Support a thriving Downtown

Purple represents Urban Core, Red represents Urban Mixed

The Saint Paul City Council is holding a public hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, November 19 at 3:30 PM, on updates to the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) zoning overlay.

Sustain Saint Paul’s believes the Planning Commission’s new height restrictions for downtown’s “Urban Core” (purple on the map above) and “Urban Mixed” (red) areas—limiting much of Kellogg Blvd, for instance, to one-story buildings—are overly complex, burdensome, and at odds with the city’s goals of a vibrant, thriving, and sustainable downtown. The City staff’s original recommendations struck a better balance, allowing downtown to grow responsibly while meeting DNR standards, and we support amending the updates to reflect that.

Here’s how you can help:

• Submit a comment via email: Contact-Council@ci.stpaul.mn.us before the end of the day.

• Attend the hearing in person tomorrow and voice your support for city staff’s original recommendations. RSVP here!

Copy and paste this form letter for your comment:

Subject: Support Balanced MRCCA Updates for Downtown

My name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address]. I am writing to ask the City Council to amend the proposed updates to the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area to be more in line with city staff's initial recommendations with regards to building height limits in the Urban Core.

I am concerned that the 35-foot base height limit and tiered setback system proposed in the Planning Commission's recommendation are overly complex and burdensome, and would require nearly any proposed development in the Urban Core area to apply for a Conditional Use Permit. This is at odds with the city's goals of creating a vibrant, thriving downtown and sustainable tax base.

Thank you for your commitment to the city.