Minneapolis City Council plan would let unsheltered people sleep overnight in cars in supervised lots
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Minneapolis City Council members on Tuesday pushed forward on a policy that would allow unsheltered residents to sleep overnight in their cars at designated and supervised parking lots. If approved by the full city council next week, the ordinance would take effect in January.
Under the proposal, people would be allowed to park overnight only and would have to adhere to a quiet hours curfew. Staff would be on-site at all times. The lot operator would need to provide bathrooms and trash services and submit a safety plan for police to review.
“This allows us to use existing infrastructure to honestly have a low-cost model to get people wraparound services in a space that's managed, in a space that's clean, in a space that can create community and feel safe,” said City Council member Aurin Chowdhury. “Sleeping in your car, it's not an easy thing.”
It’s unclear how many households in Minneapolis are relying on cars as an overnight shelter, but Maikao Vue, the program manager for the city’s Homeless Response Team, previously told MPR News that the four-person team has responded to an increase in 311 reports about occupied vehicles in recent years. She said when staff check on whoever seems to be living there, the occupants are often gone during the day, so staff will leave a pamphlet offering support, “but a lot of the times when we go back, the vehicle is not there anymore.”
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Council members first introduced the idea in 2024 after a series of high-profile encampment clearings in south Minneapolis. It’s modeled in part after a parking program that’s been operating in Duluth since 2023, offering residents a stable place to stay and access supportive services while they await more permanent housing.
Some of the proposed rules in Minneapolis require the operator to provide access to restrooms, water, and trash services, including daily on-site litter cleanup. Open fires, illegal firearms or weapons, alcohol use and the use of non-medical cannabis or non-prescribed controlled substances would be prohibited.
Most residents who spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing supported the idea, including Nicole Mason, who spends most days helping people who are living outside in south Minneapolis.
“I ran into two different families — one of a mother and a son — that unfortunately had a house fire, and they did not go into shelter because of their cat and their dog, so that was a barrier to them going into the shelter,” she said. “And they're currently living in their car, waiting for help with housing.”
Grace Gerhard told the council that she spent over a year living in and out of her car. Gerhard said she would go to sleep afraid of being harassed or robbed, and scheduled her life around where and when she could be safe — a calculation made even more vital as someone who is transgender and faces an elevated risk of violent crime.
“I cannot stress the importance of having safety, any sense of stability and dignity. It can do so much to get us back on our feet,” she said.
The proposed ordinance states that residents within 300 feet of a site, as well as neighborhood groups and business associations, would need to be notified and given the opportunity to weigh in at a public hearing first.
City resident Robin Russell expressed apprehension about the proposed ordinance.
“My primary concern is in thinking that these sites should not be located in residential neighborhoods,” said Russell. “But if they are, a notice of 300 feet is insufficient because these sites will impact a whole neighborhood, and not just the block that they’re on.”
Council member Elizabeth Shaffer opposes the proposed ordinance. She said she was concerned about the effects on nearby neighborhoods as well as the program’s potential cost.
Council members approved the measure 6-1 Tuesday during their business, housing and zoning committee meeting. However, two members — Pearll Warren and Michael Rainville — said they voted to move the proposal forward but are still considering how they'll vote during the full City Council meeting next Thursday.
MPR News reached out to Mayor Jacob Frey’s office for comment but did not receive a reply before the publication of this story.
Duluth sees positives from a similar effort
The ordinance authors pointed to a similar program in Duluth — Safe Bay — that costs about $800 a day to operate and is primarily funded through grants and donations.
“We had several businesses in the area that were initially skeptical and even spoke out against the program to our planning commission, who are now offering services to our clients and partners in this work,” said Joel Kilgour, who managed Duluth's program when it started in 2023.
Despite concerns that the program would create more problems, Kilgour said emergency calls for service in the Duluth program are in the single digits and many neighbors who once opposed it have changed their mind.
He said it’s also succeeded in helping people find permanent homes. So far this year, 25 households have moved into permanent housing with the help of on-site staff while others found housing on their own, he said.
Half the people coming to Safe Bay are seeking homeless services for the first time, he added.
“We just got to meet people where they’re at and provide multiple entry points,” he said. “If people are out there on their own, not connected to services, afraid, not able to meet even basic hygiene needs, that can have long-term impacts on a person’s mental health and physical health.”
