The St. Paul Planning Commission voted Friday to reject a site plan appeal from a group of homeowners and greenlight the Celia, an 87-unit luxury apartment building planned at Highland Parkway and Mississippi River Boulevard.

The Celia’s site plan, which depicts a structure spanning four stories and 50 feet in height, is in full compliance with the zoning that was in effect a year ago, when developer Paster Properties submitted the proposal to city planners, according to city staff. They approved the site plan last fall, a few months before the city council voted to adopt new zoning rules along the city’s Mississippi River corridor districts.

During an Aug. 28 public hearing, a member of the Planning Commission noted that the city’s Comprehensive Plan had long included a model ordinance, submitted by the state Department of Natural Resources, outlining how the river rules should be organized.

Under the river corridor rules that took effect in January, roughly five years later than once anticipated, the Celia’s height would have been limited to 35 feet.

City staff looked into the discrepancy and again encouraged the Planning Commission on Friday to reject the site plan appeal, which they did unanimously, minus one abstention.

The decision could yet be appealed to the St. Paul City Council. In an interview after the vote, a homeowner in the audience said he could not speak for all of his neighbors and would have to confer with them about next steps.