The Ryan Cos. will make their case to the St. Paul City Council next month for why a series of future buildings at Highland Bridge should be constructed 12 to 18 feet tall, rather than 40 feet, as required by the city’s zoning code.

The developer behind the Highland Bridge community has filed an appeal of a Jan. 6 decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals, which denied four of their 13 requests for major variances related to three single-story commercial buildings planned at 2200 Ford Parkway. Each building would be 12 to 15 feet tall, rather than 40 feet, as laid out in both the city zoning code and the 2017 Ford Site master plan. Their floor area ratios also run smaller than required.

The board, by a vote of 4-2, also rejected two of the developer’s major variance requests for an 18-foot-tall commercial building planned at 0 Cretin Ave. S. Again, the zoning code calls for the building to rise 40 feet. Board officials criticized the one-story buildings for creating a “strip mall” effect, but the developer noted that a sloping grade and the financing environment made larger buildings less feasible.

Additional requests related to maximum lot coverage, door openings and window glazing were approved. In addition to the four commercial buildings, the Ryan Cos. plan a four-story, 97-unit mixed-use building, as well as 190 parking stalls in structured off-street parking, about 109 of them below grade level.

The St. Paul City Council will hear the appeal on Feb. 12.

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