The Minnesota State Fair is still months away, but one city is now planning to charge drivers to park on neighboring streets.

The Falcon Heights City Council voted in favor of E-Meters Wednesday night, and the move is drawing mixed reactions.

City staff says right now, the plan is to charge $25 to park on these streets during the fair starting in 2025.

“It seems like the more important thing is to make a few dollars,” said Paul Eberhard, who lives in Falcon Heights.

Forty-nine years ago to the day, the Eberhards moved to Falcon Heights. From their porch, you can see the water tower with the State Fair logo.

“We love the fair; we look forward to it coming,” Eberhard said.

This free on-street parking, only a couple blocks from the fairgrounds, is a hot commodity.

“Well, the street fills up by about 7:30,” Eberhard said. “It fills up; there’s a lot of traffic, people going up and down trying to look for a parking spot.”

Soon, it won’t be free.

“Parking has been a long time challenge,” said Jack Linehan, Falcon Heights city administrator.

On Wednesday night, the Falcon Heights City Council approved an ordinance to allow E-Meter parking with ParkMobile, charging people to park on select streets by the fairgrounds during the 12 days of the State Fair.

“We’re taking a lot of those notes, a lot of really good feedback,” Linehan said.

The impacted areas are the Northeast Quadrant neighborhood and the Northome neighborhood. The city estimates it could bring in up to $200,000 a year that could be used for road projects, and it’s a less chaotic experience for those who call this area home.

“By adding a charge to it, we’re hoping that will reduce the demand a bit too to kind of even out so there’s less circling of vehicles,” Linehan said.

“It’s like it’s trying to solve a problem, but I don’t know what that problem is,” Eberhard said.

The Eberhards worry this makes it harder to reserve parking for visiting loved ones, but also, they have concerns about the city’s reputation.

“We don’t want people to think bad of Falcon Heights for charging for parking, and that’s going to happen,” Eberhard said. 

“The goal of this is not to be unwelcoming to the fair; we love fairgoers,” Linehan said.

The city is working on a plan to give people who live in these areas a “free resident pass”, plus E-Meters could be expanded to other big events, but all of that will be worked out through additional city meetings.

For more information on State Fair E-Meter parking, click here.