The Warrenton Board of Aldermen has voted against any consideration of tax breaks for proposed apartments at the Shoppes at Warrenton mall until that project has been separately granted permission to proceed.

Property development firm Raul Walters Properties, which owns the mall, approached the aldermen in September to request a deal in which the city would help Raul Walters avoid paying sales tax on construction material. The development firm wants to build a four-story, 99-unit apartment building between the mall and Rural King.

But on Sept. 20, aldermen said they have no interest in even considering that deal until they determine whether the apartments will even be allowed in the first place. 

Their chief issue, said Alderman Steven Cullom, is that the property of the proposed apartments is zoned for commercial and retail use, and would have to be rezoned before anything else can be discussed. Raul Walters has requested  a rezoning to allow the apartments, but the public hearings to consider that request weren’t set to begin until Oct. 6.

“I feel like he’s trying to put the cart before the horse,” Alderman Cullom said of Raul Walter company president Art King. “Whether we do or don’t give tax exemption ... we’re not at that step yet.”

Cullom said he doesn’t want aldermen’s discussion of financing for the apartment to improperly influence Warrenton’s Planning and Zoning Commission, a citizen advisory board tasked with evaluating development proposals. Normal procedure is for rezoning and other permit applications to go to the planning commission for a thorough review, and then the commission gives a recommendation to the board of aldermen for final approval or rejection.

However, Cullom said that if aldermen were to approve tax breaks for a project ahead of time, that could inappropriately undercut a review by signaling that aldermen want the project approved.

“I think it needs to go through the proper channels first. (That applies to) any project that anybody brings, not just this one,” Cullom said.

He noted that questions he hopes the planning board will address are whether apartments should be allowed in the otherwise commercial area, and also whether the mall property has adequate parking for Rural King, the apartments, and the mall’s storefronts.

Cullom added that he is supportive of ideas that can help revitalize and develop the mall, but that any growth needs to be “smart” in order to avoid issues that other communities have seen.

Two other aldermen contacted to request comment had not responded as of press time.

The first public hearing for the apartments at the mall is scheduled for Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Walton Street Annex Building.

The financial arrangement Raul Walters had proposed would ask the city to form a type of public-private partnership that would allow the developer to use the city’s sales tax exemption to purchase construction materials. Public entities such as city governments are exempt from paying sales tax. The developer isn’t seeking any further property tax abatement.