Zoning Code Update

On July 22, 2025 the City Council voted to approve the new zoning code. You can view the approved version of the code by clicking here. 

City to hold public hearing to gather feedback on proposed development regulations.

On Monday, June 30, 2025, the City of White Bear Lake Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to review proposed updates to the city’s development regulations.  The meeting will be held in the City Council Chambers at City Hall starting at 7:00 PM.  White Bear Lake residents, property owners and stakeholders are encouraged to attend the meeting and share their feedback.  

You can review the different sections of the proposed development regulation using the links below.  

• Zoning Map
• Article 12, Chapter 1202 – Signs
• Article 13, Zoning
• Article 14, Subdivision
• Article 15 – Natural Resource Protection

You can also review the current and proposed zoning for any property in the City with our interactive map by clicking here.

General comments can be sent to communitydevelopment [at] whitebearlakemn.gov (communitydevelopment[at]whitebearlakemn[dot]gov) or submitted here.  For specific questions, please contact Community Development Director, Jason Lindahl at jlindahl [at] whitebearlakemn.gov (jlindahl[at]whitebearlakemn[dot]gov) or 651-429-8562.

PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.

The City recently hosted two open houses on Thursday March 6, 2025 for the community to meet with the Zoning Code Update team and learn about the progress of the project. If you were unable to attend either of the open houses, you can find the display boards that outlined key changes to the code linked here. A Public Review Draft for the new Zoning Code is also available online. Links to the Draft Code are below:

• Draft Zoning Code
• Draft Sign Code
• Draft Subdivision
• Draft Shoreland Management Ordinance
• Draft Floodplain Management Ordinance

You can also review the current and proposed zoning for any property in the City by clicking here. Just enter an address or zoom in to any part of the city.

Comments and questions can be sent to communitydevelopment [at] whitebearlake.org (communitydevelopment[at]whitebearlakemn[dot]gov) or submitted here. Please submit feedback by April 4th, 2025. 

If you have further questions, please contact Community Development Director, Jason Lindahl at jlindahl [at] whitebearlake.org (jlindahl@whitebearlakemn.gov) or 651-429-8562. 

In September 2023, the City of White Bear Lake launched an 18-month process to review and update its zoning regulations.  This project is necessary because state law requires all metropolitan area cities to update their zoning regulations so they are consistent with the community’s long range planning document - the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.  The comprehensive plan was last updated in 2021 and sets the future vision and development goals for White Bear Lake.  The zoning regulations are the legal tool to implement the vision and development goals found in the comprehensive plan. 

Commonly, zoning regulations include two parts (1) a zoning map which divides the city into various zones (generally residential, commercial, industrial or institutional) and (2) text which details the development standards for the various zones.  The current version of the zoning regulations are available for review on the city’s website by clicking here.  While White Bear Lake has made revisions and updates to the zoning regulations over the years, it has not done a full-scale review and update since the early 1980’s and many of the city’s review processes and development standards are out of date. 

To ensure community involvement in this process, Mayor Dan Louismet appointed a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to help inform and guide the zoning update.  This committee includes members from the City Council, Planning Commission, Environmental Advisory Commission, Housing Task Force, County Road E Corridor Committee and others from throughout the community who represent various economic development, transportation, education, and arts and cultural interests.  In addition to the committee, the city will seek feedback from the general public through several open house style meetings and this website.  Once a final draft of the zoning regulations is complete, the public will have additional opportunities to provide feedback through a public hearing with the Planning Commission and meetings before the City Council.   

For additional information, please contact Community Development Director, Jason Lindahl:

jlindahl [at] whitebearlake.org (jlindahl@whitebearlakemn.gov) 

651-429-8562