OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Policy Committee Meeting on TNC Ordinance Amendments and Drive-Thru Zoning Study - January 21, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, January 21, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, January 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:10:24

Transcript — Verbatim
4:33

The St.

4:33

Paul City Council Policy Committee to order roll call, please.

4:37

Council President Acre here.

4:39

Councilmember Bowie.

4:41

Here.

4:42

Councilmember Jost.

4:43

Here.

4:44

Councilmember Coleman.

4:45

Here.

4:46

Council Vice President Kim.

4:49

Councilmember Yang.

4:50

Here.

4:51

Councilmember Johnson.

4:56

Five present, two absent, and they are excused.

5:00

Thanks so much.

5:01

Good morning, everyone.

5:02

Welcome to our policy committee meeting.

5:04

We have two items on our agenda today, and I believe we have roughly equal time allocated to each, so about 45 minutes for each.

5:14

And I'm looking to Mr.

5:15

Najelik.

5:17

Welcome up.

5:19

Good morning, Council President, Council members.

5:21

Thank you for the opportunity to present this morning on transportation network companies.

5:25

It's funny I I ran into Bill on the way over, and we were saying it wasn't too long ago that TNCs were this novel new technology.

5:34

Now nobody talks about it.

5:35

It's just like sort of just a run of the mail type thing.

5:37

But it was back in 2014, it was such a new thing and um really changed the market as we've all seen.

5:44

Well, it's been now going on 12 years, and so it's time to sort of re-look at that ordinance and do some what we consider tweaking and refining of the ordinance based on what we've learned, but also based on what we're seeing in the market right now.

5:57

So that's what we're gonna see before is just some what we see is small, but actually actually impactual um ordinance events we're looking at.

6:04

We don't have the very definitive language.

6:06

We're still working with the city attorney's office on that, but we're very close.

6:10

You'll get the ideas that we're it's just a matter of words tweaking and things like that.

6:14

So the content-wise, you'll know what we're shooting for, but the couple of words might change, as well as we'll do some final run with TNCs, but we've not gotten any pushback.

6:22

We've got concerns, all of which we think we can address in the language that we're looking at.

6:26

So let's go into transportation network companies means a person or entity affiliated with TNC drivers that arranges via arranges transportation services via unique internet-based transportation application system, connecting TNC endorsed drivers and passenger with passengers for the transport of passengers for compensation.

6:49

That is out of our our chapter 373 of which is where we're looking to do our ordinance amendments.

6:55

Purpose of the ordinance amendments, like I mentioned before, is to take what we've learned and what we're seeing in the market and do some tweaks to the original ordinance that was adopted in 2014.

7:05

Um, in particular, we want to refine our compliance enforcement model, and two is we want to recognize the growing number of businesses in the market.

7:15

So, first refining the compliance and enforcement model.

7:18

The way our enforcement model, compliance and enforcement model is built.

7:22

It's really about making sure people know who they're getting into a car with as well as what's the vehicle like that they're riding in.

7:28

So we really focus on vehicle inspections as well as criminal history checks on drivers.

7:33

So though two things that we want to look at.

7:37

One is we don't have the ability to do what's called a random unannounced inspection through the app.

7:42

The idea being one of our inspectors would call up and say, I want to get a ride.

7:46

They would arrange ride, the person would show up and we do inspection.

7:49

Couple things we'll be looking for.

7:51

Does the driver match who's supposed to be there?

7:53

Um is the vehicle in the condition that it's supposed to be, and do they have their insurance and the other documentation required?

7:59

So it's really making sure the person driving is actually the person who's supposed to be driving and the vehicles in the condition they expect.

8:06

Um there will be no internal inspections unless the driver consents.

8:11

It's really just a really quick show us who you are, show us your paperwork, do a walkaround, and then if they consent, we would do an internal just looking for the stuff that's um TNC related only, nothing else we'll be looking for.

8:24

If we see problems with the vehicle, then we would request that they bring their vehicle in within 48 hours to a uh designated location for a full vehicle inspection.

8:33

So the idea is these are really quick randomized inspections, and it allows us to do, I think, a better service for the drivers as well as a better service for our staff in terms of efficiency and effectiveness and getting us more information on what's actually happening on the street in regards to drivers and um trips being generated and received.

8:53

Mr.

8:53

Najelli, before you keep going, so just to make sure I understand, are our DSI and staff doing these inspections based on the list of drivers that you receive?

9:02

So, right now we do not do random inspections.

9:04

Right now, what we do is we get um names from the TNCs, and they basically tell us yes, we've done a criminal history check on this individual as required by ordinance.

9:14

We've also done a vehicle inspection because a requirement in ordinance is that each vehicle is receives a vehicle inspection on an annual basis.

9:22

And they have to have all those records.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety██████████████████████████████████34%
Land Use Regulation███████████████████████████████31%
Public Works█████████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Job Creation███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul City Council Policy Committee Meeting on TNC Ordinance Amendments and Drive-Thru Zoning Study - January 21, 2026

The St. Paul City Council Policy Committee convened on January 21, 2026, to discuss two major items: proposed amendments to the Transportation Network Company (TNC) ordinance and a zoning study on drive-throughs. The meeting ran for approximately 90 minutes, with 45 minutes allocated per item. Five council members were present (President Acre, Bowie, Jost, Coleman, Yang), with two excused absences (Vice President Kim and Johnson).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Marie Domini, founder and CEO of Move (a locally founded rideshare startup), testified in support of tiered licensing fees. She stated that current St. Paul licensing fees of $41,115 (plus state-required $100,000 insurance) consumed about 90% of Move's funding. Domini noted Move has a 0% safety incident rate, pays drivers 90% of ride fares, and operates at a loss. She also highlighted that many uninsured startups lack proper background checks, supporting stronger enforcement.

