Ward 6 Weekly Update

This week, St Paul City Council passed a resolution honoring the life and public service of Charles (Chuck) Repke, Jr. who passed recently, after a lifetime (nearly 50 years) of serving our city. Chuck held many titles--not the least of which include neighborhood activist, District Council Board President, Planning Commissioner, Ward 2 City Council Legislative Aide, City Charter Commissioner, Lobbyist, District Council Executive Director and Community Development Corporation Executive Director. The projects Dave and Chuck worked on over the years reflected their unwavering commitment to quality of life of all Saint Paul residents, most notably the re-instatement of a meaningful human rights ordinance covering LGBT people, housing redevelopment and construction benefiting the owners and renters in long-neglected areas of Ward 2, bringing the Minnesota Wild to Saint Paul and passing ordinances regulating and eliminating nuisance businesses from the our neighborhoods

Chuck made a big impact on the East Side of Saint Paul, guiding, shaping and bringing to fruition a wide variety of projects such as the Cub Foods at Phalen Village--the very first LEED Gold grocery store and catalyst for the full development of Phalen Village with its bank, 2 grocery stores, a drug store, medical clinics, restaurants and other businesses, and bringing numerous housing developments serving all income levels to our neighborhood. 

St Paul City Council remembers, salutes and humbly thanks Chuck Repke, for his 5 decades of service to the people of Saint Paul and declare Wednesday, September 1, 2021 "Chuck Repke Day" in the City of Saint Paul.

Read the full resolution honoring the life and service of Chuck Repke here. 

Did you know, about 36% of Saint Paul’s land is dedicated to moving and storing vehicles? This is partly to do with the City’s former parking minimums, which were last updated almost a decade ago and are out of date with land use best practices, demand for parking, and policies in the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. These minimums were eliminated last week by St Paul City Council. Here's some answers to commonly asked questions: 

When does the elimination of parking minimums go into effect? 
This goes into effect on September 24, 2021. This is 30 days from the date on which it was approved by City Council.

What were the previously existing minimum parking space requirements based on? 
Parking was determined differently depending on the use of the property, but could be based on square footage, number or employees, number of residents, or other factors.  For example: it was required for museums and public libraries to have 1 parking space for every 500 ft². Car washes were required to have 1 space for every employee. Dormitories were required to have 1 space per every 3 residents. Golf courses were required to have 4 spaces for every hole. Hospitals were required to have 1 space for every 2 beds. You can read the full table of requirements here (see the published Final Parking Memo document, starting at page 48). 

What problems were caused by the old minimum requirements? 
With the previous requirements, businesses that wanted to expand (in physical size or employee/patron capacity) had to build more parking spaces on their property to meet the required minimum even if their property already had many more spaces than were used. This lead to parking being built when it wasn't needed, and it prevented businesses from growing (in physical size, people served, number of staff).  It also created a barrier to building affordable housing, as parking spaces are ultimately paid for through cost of rent, whether the tenants utilize the parking spaces or not. 

Would homeowners be able to exclude renters from permit-only street parking if street parking becomes tight? 
Homeowners cannot say “no” to renters parking on the street.  The City still has a process for creating permit parking districts, and these districts cannot exclude renters, they can only exclude people who don’t live on the blocks in question. 

Could new parking minimum requirements be created in the future if problems arise? 
In short, yes. It is possible that new minimum parking requirements could be proposed in the future depending on whether and what problems arise. These requirements could be city-wide, or they could be specific to a neighborhoods or corridor based on specific needs. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced two new semi-permanent COVID-19 community testing sites in Saint Paul and Bloomington.

The Saint Paul testing site is located in Roy Wilkins Auditorium, 175 West Kellogg Blvd. Testing at the Saint Paul site will occur Monday – Thursday, from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Bloomington testing site is located at 9930 Logan Ave. S (former DMV). Testing at the Bloomington site will occur Monday – Friday, from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Testing is free at all of the state's community testing sites. Appointments can be made through the Vault Health registration site. Walk-ins are also accepted.

You can also order a test through the state’s no-cost at-home COVID-19 testing program.

Find a testing option near you through the state’s Find Testing Locations map. Walk-in or schedule an appointment for a test at one of the state’s no-cost community testing sites across Minnesota.