Minneapolis City Council members decided in a unanimous vote Friday to make Dinkytown a commercial historic district.

The designation will apply to buildings built during the Streetcar Era, 1899 to 1929. Though city officials considered including buildings established through the 1970’s under the designation, they eventually agreed upon the shorter time frame late last month.

Staff from the city’s Community Planning and Economic Development department will work with Ward 3 Councilman Jacob Frey and the Zoning and Planning Committee chair to create more flexible guidelines for the area than are implemented in other historic districts.

For example, there won’t height restrictions on buildings, and parking lots that fall within the district won’t be designated as historic.

“This is a beautiful example of being able to grow while still preserving the area,” Frey said.

City staff began working on the preservation over a year ago after conducting a study to decide which buildings in the Dinkytown Businesses District could be considered historic.