Mark Furrer was sworn in last week as the new mayor of Sunset Hills.

Furrer, a write-in candidate, defeated incumbent Bill Nolan in the April 8 election. Furrer received 1,094 votes, while Nolan garnered 955 votes.

Also taking the oath of office at the April 22 Board of Aldermen meeting were Ward 1 Alderman Richard Gau, Ward 2 Alderman Tom Musich, Ward 3 Alderman Kurt Krueger and Ward 4 Alderman Donna Ernst.

Gau defeated former Ward 1 Alderman Douglas McGuire Jr. Gau received 215 votes, while McGuire tallied 155.

Musich received 424 votes, while write-in candidate Donald Placke Jr. garnered two votes.

Krueger, who was appointed to the board after Ward 3 Alderman Stephen Webb resigned last year, was unopposed. He received 402 votes.

Ernst, a write-in candidate, defeated incumbent Art Havener. She received 482 votes, while Havener tallied 224 votes.

City Collector Mike Sawicki, who did not attend the April 22 meeting, was unopposed in the April 8 election and tallied 1,694 votes.

In a separate matter, the aldermen voted 7-0 to approve a conditional-use permit, or CUP, to allow Rogelio Estrada Lopez to open a Mexican restaurant at the Econo Lodge, 3730 S. Lindbergh Blvd. Ward 3 Alderman Jan Hoffmann was absent.

The CUP was approved with amendments proposed by Krueger. Krueger’s amendments reversed the directional arrows at one of the entrances to the site to improve traffic flow and prohibited tractor-trailer trucks from parking on the restaurant’s lot.

This was the second time Lopez’s request for a CUP came before the aldermen.

In December, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-3 to recommend approval of the CUP to the Board of Aldermen. Commission member Darlene Freber was absent from the Dec. 4 meeting.

Aldermen voted 5-3 in January to approve the CUP, with Krueger, Musich and Gau opposed. But two days later, Nolan vetoed the ordinance approving the CUP, citing discrepancies with the site plan Lopez submitted.

Nolan sent Assistant Zoning Enforcement Officer Patricia Moore to inspect the site the day after the vote, and Moore discovered that the site plan submitted with the restaurant’s application did not match the parking actually at the site. The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously in February to uphold Nolan’s veto.

In April, Lopez submitted a revised site plan, and the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a CUP.

Aldermen also voted 6-1 to approve an amended CUP to allow Patches Ellis to operate a dog day care with the overnight boarding of dogs at her business, Y Bark Alone, 10390 Watson Road. Krueger was opposed.

The board previously approved a CUP for Ellis’ business, but it specifically prohibited the overnight boarding of dogs. In February, Ellis told aldermen she needed to offer overnight boarding to stay competitive with similar businesses in the area that offered such a service.

In March, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-2 to recommend against approving the amended CUP for Ellis.

In its annual election of acting president of the Board of Aldermen, the board voted unanimously to name Scott Haggerty of Ward 2 to the post.