Calls for Proposals

Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board

St. Paul, MN

Minnesota’s Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board (CAAPB) seeks proposals from qualified consultant teams to develop and update the Minnesota Rules Chapter 2400, Capitol Area Zoning and Design rules (hereafter referred to as the “Rules”) for the Capitol Area in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The rules are published in two forms:

• Minnesota Revisor (latest text, includes most recent additions)

• CAAPB website (fully illustrated, last updated in 2009-2010 and does not reflect most recent additions)

The update to the Rules will build upon the 2040 Comprehensive Plan for the Minnesota State Capitol Area (hereafter referred to as “Comprehensive Plan”) and the existing Rules to regulate and manage the Capitol Area environment and its physical form.

The Minnesota Legislature provided the CAAPB with funds to update the Rules by June 30, 2025. The development of the Rules will require formal approval by CAAPB and will go through the formal Administrative Rulemaking process per the permanent Rulemaking process (Minn. Stat. 12.05 to 14.28), following the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), Minnesota Administrative Rule, Minnesota Rules, chapter 1400 process (see the rulemaking manual hosted by the Minnesota Department of Health).

The Capitol Area is approximately 333 acres encompassing 60 blocks. It is divided into five distinct sub-areas: 1) Capitol Campus – the Capitol building, the Mall, and surrounding area; 2) Capitol Rice District – the area to the west and northwest of the Capitol campus; 3) Capitol Heights – a well-established neighborhood to the north of the Capitol building; 4) Fitzgerald Park (Neighborhood) – five downtown blocks southeast from the Capitol campus; and 5) I-94 and I-35E Freeway Corridor.

The Rules establish five zoning districts and one overlay district; including Mixed Use Downtown (MXD), Mixed Use (MX), Residential Moderate Density Residential District (RM), G-1 Government (campus office), and G-2 Government (campus open space). The overlay, focused on encouraging transit-oriented development, is called the Central Corridor Overlay (CCO).

The goal of the Rules update is to make the rules more current, plain language, responsive to current needs, comprehensive, and flexible. It will require review, revisions, and updates to the existing document structure, and may not include resources or time for major rewrites, major new elements, or extensive research. Revisions will focus on attaining compliance with the Comprehensive Plan’s policy (adopted in 2022), achieving clarity, correcting errors, and potentially identifying elements that need to be added in the future.

Proposals shall be submitted electronically via emailed PDF no later than November 8, 2024, 5:00 pm, Central Time, to Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, c/o Jessie Hughes, Office Administrative Specialist, at jessie.hughes@state.mn.us