St. Paul City Council approves zoning relief for proposed affordable housing on White Bear Avenue

At the urging of St. Paul City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson, the city council voted 6-0 Wednesday to approve zoning relief sought by an East Side church looking to sell a vacant lot to a nonprofit developer of affordable housing.

The Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative has proposed building the Aragon, a four-story, 53-unit housing development at 470 White Bear Ave. N., across from the Church of St. Pascal Baylon, which owns the vacant land. The project involves a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units, mostly geared toward households earning no more than 50% to 60% of area median income, which is a household income limit of about $62,000 to $75,000.

Between 13 and 16 supportive housing units will be set aside for residents who have a history of homelessness, or housing instability due to a disability.

To facilitate the development, the church sought to rezone the property from “H2” residential to “RM2” medium-density, multi-family residential, which was opposed by a number of neighbors. Residents had pointed to parking concerns and the possibility that altering the zoning would constitute “spot zoning,” which is illegal in Minnesota.

Johnson noted that the apartment building would be situated near other existing apartment buildings on a major travel corridor and near the future Gold Line bus rapid transit corridor, and that the rezoning would simply add residences to a residential neighborhood, as opposed to introducing an industrial use. “In this case, it’s residential in a residential” zone, she said.

Some area residents pointed to Beacon Interfaith’s difficult experience with Kimball Court, a dorm-style development largely dedicated to individuals who were recently homeless, located on Snelling Avenue in the Midway. The site has drawn tough public scrutiny over illicit behaviors in the area, from shoplifting and vagrancy to drug dealing.

Beacon Interfaith officials have said the Aragon would operate around a fundamentally different model, more geared toward moderate-income families, though it too would offer some units for the recent homeless and access to counseling services. The St. Paul Planning Commission and planning staff supported the rezoning proposal during their Oct. 11 meeting.

Johnson said she heard “a lot of support and a lot of community opposition,” which had triggered “super vital” public engagement, and “an opportunity to ask questions and be heard and not necessarily be judged” while doing so.

“This is the first step of a multi-year project,” she said, noting the Aragon meets an important community need. “It’s very clear that there’s a lot of folks who feel otherwise.”