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Zoning Code Update
In 2023, updates were made to City Code Articles I, II, and III of Chapter 44—Zoning Code to clarify, make the code easier to use and implement, and reflect current development trends. The updated sections reflect areas that the City Council and staff identified as needing further attention and revisions to meet contemporary standards.
What is the Zoning Code?
The Zoning Code is a set of rules that describes how individual properties within the City can be used. It is structured by dividing the City into districts and then identifying what can occur in each district. The Zoning Code also includes standards for all districts, such as parking, landscaping, screening, signage, etc. View the Zoning Map, which shows where the City’s zoning districts are located.
The City Council approved the proposed changes on December 11, 2023. Below is a summary of the updates made to each article, along with links to view the approved revisions. Contact Michael Martin, Assistant Community Development Director, at (651) 249-2303 or Michael.Martin@MaplewoodMN.gov with questions or concerns.
Article I - In General
- Definitions - modernizing and clarifying definitions of uses.
- Nonconformities – these are lots, buildings, or uses of land or of a building, existing at the effective date of any section of the code, which do not conform to the requirements of the section. The update reorganized the regulations by type: use, building/structures, and lots.
- Off-street parking - The minimum parking requirements were updated to reflect revised use terminology, simplify calculations, and to address changing needs. The amendment also clarifies how shared parking facilities are allowed and added parking space dimensions for parallel parking as was already identified in the mixed-use district.
Article II - District Regulations
- Consolidation of all of the uses into tables.
- Purpose and intent statements were added where they were missing.
- No major changes were made to the OSP, F, R-1, R-1(R), RE, R-1S, or R-2 districts.
- The R-3 District was reorganized.
- A definition for green space was also added to the definitions in Article II to further clarify requirements in this area. The definition added was “green space means the area(s) of the site which is not covered by paved surfaces, the principal structure, any accessory structures, and other structures like decks, pools, pergolas, etc. Green space can include landscaping, planting beds, fencing, retaining walls, and similar improvements.”
- No major changes were made to the business, manufacturing, or N-E districts.
- The M-U district was specifically reviewed. Diagrams were added for clarification. The design standards were reorganized for clarity.
- The use-specific standards were consolidated into Division 19. New standards were added for accessory dwelling units and sacred communities in the accessory uses section.
Article III - Sign Regulations
- One of the primary reasons for updating the sign code is to adjust the ordinance language to be in conformance with the 2015 Reed v. Town of Gilbert U.S. Supreme Court decision which limits the ability of a city to regulate signs based on the content of the sign.
- The code is now intended to ensure that sign ordinances conform to reasonably regulate when and how long a sign can be displayed, where the signs can be located, and how the signs can be constructed or designed; so long as these regulations do not conflict with content regulation.