Parking balance: What's the right mix?

May 17—ROCHESTER — Dirk Erickson said the idea of building a 180-unit apartment complex with only 140 parking stalls never occurred to him before he began planning the Bryk at Broadway Apartments.
"I was a little concerned about going 80% (parking) when we were doing this, because we had always rented townhomes before, so everyone had their own garage and driveways to park in," he said.
Now planning a second downtown-adjacent project, Erickson, whose company is Stack Development, has no qualms about a ratio that provides fewer parking spaces than apartments.
City-required parking minimums changed with the 2022 adoption of a new unified development code, but now Rochester City Council members are asking whether such minimums are needed at all. They plan to discuss it during a June 9 study session.
With a proposed 109 parking spaces for 132 apartments near Silver Lake, Erickson said the reduced parking ratio has proven successful at Bryk, which lies roughly four blocks away, near the intersection of North Broadway and Civic Center Drive.
"So far, almost basically fully occupied, we are doing just fine with that," he said of Bryk.
While dipping below a one-to-one ratio for parking is becoming the norm near downtown, Rochester City Council members are asking whether a minimum for developers should be required at all, anywhere in the city.
"Let's not make the city's rules prevent them from going down to zero and see where we end up," Ward 5 Councilmember Shaun Palmer said. "Do I think they will go down to zero? I doubt it, but I think they will have limited parking."
The city's 2022 unified development code requires at least one off-street parking space for every two apartments in most areas of the city, but earlier standards were more complex.
"The parking standards, as they relate to multi-family, were pretty intense," Rochester Planning Supervisor Ed Caples said of previous requirements. "In most zoning districts, the minimum parking requirement was one parking space for a studio or one bedroom, 1.5 parking spaces for a two-bedroom, two parking spaces for a three-bedroom, and I believe three parking spaces for a four-bedroom."
The past standards allowed developers to ask to incorporate fewer spots into developments along transit lines and other amenities or businesses that could reduce the need for tenants to have personal vehicles. However, the process has been seen as time-consuming for developers and city staff, sometimes resulting in added costs or delays for a project.
Christine Lindsey and her husband went through the public negotiation process with the city's Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the City Council, when they developed Cottage Grove at Saint Marys Townhomes with 15 rental units and no tenant parking.
Located across 14th Avenue Southwest from Saint Marys Hospital, the complex required special permission to build without off-street tenant parking, reserving a few spaces for deliveries and visitors. It's a model that Lindsey, a Rochester native, said her family experienced in other countries.
"My family's lived overseas for so long, we lived it every day, so I understood how it could work," she said.
Within two years, the townhome rentals have included a mix of long- and short-term rentals, leasing to international professionals and patients, as well as younger professionals who wanted to avoid buying a car.
"It's a choice," Lindsey said. "They could afford a car, but they decide they don't want one."
As Rochester invests $175.5 million in federal and DMC funds for the Link rapid-transit system through downtown, Lindsey said she expects to see less reliance on cars by people living and working near the downtown core.
Erickson says that's already happening, since people can go to work without needing a car, while a variety of delivery services and rideshare options exist to meet other needs. As the city continues to expand transit and provide safe biking and pedestrian options, he said tenants are less reliant on personal vehicles downtown.
Among them is Nathan Hoover, one of the Bryk's first tenants.
The 2017 Mayo High School graduate was introduced to the Bryk apartments while working on a marketing video for Realty Growth Inc., which was hired to lease commercial space in the building.
