With a new zoning change, new or renovated downtown housing will only need to have one parking space per residential unit. City Planner John Knisley said they had consulted with numerous agencies and informed peoples, and got unanimous approval from the Planning Commission in February.

NEW ULM — A change in parking requirements seeks to make it easier for downtown housing developers in New Ulm.

The change will see a reduction in the off-street parking requirement for new construction or renovation of residential units in the downtown central business area from two stalls to one per unit.

City Planner John Knisley said the change, which went in front of the Planning Commission and was approved by them in February, went through several hands to determine its legitimacy.

“We consulted with the city rental inspection records from the fire chief,” he said. “We took a look at the building’s official permit records. The special services district, which calculates all the privately owned off-street parking stalls in the downtown area each year. We reviewed the city-owned off-street parking spaces for lease.”

Knisley said discussions with city parking enforcement staff were key, as they are the ones who are on the ground and see the parking situation daily. He said they noted during their enforcement that the citations they issue are often not for people who live downtown, but the employees who work downtown.

With the requirement of two stalls per unit, both the Marktplatz Mall and George’s Ballroom developments would struggle to comply.

Knisley said the mall is looking to have 60-90 units, and with the 137 parking units currently under the mall they would average around 1.75 stalls per residential unit. With George’s ballroom, they would have 84 units and 116 stalls, approximately 1.4 stalls per unit.

“What I’m getting at is these residential developments in the downtown are already providing more spaces than one, which we’re recommending,” Knisley said. “But they’re also not getting to two.”

Knisley said a concern brought by a constituent was the potential for oversaturation of residential units in the downtown business district. Knisley said a housing study done in 2022 showed there was a need for around 135 rental units for the city, and the combined projects at Marktplatz and George’s would meet or slightly exceed that number.

Councilman Les Schultz asked Knisley to give an update on the current situation regarding the state and potential control over zoning. Knisley said there is currently a bill looking to establish state control over some areas of zoning, which are traditionally handled by individual towns. He said off-street parking could be one of those controlled areas.

Knisley said there was talk of the state requiring zero stalls for residential unit off-street parking. Knisley said he would disagree with this requirement, as many rural towns are not walkable enough for there to be minimal parking.

City Engineer Joe Stadheim said the bill’s language currently says the state would mandate one parking stall per residential unit, but that the bill has gone through many iterations and continues to change.

Schultz said he got a call who has a rental unit downtown, who expressed concerns about going to one stall due to the number of people who use and need parking currently and the potential further lack of stalls available. Knisley said the demand and type of people using parking changes throughout the day and should line up well to avoid a lack of spots.

“Look at how parking was when you came in tonight, and then look at parking when you leave,” he said. “They’re two different animals. It’s during those business hours that it’s really busy, but its during those evening hours and morning hours when the residents will be returning from work and parking in the downtown area.”

Councilman Eric Warmka made the motion to adopt the changes, with Councilman Dave Schultz seconding.