ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A St. Charles County commission decided to not recommend a new housing development off Highway DD after Hundreds of people packed the Family Arena for a St. Charles County Planning and Zoning meeting Wednesday night.
The presentation from the development team showed 556 homes on 356 acres of land with an average of 1.5 homes per acre.
After hours of public comment, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted against recommending rezoning for the land. Commission members also voted against a recommendation for a conditional use permit.
A county spokeswoman said the plan now heads to the St. Chares County Council, which will have the final say on whether the plan is approved or denied.
The developer, KM Investment Group IV LLC, said they plan to leave the flood plain near Dardenne Creek untouched preserving 120 acres of green space and trees.
“We’ve completely left those alone. We’re not reclaiming that we’re leaving that undeveloped and we’re leaving a very large buffer with respect to that preserving all of the trees in that area and again that is to comply with the master plan,” Brad Goss said on behalf of the developer.
Residents who live in the area are concerned about the traffic it will add to Highway DD, the impact it will have on the schools and the wildlife.
The proposed development is located on the borders of Busch Wildlife Conservation Area and Broemmelsiek Park.
Barbara Ritter said the large subdivision life is exactly what they moved away from as they retired, and they don’t want to be near a development like that again.
“We are heartbroken so we will see if the meeting changes our mind. We moved out to that area close to Broemmelsiek Park to get away from a subdivision we lived in for 30 years which we loved dearly in St. Peters. But it was time to move a little bit further out to get more space and enjoy the green, the quiet and everything that comes with living a more country life,” Ritter said.
With the immense crowd, there were lots of speakers at the meeting and the line went on for hours, most in protest of the development.
The next county council meeting is July 31.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku or Amazon Fire TV.