Bloomington now requires less parking from new development, and residents can keep more cars outside their homes. After a public hearing on Monday, Oct. 12, the City Council voted 7-0 to amend the off-street parking ordinance in Chapters 12 and 21 of the City Code. The changes cut required parking by roughly 10-30% across land uses and by up to 50% for industrial uses. They also allow up to 6 vehicles to be parked outside a home.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNThe council holds the public hearing, where no one spoke, and then votes 7-0 to adopt the parking changes.10/12
The 2 halves of the ordinance affect different people. Parking minimums set how many stalls an apartment building, store, office or warehouse has to build. Every required stall costs money and takes up land, so lower minimums give builders room to put up fewer of them. The vehicle cap is the part homeowners will notice. It covers anyone with a project car, a work truck or a teenager who just got a license.
Until this vote, the city's rule was that no more than 4 vehicles belonging to residents could be parked or stored outside, no matter how many people lived at the property or whether the cars were on the street. Visitors' vehicles didn't count. Under the new ordinance, the limit is 6.
The city started the change itself as case PL202600152. On Oct. 1 it posted a notice for the council hearing. The notice described the amendment as updating minimum parking requirements and parking flexibility measures, changing the allowed number of vehicles at residential properties and editing definitions. It didn't say which direction the numbers would move. The draft ordinance, titled Amending Off Street Parking Standards, was posted on the notice page, and that's still the place to read the exact language.
No one spoke at the hearing. People who want them cut say required stalls raise construction costs and pave over land. Skeptics worry that cars will spill onto neighborhood streets. In this case the council heard from nobody on either side and passed the changes unanimously.
The ordinance and meeting materials are posted with the council's agenda at blm.mn/meetings, and other notices are at blm.mn/notices.
If you're planning a project or wondering whether your driveway is now within the rules, planner Liz O'Day handled the case and can be reached at 952-563-8919 or [email protected]. You can also contact the Planning Division at 952-563-8920 or [email protected].
From the meeting: City Council Meeting, October 12, 2026.
