allows developers, businesses, and landlords the ability to decide how much parking they need or want for new construction. Minneapolis passed a similar bill in 2015, the first of its kind in the country.
- 🛞 Space - Backers say that laws that outline the amount of parking cities require from businesses and apartment buildings are completely arbitrary and need to go, because it’s causing some places to build more parking than necessary.
- 🚘 Lane - For example, in Carver, MN a minimum of two parking stalls is required for each lane in a bowling alley (seriously?). In Anoka, bowling alleys are required to provide seven parking spots per bowling lane. That’s kind of extreme and is only inviting my fight club to use all that vacant space.
- 🚧 Slot - Supporters say the bill is necessary since large parking lots lead to higher rent. In some cases, an entire parking lot can cost a developer as much as $40,000, and that cost gets passed on to tenants, including those without cars.
- 🛣️ Area - One group isn’t crazy about the mandate: an advocacy group that represents cities outside of the Twin Cities. They say that what’s good for Minneapolis, for example, isn’t automatically good for Mountain Lake (which makes sense).
🔥Bottom line: Will they still pave paradise and put up a parking lot? Probably, but not as large as previously required…if the bill goes through, that is. Supporters and opponents both make good points, but I still can’t stop thinking about a bowling alley with 70 parking spots.
What do you think of the bill?
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