St. Paul Brewing sues city over plans to redevelop former Hamm's site

The latest: Clapp's lawsuit says the redevelopment plan — which would reduce the current 149 parking spaces to around 70 — breaks the city's longstanding promise to maintain the lot as a shared amenity.

• That promise enabled Clapp and others to secure financing to buy parts of the complex, his lawsuit contends.

What they're saying: Clapp has publicly pitched what he calls a compromise: that developer JB Vang leave the parking lot intact, begin rebuilding other parts of the complex first, and then reassess parking needs.

• "The City has had more than two years to rectify this situation, and we appear to be at an impasse," Clapp said in a statement. "At this point, I have no choice but to assert my rights."

The other side: At a meeting in July, St. Paul Council Member Cheniqua Johnson said the council has been clear that its master plan for the Hamm's site centers on housing.

• When asked for comment Thursday, Johnson referred Axios to her previous statements: "The future of this site is not manufacturing."

• The city and JB Vang did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

State of play: Johnson told Axios that council members still plan to give final approval next week to rezone much of the industrial site, one of the last critical hurdles facing the project.

• Clapp has argued the proposed rezoning would be illegal, and he folded that claim into his lawsuit.
• The city's Planning Commission agreed he had a point, but city officials and the council say his arguments are off-base.

The intrigue: Clapp's suit also alleges city inspectors retaliated against him for speaking out against the zoning change. Mayor Melvin Carter's office previously told the Pioneer Press those allegations are "false."