"I've always wanted to live downtown," Hoover said. "It's been a goal of mine, instead of living in the suburbs."
While his decision not to own a car or get a driver's license makes downtown living practical, he said market rents are beyond his reach. Bryk met his needs, allowing Hoover to have a lifestyle in which he gets coffee downtown before catching a bus to his northwest Rochester office.
As RGI's marketing director, he said he finds himself moving throughout the city, but can make it work with public transit and relying on others for a ride when needed.
When it comes to grocery shopping and some other personal tasks, it can be challenging, but relying on siblings and friends, as well as delivery options, means saving the costs of vehicle ownership is worth it.
"It's a blessing and a curse, but I definitely have made it work for my lifestyle," he said.
Going car-free is a choice for Hoover. But Kutzky Park Neighborhood resident Lindsey Rohe says that's not the case for everyone living without a car.
"I used to wear my car like a glove," she said. "I loved having a vehicle."
A 2013 disability left her paralyzed on half her body, ending her ability to drive.
Having lived in two downtown apartment buildings, and now on the edge of downtown, she says her power wheelchair frequently gets her where she needs to go. Otherwise, she relies on public and private transit services.
"It's not a choice, but it is a reality that I need to get a ride everywhere," she said, pointing out she's encouraged by some city efforts to increase accessibility, but also sees the need for more awareness for those who don't drive.
"I can get to Walgreens, Hy-Vee, and other stores at Barlow Plaza on my own," she said of retail locations within blocks of her apartment building. "The intersection (at Civic Center Drive and 11th Avenue) is super problematic. I fear for my safety every time I cross it, but I go anyway."
She said that as the city develops safer routes through and around the downtown area, she expects opportunities to open up for her and others without vehicles.
Wyatt Ryan sees a similarly low reliance on cars at Nicholas Apartments, on West Center Street, where he lives. While he owns a car and rents a stall there, he rides his bike to work daily at Mayo Clinic, embracing the flexibility of living near downtown.
"A lot of (medical) residents and med students do live here, and I know a lot of them don't have vehicles," he said.
He said the current state of Rochester makes it difficult for him to consider giving up his car permanently, but he sees potential for the city to move in that direction.
"I love the idea of not needing a vehicle, but I think depending on where those developments would be, it would be really hard," he said.
Caples, from the Planning Department, says many cities are shifting expectations for apartment parking with such cases in mind.
"It's an ever-evolving field and an ever-evolving understanding of what impacts are for requiring minimum or maximum parking requirements," he said.
It means Rochester won't be alone if it drops parking minimums for future downtown apartment buildings.
Strong Towns, a nonprofit advocacy organization addressing development patterns, reported that nearly 100 U.S. cities, including Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota, had removed parking requirements by 2021.
More recently, Northfield dropped its required parking minimums with unanimous city council support.
Northfield Community Development Director Jake Reilly said the effort was gradual, starting with dropping the required parking in the city's downtown historic district several years ago and taking it citywide last year.
"We believe the private market knows its parking needs better than we do and therefore removing minimums means that the business owner can determine its need for constructing or including parking spaces in a project," he said.
Caples said Community Development staff are still studying impacts of changes in other cities and potential consequences locally in preparation for the council discussion next month. There are some potential risks for the city, he said.
