(a) Intent. The Commercial Office District is intended to provide areas where offices, compatible office-like businesses and high-density residential uses may be developed with the assurance that commercial uses with incompatible characteristics will not impede or disrupt the establishment of an attractive and cohesive grouping of mixed yet interrelated uses. This district is to be applied only in areas adjacent to arterial or collector streets. Residential uses within this district is appropriate provided they are subsidiary to office uses on the site.
(b) Permitted principal uses.
(1) Offices;
(2) Public uses;
(3) Transit stations;
(4) The following accessory uses:
(i) Uses customarily incidental and clearly subordinate to permitted principal uses.
(ii) Beekeeping.
(5) Entertainment and recreation special events;
(6) Farmers market subject to standards set forth in Chapter 14, Article IX;
(7) Arts and crafts festival subject to standards set forth in Chapter 14, Article X;
(8) Restaurants, without drive through and without outdoor or rooftop seating; and
(9) Mobile food units pursuant to standards set forth in Chapter 14, Article V and § 21.302.18.
(c) Provisional uses. If the following uses are within a building primarily devoted to a permitted principal use, and if they have common indoor access to permitted principal uses, they are permitted within the CO District:
(1) Retail stores for the sale of arts and crafts, gifts, flowers, plants, groceries, bakery goods, produce, dairy products, drugs, sundry items, books, newspapers, magazines, apparel and similar retail stores;
(2) Personal-service establishments including licensed therapeutic massage enterprises, barber and beauty shops, exercise and health activities, dry-cleaning drop-off and pick-up stations, laundering, repair services incidental to retail stores and similar personal services;
(3) Financial institutions;
(4) Athletic and recreation facilities;
(5) Catering businesses, major and minor;
(6) Sales and servicing of office equipment;
(7) Business services including printing and duplicating;
(8) Product design, development and testing; and
(9) Type I home businesses pursuant to standards as set forth in § 21.302.13.
(d) Conditional uses.
(1) Multi-family dwellings in the CO-1 District provided they are developed in accordance with the provisions of the C-4 District;
(2) Manufacturing, provided that at least 75% of the floor area of structures on the site is devoted to a permitted principal use;
(3) Research laboratories;
(4) Automotive service facilities which form an integrated part of a larger development;
(5) Utility uses;
(6) Computer component manufacturing;
(7) Uses requiring a maximum floor area ratio above 1.0 within the CO-1 District, subject to the provisions of subsection (i) below;
(8) Air passenger and transit terminals;
(9) Post-secondary educational institutions;
(11) Non-profit clubs in the CO-1 Zoning District;
(12) Type II home businesses pursuant to standards as set forth in § 21.302.13;
(13) Places of assembly in the CO-1 Zoning District;
(14) Manufactured home parks pursuant to standards as set forth in § 21.302.10;
(15) Major commercial golf facility;
(16) Restaurants, with drive through (including drive-in), with outdoor or rooftop seating, or both;
(17) Brewpub;
(18) Taproom/cocktail room; and
(19) Craft and microbrewery/distillery/winery.
(e) Interim uses.
(1) Uses. The following uses are allowed on an interim basis in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(A) Short-term storage of rental car inventory for rental by the public at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and short term parking of personal vehicles by auto rental employees and construction related employees working at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport;
(B) Car rental businesses, including storage of rental cars provided that such parking does not occupy space otherwise required by ordinance or other uses on the same site;
(C) Temporary Pandemic, Epidemic, or Emergency Service Facility; and
(D) Parking for an off-site use or as a primary use.
(2) Standards. In addition to standards in § 21.501.05, the following standards also apply to interim uses in the Commercial Office District CO-1.
(A) Any buildings or other site improvements associated with the interim use shall be of nominal value or portable. Temporary buildings shall be allowed only to support the proposed use. Temporary buildings are exempt from the requirements of subsection (i) below, but must be designed and constructed in a manner assuring safety for occupants and others affected, as determined by the issuing authority.
(f) Maximum floor area ratio. The maximum floor area ratio for nonresidential uses within the CO-1 District shall be one square foot of floor area for each one square foot of lot area.
(g) Dimensional requirements.
Minimum lot area | 120,000 square feet |
Minimum lot width | 200 feet |
Minimum setback, front | 60 feet |
Minimum setback, side | 20 feet plus 0.25 foot for each one foot of structure height in excess of 60 feet |
Minimum setback, rear | Same as side setback, but in no instance less than 30 feet |
Maximum structure height | As regulated by § 21.301.10 of this code |
Maximum structure lot coverage | 30% |
Maximum structure floor area ratio | CO-1 = 1.0 FAR for nonresidential uses |
(h) Reserved.
(i) Special provisions.
(1) Reserved.
(2) In the CO District, the floor area of residential uses shall not exceed 50% of the floor area of nonresidential uses in a particular development.
(3) The maximum floor area ratio in the CO-1 District may be increased to one and one-half square feet of floor area and maximum building coverage may be increased to 40% of lot area provided that peak period project trip generation is equal or less than trip generation from the same type of use with a 1.0 floor area ratio in the CO-1 District. A Tier I TDM Program in accordance with the requirements of city code § 21.301.09 and a development agreement is required for all uses exceeding the maximum floor area ratio in subsection (f) above.
(4) In instances in which second-level pedestrian connections are made across public streets or to adjacent properties, setbacks may be reduced to zero feet for a width of 120 feet.
(5) Exterior materials: the exterior materials and finish of all buildings erected on lands within Commercial Office CO-1 Zoning District shall be in conformance with the applicable requirements of § 19.63.08 of this code.
(j) Sign regulations. Refer to Chapter 21, Article III, Division D, the sign code.
(Ord. 81-16, passed 5-4-1981; Ord. 85-35, passed 7-29-1985; Ord. 86-73, passed 11-24-1986; Ord. 88-53, passed 9-19-1988; Ord. 89-10, passed 2-6-1989; Ord. 90-42, passed 9-10-1990; Ord. 91-17, passed 3-18-1991; Ord. 91-45, passed 7-1-1991; Ord. 91-63, passed 10-7-1991; Ord. 92-38, passed 7-27-1992; Ord. 92-49, passed 10-5-1992; Ord. 96-25, passed 7-1-1996; Ord. 96-40, passed 8-19-1996; Ord. 97-36, passed 8-18-1997; Ord. 99-9, passed 5-3-1999; Ord. 2001-43, passed 8-20-2001; Ord. 2002-38, passed 12-2-2002; Ord. 2004-27, passed 5-3-2004; Ord. 2004-35, passed 8-16-2004; Ord. 2005-11, passed 4-25-2005; Ord. 2006-54, passed 12-18-2006; Ord. 2008-1, passed 1-14-2008; Ord. 2009-1, passed 1-26-2009; Ord. 2009-34, passed 11-2-2009; Ord. 2009-40, passed 12-7-2009; Ord. 2010-1, passed 1-4-2010; Ord. 2010-29, passed 11-1-2010; Ord. 2015-15, passed 5-18-2015; Ord. 2015-18, passed 6-22-2015; Ord. 2015-33, passed 11-16-2015; Ord. 2016-3, passed 2-22-2016; Ord. 2016-6, passed 4-18-2016; Ord. 2017-17, passed 6-5-2017; Ord. 2019-3, passed 1-7-2019; Ord. 2019-4, passed 1-7-2019; Ord. 2019-22, passed 4-1-2019; Ord. 2020-1, passed 2-24-2020; Ord. 2020-13, passed 5-4-2020; Ord. 2022-1, passed 1-10-2022; Ord. 2022-12, passed 4-25-2022; Ord. 2024-4, passed 2-26-2024)