OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Policy Committee Meeting on Bike Rack Permit Program and Climate Action Plan Update - February 18, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, February 18, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, February 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:34:37

Transcript — Verbatim
4:18

Call please.

4:19

Councilmember Bowie.

4:22

Council President Naker.

4:24

Here.

4:25

Councilmember Joast.

4:27

Councilmember Coleman.

4:29

Here.

4:30

Council Vice President Kim.

4:33

Councilmember Yang.

4:35

Councilmember Johnson.

4:38

Seeing four present, three absent.

4:41

Councilmember Johnson is excused.

4:43

Great.

4:43

Good morning, everyone.

4:44

Welcome to our policy committee meeting of the week.

4:47

We have two items on our agenda.

4:49

The first one is a presentation on the bike rack permit program.

4:52

And we are pleased to welcome Jimmy Schumacher from Public Works to get that presentation.

4:57

Welcome.

4:58

Good morning, everyone.

5:00

My name is Jimmy Schumacher.

5:01

I'm in the Department of Public Works.

5:04

I'm here today to talk with you about kind of formalizing something that we've been trying to formalize for quite some time that will allow kind of custom or branded bike racks in the right of way.

5:19

So I have a pretty short presentation.

5:22

Again, this is something we're will probably come to council for a new ordinance to permit these.

5:40

And so we're really just trying to formalize the program.

5:45

So I don't consider this to be very controversial at all.

5:49

It's something we get asked for, you know, with some regularity from district councils and business districts.

5:57

Hey, I want a snazzy branded bike rack in front of my my business.

6:02

And uh up to this point, it's been, like I said, a little bit muddy on how we've done this.

6:06

And so this is really just formalizing uh a program.

6:11

Um so I want to talk about the goals and outcomes of such a permit.

6:15

Uh and I'm calling it a permit, but it's almost kind of a program.

6:19

Um, and then just as kind of a refresher, maybe setting the the table about how how and where you might see bike racks in the city.

6:28

Um, and specific when it comes to the the um custom bike racks, um uh how we've done it in the past and how we'd like to do it in the future.

6:39

Um so just as a reminder, this is what I'm talking about when I'm talking about kind of a branded or custom bike rack.

6:45

Um, this is an example that currently exists at a few locations in um in Highland Park along Ford Parkway and kind of Ford Park Right, Ford Parkway in Cleveland.

6:56

Uh, but also there's some other areas.

6:58

Union Park has a few of these, uh, the North End has a few of these, but then there are also businesses that maybe uh I think if you were to drive on grand, you'd see a cat cafe.

7:08

Um, and you'd see some uh you'd see some branded or custom bike racks out in front.

7:14

So that the the goal of this program is to get more bike racks out on the street.

7:18

Um there are businesses that are asking for this, and you know, that they're for public use, it's not just for that business.

7:24

So it um uh they're they're willing to fund this and put them in the public right-of-way.

7:29

Um, and really this is permitting private installation in the public right-of-way.

7:36

So it's kind of like a Venn diagram.

7:38

Uh, we're trying to allow this, and we haven't really been able to to date.

7:43

Um, it would uh kind of having this permit or the program would allow us to track installations.

7:47

So sometimes to be honest, they've shown up on the street, and it would be nice if we could kind of track them.

7:52

Uh and then specifically, I think that uh the council might be interested in you.

7:56

You all know, of course, you you came up with and developed and funded the commercial corridor organization assistance program, C COPE.

8:04

We're working on a different name.

8:05

Okay, okay.

8:06

I struggle with it too.

8:08

C COP.

8:09

Um, and so uh what kind of the impetus for coming here is or kind of the kick in the pants to actually get this formalized is because there are new dollars that are given to commercial corridors and and business organizations, um, and a lot of them say, hey, now we have this money, I'd love to put some of these custom bike racks.

8:28

And so again, this has been something that we've we've wanted to do for a while, and this new program that you all funded is kind of giving us the encouragement to formalize it.

8:37

Again, you know all about this.

8:39

Uh, one of the eligible um criteria, one of the eligible activities or funding criteria or uh expenses, one of the eligible expenses is for beautification on corridors, um, and this is one of those things, custom branded bike racks.

8:55

So, again, I think as this program continues, we will probably see more more business organizations saying, Hey, I'd love to do this.

9:02

I really love these uh custom branded bike racks.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Environmental Protection█████████████████████████████████33%
Public Works███████████████████████████████31%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Active Transportation███████████11%
Racial Equity███████7%
Procedural███3%
Transportation Safety██2%
Fiscal Sustainability█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Policy Committee Meeting on Bike Rack Permit Program and Climate Action Plan Update - February 18, 2026

The city council's policy committee met on February 18, 2026, to discuss two agenda items: a proposal to formalize a permit program for custom bike racks in the public right-of-way, and a presentation on the draft update to the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP 2.0). Councilmembers present: Bowie, President Naker, Joast, Coleman, Vice President Kim, and Yang. Councilmember Johnson was excused. No public comments were heard.