"I would say, by and large, reducing to zero, off-street parking requirements and leaving it to the developer leaves open the possibility of spillover on the adjacent roadways and whatnot and the utilization of other parking areas," Caples said of potential negative consequences.
Permit programs and seasonal parking requirements can reduce the amount of on-street parking in an area. However, developers and tenants acknowledge that some car owners spill into the streets when they don't want to pay for off-street parking or none is available.
Palmer said the concern about added on-street parking is why he doesn't want to eliminate off-street parking requirements in neighborhoods outside the city core. However, he said, city efforts are reducing the potential conflict downtown by opening park-and-ride opportunities at the ends of the rapid-transit system and elsewhere.
His fellow council member, Nick Miller, said he sees potential to eliminate parking minimums city-wide for multi-family complexes, but he is willing to start on more limited terms.
He said flexibility in regulations, especially downtown, can advance the city's housing and affordability goals.
Developers estimate that when costs are broken down, the construction of just one interior parking stall costs between $20,000 and $40,000. While outdoor parking lots are cheaper to build, land prices and availability downtown make them difficult to consider.
Since 100 parking spaces can cost $2 million at the low end, the potential high-end rent of $200 per month per space means it would take more than eight years to recoup costs, without accounting for monthly expenses tied to heating the garages, providing security and routine maintenance.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based developer Nate Stencil said such costs can jeopardize an apartment's affordability when too many spaces are required and left empty.
For projects like the recently opened Silver Lake Crossing Apartments on Seventh Street Northwest, near Broadway Avenue, he said providing a parking space for 75% to 80% of the apartments meets tenants' needs without unnecessarily adding to development costs.
"At the end of the day, we're the people putting a ton of money at risk to do those types of projects," he said. "If we're comfortable and feel as if the parking won't be an issue to the tenants or won't cause a big enough problem where the building isn't successful, I think it should be up to the developer owner to proceed with those projects within reason."
Could a developer put forward a project with zero parking? That's unlikely, especially with the largest projects, said Chris Osmundson, a representative of Minnetonka-based Onward Investors, which is planning a 283-apartment complex on the south side of Civic Center Drive .
"Most banking institutions, whether it's debt or equity — and this goes for the market-rate and the affordable housing world — they also need to know that the tenants will in fact rent here," Osmundson said. "They do need to have car parking, so a lot of times debt and equity won't let you build a project with no parking."
Onward's project, which is seeking state support to keep rents low, is proposed with 185 spaces for those 283 apartments. That ratio, Osmundson said, hinges on the proximity to downtown and growing transit options.
Council member Miller, who himself rarely drives, said it seems like a logical step with more people finding they don't need cars.
"When we think about how much of our population is not driving, it gives us more flexibility," he said.
Council member Andy Friederichs, who owns three apartment buildings within walking distance of downtown, said his tenants highlight that flexibility.
"Very few of our tenants have cars," he said, pointing to buildings populated with medial researchers, students, nurses and physicians seeking to reduce costs.
With that insight, he tends to support reducing or eliminating parking requirements for future apartment development.
"I do believe it should be up to the discretion of the owner, how they would like to do that," he said. "They are the ones assuming the risk of having no parking."
If at least four council members agree, potential changes to the parking requirements could be voted on later this year, with additional updates to the unified development code.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Eater

