KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A proposal for a new apartment tower in the downtown River Market neighborhood is bumping its head on its suggested height due to the site’s proximity to the nearby airport.

Flaherty & Collins wants to build a 12-story tower with 300 apartments and a 435-space parking garage northwest of Fifth and Main streets. The location is just east of the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, currently a parking lot for the market.

To complete the project, the Federal Aviation Administration would have to issue an exemption, Ryan Cronk, Flaherty & Collins’ vice president of development, said during a Monday evening meeting of the Downtown Neighborhood Association’s development committee.

Cronk said the company could change course and try for a smaller, 8-story tower. The alternative project would fit within the FAA’s rules, but it would have only 190 apartments and 315 parking spaces. This also means less affordable housing units, which is part of the reason behind the plan.

The suggested apartment building is the cause of controversy among people who live in the area. Dozens of members in the River Market Community Facebook group expressed dismay over the idea of a tower replacing the lot.

The skyline, currently visable from City Market Park, would likely become obscured by the tower, which would stand next to Minsky’s.