A long swath of Grand Avenue has been rezoned to allow for taller, denser development, among other changes.

The St. Paul City Council voted 6-0 on Wednesday to approve the newly amended East Grand Avenue overlay district, which governs zoning along a 1.5-mile stretch of the business corridor, based on a zoning study initiated by the Planning Commission in September 2022. Council Member HwaJeong Kim was absent.

The existing Traditional Neighborhood zoning had limited building heights to three stories from Ayd Mill Road to just past Dale Street. The new zoning eliminates TN requirements, though all portions of a building above the 40-foot mark must be stepped back from front, side street or rear setback lines by 10 feet.

A previous version of the ordinance amendment called for any extra building height above 40 feet to be stepped back the equivalent distance to the added height, so a 10-foot addition would be stepped back 10 feet, a 20-foot addition would be stepped back 20 feet, and so on, creating a bit of a terraced layer cake approach.

The maximum front and side street setbacks are now 10 feet, creating a uniform building line along the sidewalk. If an interior lot is on or abutting residential zoning, it can have setbacks of up to 25 feet along an established building facade line. However, up to 40% of the building façade on any lot can exceed the maximum setback to create outdoor seating or gathering areas.

According to the overlay district, the base 30 feet of building sides facing abutting public streets “must include elements that relate to the human scale at grade,” such as doors, windows, projections, awnings, canopies, porches and stoops.

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