4 days ago

• Eater

Workers at Seattle's Most Prestigious Restaurant Group Have Unionized

In December 2024, the employees at the Sea Creatures restaurant group were called into a meeting. Sea Creatures, founded by acclaimed chef Renee Erickson, runs some of Seattle's most celebrated restaurants, including oyster bar the Walrus and the Carpenter, innovative steakhouse Bateau, and the Whale Wins, which earned Erickson a James Beard Award in 2016. At the meeting, ownership announced there would be changes coming. After years of accepting tips, Sea Creatures restaurants would be switching to a service charge model. Starting in January, every guest check would explain that 22 percent of the bill (about what the average customer tipped) would be added to the total. This 'is retained entirely by the house,' the checks would say. 'Revenue from this service charge is used to pay operating expenses, including labor.' At the meeting, employees learned that what this meant in practice was that about half of the service charge would be paid out to hourly workers, who, before this change, all shared in the tip pool. (Back of house employees, including dishwashers, were part of the tip pool.) The hourly rate would go up to a base rate of $25 an hour. While in theory it might appear roughly equivalent to the pre-service charge take home, workers say that in practice it spelled a sharp reduction in income from tips. It was 'a huge pay cut for all of us,' says Jeff Kelley, who was a front-of-house worker at the time. 'They said, you either hear what we're saying and decide to continue to work here, or you quit and you go somewhere else... We immediately were like, 'No, there's a third option.'' They could form a union. In the months that followed, Sea Creatures employees won union elections at the Walrus and the Carpenter and Bateau — Sea Creatures' biggest and most famous restaurants — as well as the doughnut shop chain General Porpoise. United Creatures of the Sea is an unusual union for several reasons. It's not affiliated with any larger union, doesn't collect dues from workers, and really only has one issue it's arguing with management about: the service charge. 'We needed a way to force Renee Erickson to listen to her employees,' says Ford Nickel, a former server at Sea Creatures. The union says hourly workers across the board have seen pay cuts as a result of the new service charge. Unionized employees at Walrus made a combined $140,000 less so far this year than they would have under the old tipping model, according to the union's calculations. Jeremy Price, a Sea Creatures co-owner, disputes this — some workers have made less under the new system, but some have made more, he writes in an email. 'We're seeing that back-of-house workers at less busy restaurants are generally making a little more now, including dishwashers. Servers, especially at our busier restaurants, are making a little less now.' At Walrus specifically, hourly workers make between $28.14 and $56.81 per hour, Price writes. 'We believe these wages, along with the benefits we can fund through the service charge, are among the most competitive in the industry.' United Creatures of the Sea is now negotiating a contract with Sea Creatures. The union is represented at the bargaining table by Kelley and Nickel, both of whom no longer work for the restaurant group and volunteer their time to the union. (The union also has pro bono legal counsel.) They're hoping to get management to reduce the service charge to 10 percent or lower and encourage customers to leave tips once again. To make the math work for Sea Creatures, union employees are willing to reduce their hourly rate. 'We just want to work for our tips' — Jeff kelley In part, this conflict reflects the shifting, complicated debate over tipping in American restaurants. Some in the industry feel that tipping is inherently inequitable, which has led to a shift to service charges, with some restaurants spelling out on receipts which portion of the service charge goes directly to workers. But in Seattle, several restaurant groups have been sued for not distributing this money precisely as promised; today many restaurants, including Sea Creatures, say the house retains the entirety of the service charge, which according to the Seattle Met shields them from lawsuits. This makes the whole process opaque from the customers' perspective. Ford and Nickel argue that a tip pool, where all hourly workers share in tips earned during their shift, is a more fair and transparent way of working. 'We just want to work for our tips,' is how Kelley puts it. 'I don't want restaurants to be able to operate this way. It's deceptive.' Nickel and Kelley have also been frustrated by the recently announced temporary closure of Bateau and its attached General Porpoise. Price said the steakhouse is closing so it can 'refresh and retool,' and United Creatures of the Sea doesn't believe the decision was motivated by the unionization of the restaurant. Still, the closure harms the union by cutting its membership in half. If Bateau reopens as a brand-new restaurant the union might have to hold a whole new election. Nickel and Kelley say that Sea Creatures is required by the National Labor Relations Act to negotiate with the union over the terms of the layoff, including which employees would be rehired once Bateau reopens. If they don't reach an agreement, they say they will file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. They say management's reticence to engage with them about that issue — and the slowness of the overall negotiation process — is what motivated them to reach out to local media. Price says that management has been 'emailing back and forth all the time,' adding that they had just increased the frequency of meetings and were 'bargaining in good faith' when it came to layoffs at Bateau. 'We believe everyone is working in good faith and with the best interest of staff and the businesses in mind.' In a statement, Erickson said, 'We have a lot of pride in the restaurants that we operate, and that starts with having great staff. The well-being of employees at every location is a real focus for us. We are supportive of our union locations and will continue to collaborate with and listen to them.' The union thinks that this listening process has been disappointingly slow. 'I was hoping that if I'm the owner of a restaurant and all my employees think that what I'm doing is wrong,' says Kelley, 'I would maybe listen.' See More:

