Sunset Hills Aldermen Reject Proposal for Multifamily Zoning
Date Posted: December 19, 2023
Posted In: News, Projects,
From Call Newspapers: A petition for a text amendment to amend the text of the Sunset Hills Unified Development Ordinance to create a new multifamily zoning district was brought before the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen for a second time before ultimately failing at the board’s Nov. 14 meeting.
The applicant, Steve Maurer, currently owns two lots located at 12354 and 12360 Gravois Road. These properties are zoned R-1 Single-Family Residential, though Maurer was seeking to rezone them to PD-TH Planned Development-Townhomes so he could redevelop the two single-family homes presently sitting on the lots into “6 separate buildings on one parcel with a total of 14 individual units.” The properties can not be rezoned, however, without a text amendment to the city’s zoning code as none of the zoning districts currently permit multifamily developments like townhomes.
It was stated by Maurer and his attorney, Rob Golterman, at the board’s Oct. 10 meeting that the neighbors of these lots were “excited about this development.” While that may have been true of Friendship Village, Delta Dental, the commuter lot owned by MoDOT and Chestnut Rehab and Nursing, the residents of Kennerly Manor sang a very different tune. Dozens of homeowners from the adjacent neighborhood voiced their concerns to the board in October, and many did so again this month to sway the aldermen in the direction of denial.
“I believe planning and zoning was led to believe that our neighborhood had very little concern over Steve Maurer’s project. That’s definitely not the case,” Paul Haupt, Kennerly Manor resident, said. “I’m in favor of city property improvements, but it should not be at the expense of the surrounding property … if Steve Maurer wants to build the townhomes, he should build them in an area that will increase the value of the surrounding property. These townhomes will decrease the value of our property and will make living here less desirable.”