The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen denied the request of Andre’s at Sunset Hills for a conditional use permit allowing overnight stays at its Nov. 12 meeting.
For background, Andre’s at Sunset Hills is an existing banquet and catering facility located at 13366 W. Watson Road. The property of over 15 acres is zoned PD-LI Planned Development Light Industrial, and its banquet facility is a use that is conditionally permitted on the property under an existing CUP.
Recently, Andre’s at Sunset Hills has experienced an increase in requests to rent a hospitality suite as a place for wedding parties to prepare for and/or stay overnight after the ceremony. Such rooms are currently an option at multiple other Andre’s locations in and around the St. Louis area.
The plan, before it was denied, involved updating and transforming a roughly 3,100-square-foot garage – initially utilized as a golf cart shed as part of the previous golf course/clubhouse – to a suite.
“It’s a remodel underneath where people get married at the ceremony pavilion. This is going to be eight to 14 people maximum staying on the property, which is 50 football fields from Tapawingo Golf Course and 12 football fields, if not 15, from any home nearby. The brides and grooms are going to utilize these rooms,” John Armengol Jr., owner of Andre’s, said. “These dads want to have places for the girls to get ready, the guys to get ready and small members of the party – after it’s over, after a long day at 11 (p.m.) – to be able to go down and stay on the property.”
Despite popularity and success at other locations, the board had concerns. “If this is passed, will Tapwingo then want the same? And have we, as a board, established the precedent?” Ward 4 Alderman Fred Daues said.
“I get the whole concept for sure, especially with the ‘get ready rooms.’ It makes complete sense to me. My issue with this, I live within a football field of Tapawingo, and there’s a house within 50 feet. If they did that over there, it’s a very different animal than what we’re talking about here,” Ward 1 Alderman Brian Fernandez added.
The city’s hard stance on short-term rentals – such as Airbnbs or VRBOs – was also mentioned. In 2022, the board discussed the possibility of allowing short-term rentals in the city, though ultimately agreed to prohibit them in the city’s unified development ordinance.
“I don’t see that there’s any material difference between this proposed party house and a short-term rental,” Ward 2 Alderman Casey Wong said. “It’s indistinguishable from a short-term rental, which the city has come out on a very clear position.”
Conversation continued for quite some time between the board and Armengol before a vote was finally called. Ward 2 Alderman Marie Davis, Ward 3 Alderman Greg Colombo and Ward 4 Alderman Lindsay Hof voted in favor, while Fernandez, Wong, Daues, Ward 1 Alderman Ann McMunn and Ward 3 Alderman Cathy Friedmann voted opposed. The motion failed 5-3.
Following the motion failure, Armengol asked if the board would approve the suite as a “get ready room” only, without the overnight stay option. The board seemed generally in favor, prompting McMunn to make a motion to reconsider the bill. The motion to reconsider the bill passed unanimously by the board.
Conversation yet again ensued, and after talking it through, Wong made a motion to amend the original bill – removing the overnight stay portion – and to table the vote until the board’s next meeting on Dec. 10, which also passed unanimously.
The board will vote to approve or deny the bill next month.