A new restaurant, zoning for daycares and electric vehicle charging stations were some of the public hearings at the July 25 Crestwood Board of Aldermen meeting.

Panera Bread at Crestwood Commons

The first ordinance discussed was an application for a conditional use permit to operate a drive-thru Panera Bread at a newly-constructed outbuilding in the Dierbergs Crestwood Crossing shopping center, 9591 Watson Road.

In November 2021, the board rezoned the former Crestwood Plaza mall site from a planned development commercial district, or PD-C, to a planned development mixed use district, or PD-MXD, to provide greater flexibility in development of the land. Though the construction of a drive-thru in this location was approved during the preliminary and final development plan approvals for phase 1 of the Crestwood Crossing PD-MXD district in 2021 and 2022, the applicant – Panera Bread – requires a CUP in order to operate said drive-thru.

City Planner Danny Jendusa told the board the proposal was acceptable. It was then put to a vote, and passed unanimously 7-0, with Ward 3 Alderman Grant Mabie excused. The new Panera Bread is estimated to open sometime this year before Thanksgiving, though a specific date has not been announced.

“Being a Crestwoodian… we’re really excited to bring Panera Bread to Crestwood and to be part of the new development, Crestwood Commons,” Todd Bundren, principal at Lawrence Group, the firm representing Panera Bread Co., said. “I think it’s going to be a great addition for everyone.”

Childcare facilities

The board next went over regulating childcare facilities in Crestwood.

Prior to the city’s zoning code rewrite in 2021, childcare facilities were allowed as a conditional use in R1 through R5 residential districts, allowing facilities such as churches and schools located in residential districts to operate daycares and preschools as long as they went through the CUP process.

However, the current zoning code categorizes daycare facilities as a service use, like barber shops or dry cleaners, which are restricted to commercial and sometimes industrial districts.

The amendment discussed by the board July 25 would allow childcare facilities as an accessory use in existing, allowed non-residential uses in residential districts, such as churches, schools and parks.

“This applies to non-residential uses within residential districts,” City Administrator Kris Simpson said. “That sounds like an oxymoron – most uses within a residential district are going to be residential uses – homes (and) apartments, for instance. However, in Crestwood there are schools and churches that are within residential districts, which are obviously not residential uses. This ordinance is intended to apply to these specific uses. So if a church wants to operate a daycare – this ordinance would apply.”

Because this was during the public hearing portion of the meeting, residents in attendance were encouraged to give their thoughts and opinions. One Crestwood resident, Robert Miller, did just that.

“We have one of these children’s facilities in a residential area at 8812 Fox Park Drive, and it’s pretty much a mess,” Miller said. “You drive through there earlier in the morning, a lot of traffic, people bringing kids in there, and then the same thing is true in the evening. I believe there should be maybe a Lindbergh school facility or something other than in a residential area because it is quite a mess with all that traffic trying to get through there. I don’t know why it has to be in a residential area.”

Though these concerns are valid, Simpson clarified that this specific ordinance would not address a situation like the one on Fox Park.

“This is just if you’re a school … many of them happen to be located in an R1 through R5,” Simpson said. “Just so everyone understands, because it’s kind of a confusing thing to wrap around – you’re in a residential district, but you’re talking about a non-residential use.”

Ward 1 Alderman Jim Zavist recommended the board adopt language requiring a CUP if the number of children was over 30 or if the hours of operation did not fall between 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. When put to a voice vote, the amendment passed 5-2, with Ward 1 Alderman Jesse Morrison and Ward 2 Alderman Justin Charboneau opposed.

The ordinance was then read for its first reading as amended to the board. It passed 5-2 with Morrison and Charboneau opposed, again. Crestwood Mayor Scott Shipley recommended holding off on the second reading until the board’s next meeting.

“Give the city attorney and all of us a chance to kind of check in and make sure that we’re not about to jump off the cliff here,” Shipley said.

Electric vehicle charging stations

The final ordinance the board reviewed clarified zoning regulations for the installation of electric vehicle charging stations.

There are four main parts to this ordinance: creating a specific distinction between public charging stations, which are available for anyone to use, and private charging stations, which are exclusively used by the property owner; allowing charging stations to be installed as an accessory use in all zoning districts; prohibiting public EV charging stations on residential parcels; and requiring anyone who wants more than six charging stations in one lot to apply for a CUP.

Before a vote took place, Jendusa and Shipley introduced an amendment to the ordinance.

“Part of the intent with the ordinance is making it easier for Woodard or another larger employer in the community to provide EV charging for their fleet vehicles or for their employees,” Jendusa said. “We wanted to create some language that made it more specific that you couldn’t park in a public area and in a public EV space, but private operators could allow their own vehicles to stay in those EV spaces.”

When put to a vote, the amendment passed unanimously, though before the ordinance itself passed, the aldermen had a few more questions.

“What would stop a company from basically having sort of like a 24-hour operation where a car could be pulling in (at) 3 (a.m.)? Normally you would expect that parking lot to be essentially shut down by then. I just wanted to raise that to see if there were provisions for actual hours of operation,” Morrison said.

Jendusa responded, saying “If we have hours of operation in the CUPs for, like, a typical gas station that says they can’t operate past 10 or 11, I think that would be appropriate to put in for these EV type gas stations as well.”