Stryker Avenue will never be the same, at least not on paper, though it may not look dramatically different, either.

On Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council approved a rezoning of the 30-block area of the West Side bounded by Congress Street to Annapolis Street, between Hall Avenue and Winslow Avenue, with the general intention of allowing greater density in housing. Stryker runs north-south between Hall and Winslow. The West Side Community Organization requested that the city study the area in 2017.

For the most part, the changes take the varied zoning that already exists along each block up a notch.

Areas between Annapolis and Page Street that had previously been zoned for single-family homes can now accommodate duplexes or townhouses. Much of the area from Congress to Stevens Street that had been zoned for duplexes can now accommodate multi-family apartment buildings, up to a maximum height of 50 feet.

And some blocks between Page and George Street that had already been zoned for multi-family homes are now zoned “T2” for “Traditional Neighborhood,” a medium-intensity designation allowing for a mix of residential and commercial uses in one building.