Thanks to Jameson’s Irish Bar for their support.
A four-story, 65-unit affordable apartment complex at 212 Thompson Avenue East is finally moving forward to Planning Commission next week after months of delays.
Why the delay: The City of West St. Paul tried to stop the proposal, arguing it was too dense for the neighborhood and didn’t fit the city’s vision moving forward. Now the city has little recourse, as noted in the Planning Commission report:
- “While staff still does not feel the project aligns with the city’s vision … unless there are substantiated findings of threats to public health, welfare and safety … the city has little flexibility for denying these land use applications.”
Background: Initially proposed last year by Minneapolis developer Reuter Walton, the project would tear down a single-family home built in 1931 for a four-story, 65-unit apartment. Affordable housing tax credits from the Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) made the project viable. The city recommended denial in May when the official proposal came in. But now the developer has made changes and the city is recommending approval, if grudgingly.
Changes: The developer implemented a number of changes to the proposal to better comply with city ordinances, including an underground stormwater basin that helped with fire department access, privacy fencing and more landscaping, reworked parking lot for more green space, pedestrian connection to coming 150 Thompson development, and more. There are also a number of recommended conditions to ensure the project complies with current ordinances.
What’s next: The project will come before the Planning Commission on November 19 for a public hearing, then move on to City Council. Pending approvals and CDA tax credits (see below), construction would likely start in 2025.
Why Can’t the City Stop It?
Projects like this need to comply with city ordinances and zoning. In this case, the zoning doesn’t fit, but the city’s long-term planning documents recommend a zoning change that would fit and those plans take priority.
Council approval: The project still needs City Council approval and they could deny it. However, the Council needs a legal reason to deny it. Otherwise the property owner could take the city to court and would likely win, costing the city additional court costs.
City subsidy: Many projects rely on subsidies from the city, which gives the city additional control and leverage. This project is using Dakota County tax credits, so the city does not have that leverage (however, the County does have that leverage, as noted below).
How to deny: The only real path to denial, according to the city report, is if the project posed a “threat to public health, welfare, and safety.” That would have to be based in substantiated fact, not opinion. Given the nation-wide lack of affordable housing, many could argue this project is a benefit to the community and not a threat.
To oversimplify: A private owner can do what they want with their property within existing laws.
Nov. 16, 2024 Update: CDA Tax Credits Not Approved
We previously reported that Dakota County CDA had approved affordable housing tax credits for this project, based on the city’s Planning Commission report. That’s not accurate. Dakota County Commissioner Joe Atkins confirmed that tax credits have been requested, but not approved. The normal process is for the CDA to consider requests after a project is approved by the city.
According to the developer, this project relies on tax credits to be financially viable. Those can come from the state or the county. So even if the city approves the project, the tax credits would also need to be approved for the project to move forward.
The Dakota County CDA generally supports affordable housing, but they have not reviewed this project yet.
Nov. 20, 2024 Update: Planning Commission Approval
Planning Commission approved the four items related to this proposal with the following votes:
- Rezoning: 7-1
- Conditional use permit: 6-2
- Site plan: 7-1
- Plat: 7-1
Two people spoke during the public hearing, both opposed to the project.
Dec. 10, 2024 Update: City Council Denial
City Council unanimously approved the zoning change but unanimously denied the conditional use permit, citing a series of issues (some of which came up during Planning Commission) during the December 9 City Council meeting.
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