MN HF3895

Municipalities with 5,000+ population (or 1,000+ in the Twin Cities metro area) must allow mixed housing (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses) as a permitted use on at least 33% of land zoned for single-family housing, and allow multifamily residential developments in at least 33% of commercially zoned districts.

All municipalities must permit at least one accessory dwelling unit on any residential lot with a single-family home, regardless of lot size or street frontage.

Greenfield lots cannot have minimum lot sizes larger than one-eighth acre, and townhouse lots cannot exceed 1,500 square feet minimum.

Municipalities are prohibited from imposing certain residential design standards on buildings with four or fewer units, including requirements for exterior finish materials, gables, minimum garage sizes, roof pitch exceeding 4:12, or minimum number of windows.

Effective January 1, 2028, with larger cities required to meet additional criteria such as reduced parking minimums, increased floor area ratios for affordable/workforce/senior housing, or expanded mixed housing zones.