After two years of study and debate, real estate design requirements along more than a mile of Grand Avenue will be rewritten to invite taller, denser development and other changes.

The St. Paul City Council voted 7-0 Wednesday to approve the freshly updated East Grand Avenue overlay district, which governs design along a 1.5-mile stretch of the business corridor from Ayd Mill Road to just east of Dale Street.

Overall, nine different types of zoning guide construction along that stretch of the avenue. The existing overlay had served as an additional cap, limiting building heights to three stories throughout the district. The amended overlay lifts the three-story restriction while adding onto the district’s existing Traditional Neighborhood design requirements, mandating that all portions of a building above the 40-foot mark be stepped back from front, side street or rear setback lines by up to 10 feet.

The new overlay is based in large part on a zoning study initiated by the Planning Commission in September 2022, though Council Member Rebecca Noecker introduced three key amendments in recent weeks as the proposal worked its way through the council’s hearing process.

A previous version of the ordinance amendment had 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 terraced approach.

The maximum front and side street setbacks will now be 10 feet, creating a uniform building line along the sidewalk, with exceptions for patio seating, outdoor gathering spaces and areas that abut residential lots.

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