St. Joseph City Commissioners have rejected a downtown property owner’s proposal to convert a nine-unit apartment building into an eight-unit short-term rental operation.

Back in August, we reported that commissioners tabled a request from Brian Barrett, the owner of a building at 520 State Street and 515 Market Street, for a special use permit for the project, citing concerns like the loss of affordable housing in the community and the effect it would have on the neighborhood. On Monday night, the request came back to the commission and was denied outright for the same reasons.

Barrett offered to make several concessions, like only opening four STRs in the building if so desired. He also read a letter of support from the Downtown Development Authority.

“This type of development strengthens the downtown economy by encouraging extended visitor stays, increasing foot traffic, and supporting year-round activity for our local businesses,” Barrett read.

Commissioners pointed out the building isn’t in the DDA’s boundaries.

Mayor Brook Thomas told us with all the work done locally to manage STRs, she agreed the apartments should remain as it is.

“I think that St. Joe got it right,” Thomas said. “We can’t outright refuse to have short-term rentals, but we don’t want to overdo it and deplete our residential neighborhoods from having full-time residents. So I think the conclusion we came to tonight is right in the middle of where we need to be.”

Barrett also offered to implement a strict renter screening process to ensure no troublemakers occupy the proposed vacation rentals.

The commission’s vote to deny the special use request was unanimous, although Commissioner Michael Sarola said he wanted to further explore the idea of allowing a smaller number of STRs in the building on a sort of trial basis.