Star council tables State & Main Street mixed‑use permit amid parking, height and sidewalk concerns

Star — The Star City Council voted 3–1 on April 1 to table a conditional‑use permit for a proposed mixed‑use building at State and Main Street so the developer can return with a plan to resolve parking and other conditions.

Planning staff described the application (CUP 24‑07) as a three‑story structure on roughly 0.95 acres in the Central Business District with about 10,000 square feet of ground‑floor commercial space, 30 residential units above (28 one‑bedroom, two two‑bedroom), a proposed 55‑foot height, a rooftop amenity and requests for a 50% reduction in nonresidential parking and a height exception. Staff recommended approval subject to standard conditions and noted the proposal includes 70 on‑site stalls plus proposed shared spaces and on‑street parking options.

Why it mattered: Residents and councilors said the project fits the city’s downtown revitalization goals but repeatedly flagged practical risks: whether the reduced commercial parking would be adequate, whether shared parking arrangements are reliable, and how the building’s bulk and circulation would affect adjacent homes and narrow local streets.

Mayor Chadwick emphasized budgetary and service impacts tied to growth, and told the applicant he would press for a parking in‑lieu payment if the council approved a parking waiver: "If this does go forward, I'm gonna be pushing that we do get the $60,000 in parking in lieu of fees," he said, referring to the city code figure of $6,000 per omitted space.

Applicant Walter Lingren of Lingren Labrie Architecture defended the design as a downtown catalyst and said the development team is offering a mix of on‑site stalls, use of 23 spaces at the Star Mercantile under a shared‑use arrangement, and on‑street spaces. Lingren argued that downtown trip turnover and mixed use make a 50% commercial parking reduction reasonable: "We're trying to create a quality sense of space…this is the kind of project that can become a core area for people to gather," he told the council.

Residents at the hearing made several concrete objections. Denise Van Doren summarized the most common concerns: "The lack of parking is of great concern to this community as is the height of the building," she said, stressing that the Mercantile spaces are shared and temporary and that on‑street parking would spill into narrow residential streets. Other speakers cited traffic safety, alley access for trash and deliveries, and visual impacts from the three‑story massing immediately north of 1st Street homes.

Key details and contested numbers: The applicant described providing 70 stalls and acknowledged a technical shortfall versus the 80 stalls the Unified Development Code calculation would require without a waiver. At several points council members and the applicant re‑checked the slide math; the mayor initially counted 62 stalls on the plan, and the applicant clarified the additional eight stalls on Poplar and Main to reach 70. Staff and the applicant also discussed in‑lieu fees, mitigation for police and fire impacts tied to added residential units, and sidewalk width along Highway 44 (ACHD recommended 10 feet; the applicant said the dimension provided was about 10–11 feet).

Council response and next steps: After deliberation, Councilmember Hershey — who praised the project’s potential for small business and downtown activation but called the parking situation an unacceptable risk — moved to table the application to give the applicant time to produce a feasible parking solution. Councilmember Nielsen seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote, 3–1 (Hershey, Salmonson, Nielsen aye; Wheelock nay). The council scheduled the item for further consideration on June 17, 2025.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Table consideration of CUP 24‑07 (State & Main Street multiuse building) to June 17, 2025 for the applicant to return with parking and other revised conditions. Moved by Councilmember Hershey; seconded by Councilmember Nielsen. Outcome: tabled. Vote: Hershey Aye, Wheelock Nay, Salmonson Aye, Nielsen Aye.

What to watch for next: The applicant returns with a detailed parking mitigation plan (options discussed at the hearing included reducing residential/unit count to free more parking, buying or leasing dedicated off‑site parking, increasing in‑lieu payments, or redesigning internal floorplates). The council also signaled interest in conditions such as assigned residential stalls, specified limits on the size/number of restaurant uses, retention of mature street trees where feasible, police and fire mitigation fees integrated into a development agreement, and minimum sidewalk width along Highway 44.

Reporting note: Quotations and attributions are taken from the council’s public hearing transcript. The council’s staff report lists recommended permitted and conditional uses and the UDC sections referenced in deliberations; the applicant’s packet includes proposed site plans, elevations, and a shared‑parking letter from Star Mercantile that several residents and staff described as cancellable.