Minneapolis considering walk-friendly design rules for greater Uptown

Above: A drive-through facility on Hennepin Avenue, not part of today's pedestrian-oriented zoning district.

Fewer parking lots on major streets and more doors facing the sidewalk are among tighter design rules city leaders are mulling to make the greater Uptown area more walkable.

City staff are developing a special district to regulate the look and orientation of new developments along the four main arteries that form the triangular "wedge" area -- Hennepin, Lyndale and Lagoon Aves., and Lake Street. The proposal gets its first airing Thursday night at a city planning commission committee.

The district is being spearheaded by Council Members Lisa Bender and Lisa Goodman, following the proposal of several auto-oriented buildings in and around Uptown.

Its impact would be two-fold.

First, it would dramatically extend the reach of existing pedestrian-oriented rules -- now applied in the core of Uptown -- north to Franklin Avenue and east to Nicollet Avenue.

Those rules prohibit drive-through facilities and most other auto-oriented facilities, ban new fast food buildings, and require street-facing buildings to have plenty of transparent windows. (The council is separately considering tighter rules on drive-throughs citywide).

It would waive the parking requirement for commercial uses, bar developments that reduce the height of an existing building, and require developments to have additional bike parking.

The district would also ban street-facing parking lots along the major streets, require corner buildings to have their primary door facing the street, and create new incentives for dense projects. Corner buildings would also not be allowed to have driveways crossing sidewalks on Hennepin, Lyndale, Nicollet Lagoon or Lake.