A bill that supporters say puts people over parking will be introduced when the Legislature heads into session in three weeks.
The bill would do away with minimum parking requirements for real estate developments statewide.
“This bill does not prohibit people from building new parking spaces, it does not mandate the removal of any existing parking,” says State Senator Omar Fateh (DFL- Minneapolis). “But what it does do is allow entrepreneurs, builders, customers and tenants the ability to decide themselves how much parking they require at their homes, businesses, and destinations.”
Fateh says the cost of building apartment parking lots almost always trickles down to tenants in the form of higher rent.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (DFL) is also throwing her support behind the bill.
The People Over Parking Act would eliminate minimum parking requirements for apartment buildings and other real estate developments statewide.
Omar says the average apartment parking lot costs $40,000.
“The cost of that parking spot isn’t something that developers pay out of their own pocket,” Omar explains. “If a tenant isn’t paying for it at the top of their rent, that cost is incorporated into their rent anyway.”
Similar ordinances have already been passed in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth.