Bloomington, MN Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Bloomington City Code § 21.301.06(i) governs residential driveways and off-drive parking. Paragraph (4) prohibits parking and storing vehicles anywhere on a single- or two-family site except within a garage or on a legally constructed driveway or off-drive parking area, so a front lawn is not a parking space. Paragraph (8)(A) sets the surface: the full length and width must be portland cement concrete, asphalt, brick, stone, concrete pavers placed with gaps not exceeding one quarter inch, or an equivalent material the issuing authority approves. Gravel is not permitted. A patio or sidewalk cannot serve as a driveway, off-drive parking area or turnaround, and where one abuts such an area for more than six feet a barrier must stop vehicles from driving onto it.

The code also caps how much extra paving a lot can add. Under paragraph (5), one off-drive parking area of up to 12 feet in width is allowed beside the driveway, but only when the cumulative total width of all driveways on the site is 26 feet or less. Next to a garage it must be at least nine feet wide and cannot extend farther from the street than the rear of the garage. It must connect to a driveway, sit outside the public right-of-way, and keep single-family lots within the 35% maximum impervious surface coverage in § 21.301.01(c)(1). A site with a second driveway, second garage or circular driveway gets off-drive parking beside only one driveway or garage.

Setbacks come from paragraph (10)(A): driveways and off-drive areas must sit at least 20 feet from the front property line, 5 feet from side and rear lines, and 20 feet from a side or rear line abutting a public street, except for driveways crossing those areas in a perpendicular or near perpendicular fashion. Paragraph (3)(A) requires a driveway at least ten feet wide, and paragraph (3)(G) limits a driveway on a site without a garage to 24 feet. Paragraph (12) requires a driveway permit for construction, replacement, overlay or alteration of a residential driveway or off-drive parking or turnaround area, with limited exceptions for repairs.