City Council Votes to Deny Developer's Rezoning Request

The St. Paul City Council voted on Wednesday to deny developer Mortho LLC’s application for a rezoning that would have been necessary to build seven townhomes on a lot that currently contains a single-family home. While 1984 Marshall is currently zoned for RM1 multifamily development, rezoning to RM2 would have been required in order to build the planned project because it exceeds the floor area ratio area requirements of the current zoning. Floor area ratio reflects the size of a building in relation to the size of a lot and is calculated by dividing the area of the building by the area of the lot.

While a staff report completed by city employees recommended approval of the rezoning due the lot’s location along a transit corridor, the Planning Commission voted on March 29 to recommend denial of the rezoning based the 2018 West Marshall Avenue Zoning Study's findings that RM2 zoning would be out of scale with the surrounding area.

In addition, the Union Park District Council voted to oppose the rezoning, citing opposition from community members, concerns about how the rezoning would affect community character, and misgivings about the developer’s failure to provide the council with written plans. The council also noted that since the West Marshall Avenue Zoning Study was completed 375 units and 650 bedrooms have been added along Marshall Avenue, which has resulted in the area already achieving the density goals described in the study and in the city’s 2040 Plan.

Council President Mitra Jalali opened the discussion by stating her support for the rezoning, maintaining that it is desirable for Marshall Avenue to offer a variety of housing options. She noted that Marshall Avenue connects St. Paul to Minneapolis and offers residents access to transit within walking distance. She noted that many residents along Marshall are “aging out of place” and selling their homes to developers who wish to build denser housing. Jalali also argued that the use of the parcel would remain multifamily, even though the allowable floor area ratio would increase. She stated that the developer is not planning to build the maximum five stories that RM2 zoning would allow for.

Yasmine Robinson, the city’s Planning Manager and Interim Planning Director, clarified that when developers initiate rezoning requests they are not obliged to follow the plans they submit in the original request. Therefore, the city considers all the possible options that a rezoning would allow when deciding whether to recommend it. However, because this particular lot is small, floor area ratio limits would only allow for a narrow building if a developer chose to build a five story structure, and such a scenario would be unlikely.

Council Member Noecker pointed out that the 2018 zoning study analyzed all of the parcels in the area and specifically decided that 1984 Marshall should not be zoned RM2. She opined that “the community process should weigh heavier” than one individual’s desire to build denser housing.

Jalali explained that she participated in the end of the study when she was a new council member and felt that it was flawed because renters were excluded. She said the study was initiated because “neighbors wanted to downzone the corridor” and she was told by a leader of the study that renters weren’t involved because they tend to favor higher density.

The council voted 3-2 to deny the application, with Jalali and Council Member Saura Jost voting in favor of approval and Council Members Noecker, Cheniqua Johnson, and Anika Bowie voting to deny the application. Council Members Hwa Jeong Kim and Nelsie Yang were absent.