Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - Complete

Meeting Agenda

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Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
MINUTES OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE
December 7, 2009

The meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission was called to order by Chairman Michael Wind at 7:00 p.m.  Members in attendance were:
 
PRESENT                                                          ABSENT
Chairman Michael Wind                     Commissioner Pat Apel
Secretary Frank Karr                           Commissioner Pat Buehrle
Commissioner John Schwent 
Commissioner Sue Theodore 
Commissioner Chris Wright 
Commissioner Mark Weaver 
Alderman Jimmy Terbrock 
Mayor Tim Pogue  
Assistant City Administrator Thomas Aiken 
City Engineer Gary Kramer 
City Attorney Robert Jones

Swearing In of New Commission Members

Mrs. Sue Theodore, 620 Log Hill Ct (Ward 2), was sworn in by Assistant City Administrator Thomas Aiken.  Mrs. Theodore replaces Mrs. Sue Heath, who resigned from the Commission.  

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Secretary Karr and seconded by Mayor Pogue to approve the minutes of the No-vember 2, 2009 meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission as submitted.  The motion received unanimous approval from the Commission members present. 

SUE 09-6 (2) – Special Use Exception Petition (Front Yard Parking)
  Westridge Elementary School, 908 Crestland Drive, Ballwin MO  63011
  Petitioner:  Mr. Arthur Floyd, Rockwood School District, Eureka MO 63025

Mr. Steve Smith, project manager of Glenn Construction, addressed the Commission.  Glenn Construction manages all matters related to construction and permitting for Rockwood School District. 

Mr. Smith said that after the Planning & Zoning Commission’s previous negative recommendation to the Board of Aldermen, the petitioner took the opportunity to do some additional engineering and follow some of the recommendations of the petition review report.  At the urging of the aldermen, the petitioner is now coming before the Planning & Zoning Commission with some alterations to the plan.  The new plan includes a rain garden, which will detain and filter runoff before it goes into the stormwater system.

Chairman Wind asked when work would begin if the Planning & Zoning Commission returns a positive recommendation.  Mr. Smith said work would begin as soon as possible, depending on the weather.  Mayor Pogue asked if the petitioner is willing to plant trees between the parking lot and the roadway, per the petition review report.  Mr. Smith said yes.
Chairman Wind opened the public hearing and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of the petition.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents wishing to speak in opposition to the petition.  There were none, and the public hearing was closed.

Mayor Pogue made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUE 09-6 (2) to the Board of Aldermen. Commissioner Weaver seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

SUB 09-2 – Subdivision Petition (Subdivision Replatting Approval)
  Villas at Meadowbrook Resubdivision, 290, 294, 298, 300, 304, 308, and 312 Meadowbrook Country Club Estates Drive, Ballwin MO  63011
  Petitioner:  Mr. Barry Simon, Meadowbrook Development Co LLC, 632 Trade Center Blvd, Chesterfield MO  63005

Mr. Barry Simon, President of Simon Homes, builder/developer of the Villas at Meadowbrook Subdivi-sion, presented the petition to the Commission.  He said in the current real estate market, the unattached villa homes are in more demand than the attached villa homes.  Mr. Simon gave an overview of the de-velopment. 

Mr. Simon said that the replatting of lots 41-47 will accommodate seven unattached villa homes instead of six attached and one unattached.  The petitioner will still be in compliance with the original side yard setbacks where lots 41 and 47 abut lots 40 and 48 respectively.  Chairman Wind asked how the area of lots 41-47 compares to the existing unattached villa lots.  Mr. Simon said that they are equal to or larger than those lots.

Chairman Wind opened the public hearing and asked if there were any proponents wishing to speak in favor of the petition.  There were none.  Chairman Wind asked if there were any opponents wishing to speak in opposition to the petition.  There were none, and the public hearing was closed.

Secretary Karr made a motion to recommend approval of Petition SUB 09-2 to the Board of Aldermen. Alderman Terbrock seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Capital Improvement Budget

Glenda Loehr, Finance Director of the City of Ballwin, presented the 2010 Capital Improvement Budget to the Planning & Zoning Commission for review per Missouri Statute. 

