by Howie Hanson
DULUTH — Betting that new housing, streamlined development and a stronger downtown are essential to the city's future, the Duluth City Council unanimously approved a new Downtown Development Strategy on Monday while advancing one of the most significant overhauls of the city's land-use regulations in years.
The council voted 9-0 to adopt the Downtown Development Strategy, a two- to five-year action plan that combines recommendations from numerous studies and planning documents into a single roadmap for revitalizing the city's urban core. The strategy is intended to guide public and private investment while positioning Duluth to compete for additional state and federal funding.
Council members also approved sweeping amendments to the city's Unified Development Chapter, modernizing zoning regulations that city planners and business leaders say have become increasingly cumbersome and expensive for developers trying to build new housing and expand existing properties.
Together, the actions represent a coordinated effort to tackle one of Duluth's most pressing challenges: creating enough housing to support employers, strengthen the city's tax base and breathe new life into downtown while preserving the community's character.
Planning officials said the Downtown Development Strategy brings together recommendations from previous planning efforts, including Imagine Duluth 2035 and Imagine Downtown, into an actionable blueprint rather than allowing those studies to remain on the shelf. Adoption by the City Council gives the strategy greater weight as city officials pursue grants and prioritize public investments over the next several years.
The strategy emphasizes expanding housing opportunities, improving public spaces, activating downtown streets, supporting business growth and making development more predictable for investors.
Among its most ambitious goals is helping facilitate construction of as many as 1,500 additional residential units downtown over time, an objective supporters said would strengthen businesses, attract workers and generate long-term economic growth.
Kristi Stokes, representing Downtown Duluth, called the city's action an important step in transforming years of planning into measurable progress.
"We are so pleased that the City of Duluth as a partner has really looked at how they can strategize about Imagine Downtown as well as many of the other plans and really play a key role in this," Stokes told councilors.
She pointed to recent efforts to activate West First Street as an example of how the city and community organizations are beginning to implement ideas designed to attract more residents and visitors downtown.
Housing, however, remains at the center of the strategy.
"We talk housing, housing, housing," Stokes said. "Downtown is really looking to see if we can add up to 1,500 more residential units."
She noted that nearly 300 housing units have already been added since 2024 but said additional progress will depend on making development easier.
"It's important that developers are really able to find their path really streamlined for successful development," she said. "This leads to really supporting our workforce. It leads to supporting investments, supporting the needs of our community and, as we look at it, really supporting our downtown and the heart of our community."
Stokes urged councilors to approve both the downtown strategy and the zoning changes, saying they would reduce unnecessary barriers while increasing housing opportunities across income levels.
The companion zoning ordinance substantially revises Chapter 50 of the Duluth City Code, simplifying development standards while expanding opportunities for residential construction throughout the city.
Among the changes are eliminating certain planned zoning districts, reducing setbacks and minimum lot widths, increasing residential height limits, allowing more housing types by right in residential neighborhoods, consolidating form districts, simplifying design standards and updating sustainability requirements.
Planning officials argued the changes implement the goals established last year when the council adopted a resolution supporting comprehensive zoning modernization to increase housing across all income levels. The revisions are scheduled to take effect Aug. 31.
Supporters argued that modernizing the city's development code will shorten approval timelines, reduce costs and encourage additional private investment without sacrificing neighborhood quality.
Shawn Floerke framed the discussion as one of Duluth's long-term economic survival.
"You all know that the way cities work is that the downtown is the tax muscle," Floerke said.
He warned that communities with declining downtowns often struggle to maintain infrastructure and essential services as their tax base erodes.
"We can either continue to raise taxes, which seems difficult and not a means to a good end, or we can build," Floerke said. "We can invite people to live here. We can invite people to pay taxes. We can build neighborhoods and quality housing downtown and beyond that support a tax base and support economy."
Comparing Duluth with former industrial cities that struggled after failing to diversify their economies, Floerke argued Duluth has advantages that should position it for growth if it addresses its housing shortage.
"We've got fantastic healthcare. We've got all kinds of businesses here," he said. "All of them are telling us we need housing. We need workers. We need people to live here."
He praised both the Downtown Development Strategy and the zoning reforms, saying they would "help build faster, help build more affordable, help real people, ordinary folk get housing and come here to work for these employers."
Business leaders echoed those themes.
Matt Baumgartner, president of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce, said housing and economic development have become inseparable.
"We know housing is economic development," Baumgartner said. "Cannot recruit employers, retain workforce, grow the taxpayers if people don't have places to live."
Baumgartner said many downtown redevelopment projects remain financially difficult despite strong demand and called for continued collaboration among developers, city staff and elected officials.
He argued the zoning revisions remove costly regulatory hurdles that frequently undermine project financing while preserving the urban design principles established under earlier planning efforts.
"When we think about predictability, that is one of the most key things that anybody who's making an investment of any kind could have," Baumgartner said. "Predictability should be a prerequisite for investment."
He also praised city planning staff for working collaboratively with developers to improve permitting and construction services.
"We need to be great partners to the city and the city partners to developers in order to make all of this happen and make Duluth an affordable city to live in," Baumgartner said.
Councilor Arik Forsman said the votes represented the culmination of years of work involving city staff, business organizations, nonprofit leaders and community volunteers.
"The goal isn't that it sits on a shelf," Forsman said. "The goal is that we use it."
Forsman noted that one of the strategy's first major action items was already before the council in the form of the Unified Development Chapter amendments.
"We desperately need downtown to be successful," he said. "Not just from an aesthetics and community pride standpoint, but it's really the heart of our tax base."
Forsman said downtown's property and sales tax revenues help support city operations and many of the public amenities residents value throughout Duluth.
While celebrating the unanimous adoption of the strategy, he challenged city leaders and community partners to remain focused on implementation.
"Tomorrow this plan can't sit on a shelf or we will not have done all of the work that went into it justice," Forsman said. "That's my challenge for all of us."
For Duluth, Monday night's unanimous votes mark more than the adoption of another planning document. City leaders are betting that modernized zoning, expanded housing opportunities and a coordinated redevelopment strategy can strengthen downtown's role as the region's economic center while positioning the city for sustainable growth over the next decade. If successful, the effort could reshape not only the skyline, but also the economic foundation that supports neighborhoods across the city.
