The South Loop's own rules on height and density now have a rough deadline. A Planning Commission member asked about them, and planning staff said the review is still underway and should come back to the commission. Bloomington already changed its height standards citywide earlier this year. This review covers only the standards that apply in the South Loop District.
City of Bloomington@CityofBloomingtonMNIn response to a commissioner's question, staff said that while citywide height standard amendments were adopted earlier this year, a further review of height and development intensity standards specifically for the South Loop is still underway.10/01
For now it's still a staff study. Staff gave the timeline as a quick answer to a commissioner's question. It wasn't an agenda item. Still, it matters. Height limits and intensity rules decide how much can be built on each parcel in the part of town the city most wants to see grow.
The Planning Commission recommended the South Loop District Plan Update on August 14, 2025, by a 6-0 vote, and it added a requirement. The city has to study the performance standards of the zoning districts that apply in the South Loop to make sure they actually allow the development intensity the plan calls for. In other words, the plan sets big goals, and the zoning code has to permit buildings big enough to meet them.
Getting the plan update done took a while. It launched in July 2024. After the commission's recommendation, the City Council adopted it 5-0 on October 13, 2025, with 2 members absent. On November 4, 2025, the city sent it to the Metropolitan Council as a Comprehensive Plan Amendment. The city says implementation is underway and that projects from the plan's implementation chart will go into future work plans. This zoning review is one of those projects. The project page has the plan documents and background.
Developers aren't waiting for the review. On May 21, 2026, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on Rosa Development Company's request to reguide 3700 and 3750 American Blvd. E. from South Loop Mixed Use to High Intensity Mixed Use and to rezone the sites. Requests like that one show why the standards matter. When the base rules don't allow what a property owner wants to build, the fix is a land-use change on one property at a time.
Next comes the staff report to the Planning Commission. We'll update this story as it moves forward.
From the meeting: Planning Commission Meeting, October 1, 2026.