Finance Director Loehr said that beginning with the 2009 Capital Improvement Plan Budget, all pur-chases of vehicles, equipment and other capital items to the operating budget to make this a true capital improvement plan.  Mrs. Loehr gave an overview of the budget.  She said that capital sales taxes in 2009 were down approximately 9% from 2008, so the City is conservatively projecting another 4% decrease for 2010.  Debt commitment for the City totals $1,738,874 for 2010, which encompasses two debt issues.  General obligation bonds were issued in 1992, primarily for street improvements and construction of The Pointe at Ballwin Commons.  This debt will be paid off in 2012.  The other debt issue is the Certificate of Participation issue for the construction of the North Pointe Aquatic Center, which will be paid off in 2017.

After these payments, $1,012,052 is proposed for spending on capital improvement projects.  The bulk of this money ($825,900) will go to the Public Works department for street improvements.  The remainder will be used for the Parks Department ($148,576) and the Administration department ($37,576).

Chairman Wind asked what the 2009 budget was for street improvements.  Finance Director Loehr said it was $1,039,000.  Chairman Wind asked if a portion of the increased utility tax is going toward street im-provements.  Mrs. Loehr said the utility tax revenue is primarily in the operating budget, not the capital budget.  In 2009, expenses such as vehicle purchases were moved out of the capital budget to the operat-ing budget to free up funds for street improvements.  Mrs. Loehr pointed out that the budget handed out to the Commission members goes into more detail and projection through 2014.  City Engineer Gary Kramer said the street conditions and plans for repair are reviewed and updated every year. Mayor Pogue said that in 2009, between the Capital Improvement and Operating Budgets, $1.7 million was spent on street improvements; in 2010 between the two budgets, right at $1 million is allocated for street improve-ments.

Commissioner Weaver asked if sales tax is the primary source of revenue for the City of Ballwin.  Fi-nance Director Loehr said yes.  Commissioner Weaver asked what the next largest source of revenue is.  Mrs. Loehr said that intergovernmental transfers such as the motor fuel tax and county road tax are col-lected by the State and distributed to the cities on a per capita basis according to the latest census. 

Commissioner Weaver asked about federal stimulus money.  Does Ballwin get any of those funds?  Plan-ning Director Aiken said that there is some money coming available for a state energy grant.  Ballwin is putting together an application for that; however, the allocation process on a state-wide basis is such that the amount available for Ballwin to apply for is very small.  Competition is expected to be fierce for these funds. All of the funds available in St. Louis County for road work were allocated to a single county pro-ject – extending the Earth City Expressway to Route 141.  Ballwin’s application was rejected.

Commissioner Weaver asked what the community can do to improve the climate for businesses to come into the City.  Chairman Wind said this is the goal of the Great Streets program.  Planning Director Aiken said the land use pattern along Manchester Road was established in the 1940’s and 1950’s. For the most part there are small parcels built in the old style.  The Manchester Road corridor is one of the main fo-cuses of the 2007 Comprehensive Plan.  Mr. Aiken encouraged the Commission Members to participate in the Great Streets meetings. 

Chairman Wind said that the Manchester Highlands development was an area of opportunity due to the reconstruction of Hwy 141.  Secretary Karr said the Ballwin Grove development at Clayton and Henry was a “spin-off” of the nearby Town & Country Commons development.  Mr. Aiken agreed, and added that it is also an example of what can happen when a city changes its perspective on what land uses are appropriate in an area.  The 2007 Comprehensive Plan is the first one to identify commercial land uses as appropriate for the southwest corner of Clayton and Henry.

Secretary Karr made a motion to recommend approval of the Capital Improvement Budget to the Board of Aldermen. Commissioner Weaver seconded the motion, which received unanimous approval from the Commission members present.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Secretary Karr and seconded by Commissioner Weaver to adjourn the meeting.  The motion received unanimous approval, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.

 Michael Wind, Chairman
 Planning & Zoning Commission