Council moves forward with motion of intent to rezone Hamm’s Brewery site after heated public hearing

The St. Paul City Council voted 6-0 on July 22 to approve a motion of intent to pursue rezoning at the Hamm’s Brewery redevelopment site, moving the application to the next stages of council review after an extended public hearing that included both neighborhood groups and business owners.

Nicole Newton, director of Planning and Economic Development and executive director of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), told the council the site “has been a priority redevelopment site for the HRA” and described a competitive process that yielded a tentative developer. Chris Hong, the city planner who presented the staff report, noted that the planning commission recommended approval for three of five parcels but recommended denial for parcels 3 and 4.

More than a dozen people spoke during the public comment period. Supporters—community-council leaders, housing advocates and the tentative developer’s representatives—said the project would add nearly 200 housing units (a mix of new construction and historic reuse), new commercial space and public connections to trails and Sweet Hollow Park. Jacob Hooper, representing Sustain Saint Paul, said the plan’s mix of affordable units and reuse of historic structures would revitalize a long-vacant site.

Opponents included nearby business owners and neighbors who said the rezoning would remove shared surface parking used by existing businesses, potentially displace long-running enterprises and create new parking pressure on adjacent streets. Saint Paul Brewing’s owner, Rob Clapp, told the council that the brewery and other existing tenants had not reached a collaborative solution with the HRA and urged a pause focused on preserving and redeveloping the historic buildings first.

Legal and procedural concerns were central to several objections. An attorney representing property owners on site argued the rezoning would amount to spot zoning and asked the council to follow the planning commission’s recommendation to deny parcels 3 and 4. City staff and the HRA disputed the spot-zoning claim; city attorneys reviewed the question and staff concluded the rezoning did not constitute illegal spot zoning.

Newton and the tentative developer said the plan has secured multiple conditional funding awards—more than $4 million in earlier competitive awards and an additional $1.15 million from Ramsey County announced the week of the meeting—and that the project team has applied for Minnesota Housing Finance Agency support. The developer said public engagement materials had drawn nearly 2,000 unique visitors to the project website and generally positive feedback.

Council Chair Johnson said the vote before the council was a procedural step: a motion of intent to introduce the rezoning ordinance. ‘‘This vote today is about a rezoning request,’’ she said, emphasizing that subsequent council readings and community engagement would continue. After discussion, Johnson moved the motion of intent; a roll call vote recorded six ayes and no opposition.

The motion of intent does not itself rezone the parcels; it initiates the formal ordinance process. Because the planning commission recommended denial of parcels 3 and 4, the council’s action starts the legal and administrative steps for council introduction despite that split recommendation. The item will return to the council for multiple readings and public hearings required by city procedure before any final rezoning becomes law.

What’s next: staff will advance required ordinance language and schedule the next council actions. Council members said they intended to continue conversations with neighborhood groups, existing businesses and the HRA and urged the parties to keep working to resolve parking and building-preservation concerns as the process moves forward.