Discussion Items

  • Transportation Network Company (TNC) Ordinance Amendments – Presented by Mr. Najelik of the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI). The proposal aims to:

    • Allow random, unannounced vehicle inspections via the app (driver compensated by TNC, modeled on state canceled-ride payment rules).
    • Verify TNC-conducted criminal history checks through record checks and random inspections.
    • Reduce annual licensing fees from the current ~$35,000 to a tiered structure: low tier ~$6,000, high tier ~$17,500–$18,000, with a single fee option of ~$12,500.
    • Eliminate the requirement for all TNCs to have insurance renewal on February 1, allowing rolling one-year insurance dates.

  • Councilmember Yang expressed strong support, noting that TNCs had raised concerns about fee sizes. She asked about staffing for new inspections; Mr. Najelik said existing pre-COVID staffing levels would be used, though DSI has not fully restored post-COVID cuts. The fiscal impact is considered neutral due to increased market players.

  • Council President Acre questioned whether additional enforcement costs were fully accounted for; Mr. Najelik stated the program is budgeted at the same staffing expectation as in 2014.

  • Drive-Thru Zoning Study – Presented by Mr. Dermoty of Planning. The study was laid over to February 18, 2026. Key points:

    • The T District zoning study already addressed unsafe pedestrian access citywide, so a revised drive-thru ordinance (Version 2) is needed.
    • Four policy questions were posed:
      1. Should new restaurant and coffee shop drive-throughs be prohibited? (Planning Commission recommends yes, citing conflicts with comprehensive plan.)
      2. Should indoor walk-up service be required during all drive-thru hours?
      3. Which zoning districts should allow drive-throughs? (Commission recommends removing from B4/B5 downtown and OS/B1, but adding as conditional use in T3/T4.)
      4. In T3/T4 districts, should drive-throughs be allowed only in buildings of four stories or more?
    • Councilmembers expressed varied views. Councilmember Yang noted convenience for families (as a mother of three), people with disabilities, and during the pandemic, citing a Ward 1 McDonald’s that closed indoor service due to safety and overdose incidents. Councilmember Jost noted different ward-specific impacts. Councilmember Coleman stressed avoiding past mistakes of car-centric planning but acknowledged late-night food access issues. Council President Acre prioritized pedestrian safety but questioned the impact of banning all new food/beverage drive-throughs.

Key Outcomes

  • TNC Ordinance: No vote taken. DSI will finalize language with the City Attorney’s office by end of week following the meeting, then confer with Councilmember Yang and the administration before bringing to Council for a future vote.
  • Drive-Thru Study: No decision made. The item will return to the Council on February 18, 2026, for continuation of the second reading. Council President Acre encouraged colleagues to consider amendments and noted the goal of reaching a decision soon.

Meeting Transcript

The St. Paul City Council Policy Committee to order roll call, please. Council President Acre here. Councilmember Bowie. Here. Councilmember Jost. Here. Councilmember Coleman. Here. Council Vice President Kim. Councilmember Yang. Here. Councilmember Johnson. Five present, two absent, and they are excused. Thanks so much. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our policy committee meeting. We have two items on our agenda today, and I believe we have roughly equal time allocated to each, so about 45 minutes for each. And I'm looking to Mr. Najelik. Welcome up. Good morning, Council President, Council members. Thank you for the opportunity to present this morning on transportation network companies. It's funny I I ran into Bill on the way over, and we were saying it wasn't too long ago that TNCs were this novel new technology. Now nobody talks about it. It's just like sort of just a run of the mail type thing. But it was back in 2014, it was such a new thing and um really changed the market as we've all seen. Well, it's been now going on 12 years, and so it's time to sort of re-look at that ordinance and do some what we consider tweaking and refining of the ordinance based on what we've learned, but also based on what we're seeing in the market right now. So that's what we're gonna see before is just some what we see is small, but actually actually impactual um ordinance events we're looking at. We don't have the very definitive language. We're still working with the city attorney's office on that, but we're very close. You'll get the ideas that we're it's just a matter of words tweaking and things like that. So the content-wise, you'll know what we're shooting for, but the couple of words might change, as well as we'll do some final run with TNCs, but we've not gotten any pushback. We've got concerns, all of which we think we can address in the language that we're looking at. So let's go into transportation network companies means a person or entity affiliated with TNC drivers that arranges via arranges transportation services via unique internet-based transportation application system, connecting TNC endorsed drivers and passenger with passengers for the transport of passengers for compensation. That is out of our our chapter 373 of which is where we're looking to do our ordinance amendments. Purpose of the ordinance amendments, like I mentioned before, is to take what we've learned and what we're seeing in the market and do some tweaks to the original ordinance that was adopted in 2014. Um, in particular, we want to refine our compliance enforcement model, and two is we want to recognize the growing number of businesses in the market. So, first refining the compliance and enforcement model. The way our enforcement model, compliance and enforcement model is built. It's really about making sure people know who they're getting into a car with as well as what's the vehicle like that they're riding in. So we really focus on vehicle inspections as well as criminal history checks on drivers. So though two things that we want to look at. One is we don't have the ability to do what's called a random unannounced inspection through the app. The idea being one of our inspectors would call up and say, I want to get a ride. They would arrange ride, the person would show up and we do inspection. Couple things we'll be looking for. Does the driver match who's supposed to be there? Um is the vehicle in the condition that it's supposed to be, and do they have their insurance and the other documentation required? So it's really making sure the person driving is actually the person who's supposed to be driving and the vehicles in the condition they expect.

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