Dive Brief:

• Minneapolis builders no longer have to create one parking space per unit for new multifamily buildings if they are not downtown and if they are close to public transportation.

• The City Council voted on Friday to halve the number of spots required for large developments and to accept plans with no parking spaces for buildings of fewer than 50 units if they are located no more than a quarter-mile from transit with pickups at least every 15 minutes.

• Supporters said the rule will reduce the cost of building multifamily structures because it will eliminate the need for underground parking garages. However, many lenders still refuse construction loans to developers whose plans do not include adequate parking.

Dive Insight:

The rule could spur more building of small apartment buildings, and even lower rents in some areas.

“This change will allow developers to stop designing their projects around parking,” Council member Lisa Bender, who sponsored the ordinance, told the StarTribune. “Too often we see a whole building designed around a concrete structure to store cars, instead of the people who are living in the building, or walking by it, or living nearby. It will allow more flexibility in design.”