Discussion Items

Bike Rack Permit Program

  • Jimmy Schumacher (Public Works) presented a proposal to create a formal permit program allowing private entities (district councils, businesses, etc.) to install custom or branded bike racks in the public right-of-way. The program aims to increase bike parking, track installations, and ensure proper siting, design, and installation by qualified contractors.
  • Councilmembers discussed: the difference between standard city-funded racks (purchased and installed by city) and the new permit (private purchase and installation); the need for design review to ensure functionality and avoid inappropriate designs; ownership and maintenance after installation (racks would become city property, but the city would replace damaged racks with standard ones, not custom); potential permit fees (councilmembers favored minimal or no fees to encourage participation, but some supported covering staff costs); and the role of the Commercial Corridor Organization Assistance Program (CCOPE) in funding such racks.
  • Council President Naker praised the presentation as a model for policy sessions, emphasizing early feedback before legislation.

Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) Update

  • Liz Boyer (Climate Action Coordinator) and team presented the draft CARP 2.0, summarizing progress since 2019 adoption (net-zero goals for 2050 community-wide and 2030 for city operations). Key achievements: 46% reduction in city building emissions from a 2015 baseline, EV car share program, fleet electrification, and community engagement.
  • The draft plan includes 8 categories, 25 priority actions for the next five years, and a proposed target to spend at least 1% of the city's budget on climate actions (approx. $8.8 million for 2026).
  • Councilmembers raised questions about: ensuring adequate funding to meet goals; linking vulnerability assessments to specific actions (e.g., air quality sensors for Northern Iron in Ward 1, Southport neighborhoods); partnership with Ramsey County; tree canopy and tree preservation ordinance; and the need to explicitly address racial and environmental justice.
  • Councilmember Bowie highlighted the importance of a public health lens and life expectancy disparities. Councilmember Yang asked about EV car share expansion to the East Side (confirmed ongoing). Councilmember Joast suggested a timeline for adoption by end of March 2026, which the team agreed to.

Key Outcomes

  • No votes were taken; both items were for discussion and feedback.
  • For the bike rack program, staff will develop a draft ordinance incorporating council feedback, with a focus on minimal fees, maintenance responsibilities, and design guidelines.
  • For CARP 2.0, the team will incorporate council feedback, finalize the plan with visual elements, and aim to bring it for adoption by the end of March 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Call please. Councilmember Bowie. Council President Naker. Here. Councilmember Joast. Councilmember Coleman. Here. Council Vice President Kim. Councilmember Yang. Councilmember Johnson. Seeing four present, three absent. Councilmember Johnson is excused. Great. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our policy committee meeting of the week. We have two items on our agenda. The first one is a presentation on the bike rack permit program. And we are pleased to welcome Jimmy Schumacher from Public Works to get that presentation. Welcome. Good morning, everyone. My name is Jimmy Schumacher. I'm in the Department of Public Works. I'm here today to talk with you about kind of formalizing something that we've been trying to formalize for quite some time that will allow kind of custom or branded bike racks in the right of way. So I have a pretty short presentation. Again, this is something we're will probably come to council for a new ordinance to permit these. And so we're really just trying to formalize the program. So I don't consider this to be very controversial at all. It's something we get asked for, you know, with some regularity from district councils and business districts. Hey, I want a snazzy branded bike rack in front of my my business. And uh up to this point, it's been, like I said, a little bit muddy on how we've done this. And so this is really just formalizing uh a program. Um so I want to talk about the goals and outcomes of such a permit. Uh and I'm calling it a permit, but it's almost kind of a program. Um, and then just as kind of a refresher, maybe setting the the table about how how and where you might see bike racks in the city. Um, and specific when it comes to the the um custom bike racks, um uh how we've done it in the past and how we'd like to do it in the future. Um so just as a reminder, this is what I'm talking about when I'm talking about kind of a branded or custom bike rack. Um, this is an example that currently exists at a few locations in um in Highland Park along Ford Parkway and kind of Ford Park Right, Ford Parkway in Cleveland. Uh, but also there's some other areas. Union Park has a few of these, uh, the North End has a few of these, but then there are also businesses that maybe uh I think if you were to drive on grand, you'd see a cat cafe. Um, and you'd see some uh you'd see some branded or custom bike racks out in front. So that the the goal of this program is to get more bike racks out on the street. Um there are businesses that are asking for this, and you know, that they're for public use, it's not just for that business. So it um uh they're they're willing to fund this and put them in the public right-of-way. Um, and really this is permitting private installation in the public right-of-way. So it's kind of like a Venn diagram. Uh, we're trying to allow this, and we haven't really been able to to date. Um, it would uh kind of having this permit or the program would allow us to track installations. So sometimes to be honest, they've shown up on the street, and it would be nice if we could kind of track them. Uh and then specifically, I think that uh the council might be interested in you. You all know, of course, you you came up with and developed and funded the commercial corridor organization assistance program, C COPE.

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