Yahoo

12-06-2025

• Yahoo

Proposed senior housing project eyes annexation into Rochester

Jun. 11—ROCHESTER — A 300-home neighborhood for active adults is being planned alongside an anticipated request to expand Rochester's southwest boundary. "It's meant for folks who are just about to retire or are retired and want an active lifestyle," Dean Lotter told potential neighbors during a required neighborhood meeting Tuesday. The director of land planning and entitlement for Pulte Group's Minnesota division said creation of the proposed housing development for people 55 and older will require adding the site southwest of the intersection of Country Club Road Southwest and 45th Avenue to the city. If approved, the Atlanta, Georgia-based developer plans to bring its Del Webb-style neighborhood to Rochester, making it the third in the state. Other locations are in Chaska and Corcoran. "It's a resort-style living that's highly amenyitized," he said of the neighborhood dubbed Del Webb at Country Club, which is expected to feature single-family, for-sale homes. Offering a variety of styles and sizes, from 1,300- to 1,500-square-foot homes designed for single residents to larger luxury 54-foot-wide homes with three-car garages for people not yet ready to fully retire, Lotter said the exact design of each house will be determined by the buyer. He said standards are in place to avoid repetition within the neighborhood, but the goal is to let owners pick their individual lot and home style within the Del Webb catalog. To enhance the resort-style appearance, he said plans call for a main access point from 45th Avenue Southeast, south of Country Club Road and about a third of the way to the development's southern boundary at Eighth Street Southwest. "When you enter a Del Webb neighborhood, it's sort of a special kind of experience," he said of the planned 45th Avenue connection. "There's usually a main boulevard, and it's heavily flowered and landscaped. There's usually a beautiful entrance monument that greets you and there are no homes that actually access with driveways off of that main drive." With side streets being accessed from a community center at the end of the main drive, Lotter said a secondary access to the neighborhood is eventually planned on Eighth Street, to ensure two routes in and out of the area. A traffic study is expected to be part of a required environmental review for the project. Addressing neighbors' concerns about the proximity to existing homes in Rochester Township, Lotter said the site is being designed with berms and landscaping in an effort to set it apart from the surrounding area. "We try to create a certain sense of privacy," he said. "Typically a buyer for these neighborhoods wants to feel safe, and they want a little bit of a closed-in neighborhood." With development plans emerging, the process will require Rochester City Council approval to annex the land that sits largely in Rochester Township, with a portion in Cascade Township. Lotter said the request will only involve land the company plans to develop. In addition to the annexation request, the developer has 30 days following Tuesday's meeting to submit a development plan. The plan will face staff review, but the annexation request will require public hearings ahead of a council decision. Meanwhile, Lotter said the environmental review has started but is expected to take six months, which will involve state and local reviews, as well as opportunities for public input. The proposed development follows a failed 2023 request to change land designation for 50 acres at the site allow the Nigon Family Farm Trust to develop the area outside city limits. The Rochester City Council's refusal of the change played a role in discussions leading to changes in oversight for development outside city limits, but the new proposal changes direction with the for the site, since it involves an annexation request. Lotter said annexation is needed to tie into the city's sewer system, which would be accessed through a connection at 45th Avenue Southwest. With development on both sides of Cascade Creek, Lotter said the development plan leaves room for a planned Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project that is expected to modify the waterway to reduce flooding potential. In addition to leaving space for the state project, he said the development plan will also include details to ensure stormwater runoff is controlled, which he said should improve conditions for neighbors. "Right now, that whole site is unmanaged and unchecked," he said. With Pulte Group initiating efforts to obtain approvals for the development, the company hopes to start site development in the spring of 2026, with the potential to have the first homes available for sale at the start of 2027. They could be occupied by April of that year. Lotter said construction would likely continue into the summer of 2030. "It takes years for the whole thing to build out," he said.

Yahoo

09-06-2025

• Yahoo

While Wisconsin sees a decline in dairy farms, Chippewa Valley production is up

EAU CLAIRE COUNTY, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – The cows at the Messerschmidt Dairy are having breakfast with busloads of their neighbors. Felicia Erickson and her husband, Dave Messerschmidt, hosted hundreds on the farm for a 4th year. This year's Hundreds on the Farm made Erickson and others reflect on the landscape of small dairy farms in the state. 'We milk 55 Holstein cows. And, we have young stock on the farm as well. My son just graduated from Fall Creek High School, and he was just one of two dairy farm kids in the whole school district. When my husband graduated from Fall Creek High School, there was 17 in his class alone. It's pretty scary when you think about the fact there's so few grade A dairy farms left in Eau Claire County.' Former dairy farmer Roy Borseth recognizes how much the times have changed. 'The small dairy farm today is a struggle. They have to be very efficient to make a profit. A small farm has to have a full line of machinery, and that's expensive. Being a part of America's Dairyland ain't easy. It comes with a lot of work and a little bit of sacrifice. Erickson explains, 'It's not just a job. It's your whole life. People just didn't take time off, and I think that was a little detrimental for the next generation to see that.' However, UW-Extension Educator Ryan Sterry has noticed a positive trend. 'Between the three counties (Eau Claire, Chippewa, Dunn), there's 257 grade A permitted dairy farms. That's down from about 500 about a decade ago. Despite there (being) less farms, there's actually more milk produced today in the Chippewa Valley than there was 10 years ago.' Sterry believes Wisconsin will continue to compete with the leading dairy producing the other leading dairy states. Production, as of late, has been gaining on top state, California Sterry says it's vital for farmers of all stripes to find a niche market to fill. He says there are so many factors of business that dictate how much the product is worth. It takes a lot of skill and dedication to navigate the agriculture industry effectively. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.