The City of Saint Paul's Planning and Economic Development (PED) Department builds community wealth through business, housing, jobs, planning, financial and cultural assets.
PED has developed an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Plan aimed at making its services, programs, and digital presence significantly more accessible to individuals with all types of disabilities. Recognizing that accessibility must go beyond basic compliance, the department is committing to a proactive and inclusive approach that ensures people with mobility, sensory, cognitive, and communication disabilities can fully engage with their offerings.
Key changes outlined in the plan include the introduction of a more transparent and user-friendly process for requesting accommodations, ensuring that the public can more easily identify and access support when engaging with PED staff or services. The department also plans to overhaul its website to improve navigation, clarity, and compatibility with assistive technologies. Additionally, it will shift away from static, often inaccessible PDFs and prioritize accessible document formats that meet WCAG standards. Multimedia content—such as captioned videos and narrated presentations—will also be added to provide program information in multiple formats, ensuring better reach and understanding across diverse disability communities.
Plan Assessment Process
Facilities
PED is located in the Saint Paul City Hall Annex and accepts drop ins and appointments from members of the public for a variety of services. While we know access to that office can be a barrier to some. PED is committed to offering alternate ways for people with disabilities to access their staff and services, including remote meetings, alternate ways to drop off forms and applications, and flexible accommodations when requested.
For those looking to access PED but have a disability that makes physical access a challenge, please call _________________________ to request alternate means.
Services & Programs
- PED offers a variety of services for current and aspiring small business owners in St. Paul and wants to make sure everyone has access to them. Most of our services and applications for services are located on our website, but we are committing to create a more up-front and user friendly accommodations request process so that those who need an accommodation for access are shown a easy user friendly process for accommodation.
- All PED applications and forms will include contact numbers and/or links to request accommodations by ____________________________________________
- PED is looking into installing a street level secure drop box for residents to submit forms and paperwork securely without having to visit the office. We will aim to have this set up by Q1 2027
- STAR program is a city-funded grant initiative aimed at supporting neighborhood driven capital improvement – all information is online and accessible; all STAR advisory board meetings are ADA accessible. We aim to continue to improve access to the program through a more user friendly accommodation request process . We are also looking to add more multimedia information regarding the STAR program, how to apply and what the application and deliberation process looks like for new applicants. We hope to have this video produced and online by the end of 2026
Please reach out to the CSTAR team at 651-266-6634 if you would like to request an accommodation.
Information
- Most PED information, forms and applications are housed on our website. PED will be working to streamline our website to create a more intuitive and user friendly experience. This process will take place through 2026 and will be ongoing for continual improvement
- The department is moving away from inaccessible PDFs whenever possible and making sure all vital PDFs are mitigated to be screen reader friendly. Our deadline in doing this is April 2026
- We plan to overhaul the St. Paul Parking website to create a more useful and accessible page. PED will team with OTC to help design a new site. This will be online by Q4 2026
- PED is looking into a paperless option for mailings, allowing a more digitally accessible and eco friendly alternative to traditional mailers.
