St. Charles County Officials Approve Bluffs Development Proposal
Date Posted: October 1, 2019
Posted In: Projects,
From St. Louis Public Radio: The St. Charles County Council voted 5-1 on Monday night approving a controversial housing project near the Katy Trail.
The county’s planning and zoning commission had twice rejected the proposal to build more than 200 homes on bluffs above the Missouri River. The council needed five votes to override that rejection.
Local environmentalists have voiced opposition, saying cutting down the trees on the steep bluff will cause erosion. Missouri Sierra Club Director John Hickey said the chapter is exploring strategies to stop the development, including litigation.
Original story from July 18
The St. Charles County Planning and Zoning Commission voted Wednesday night to reject a housing development near the Katy Trail, a decision likely to be reversed by the St. Charles County Council.
It was the second time in less than two years the commission has voted down the Missouri Bluffs development, a project that would include more than 200 homes overlooking the Katy Trail and Missouri River in St. Charles.
Dozens of area residents packed into the council chambers Wednesday to voice their concerns, including Dan Burkhardt of the Katy Land Trust.
“The project is still in exactly the same wrong place,” Burkhardt said. “It will still destroy an old-growth hickory forest and place dense suburban development in a place where it’s never been before.”
After hearing more than an hour of public testimony, the commission voted against the proposal by a 5-2 margin, citing concerns over increased traffic, lack of parking and the steepness of the roads.
“I think there’s real concerns with the density of the development and the road width,” said commission member Kevin Cleary, shortly before voting to reject the plan.
But commission member Mike Klinghammer, who voted in favor of the proposal, stressed that the decision of the body may not affect whether the University of Missouri, which owns the land, can move forward with the project.
“They could build the subdivision on their own and have no input from us whatsoever,” Klinghammer said. “They have that right. If we deny it, it doesn’t mean it would suddenly become public land.”