The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen met for its regular monthly meeting June 13 to discuss various bills and resolutions.
Developer meetings
The board unanimously passed a bill amending a portion of the city’s unified development ordinance outlining what prefiling activities development applicants must complete before filing a petition with the city. One of those includes holding a neighborhood meeting where property owners located within 500 feet of the proposed development are invited to attend — the bill approved by aldermen requires that the applicant also invite the mayor and the two aldermen of the ward where the proposed development is located to the meeting so that they have the opportunity to add their input.
The bill was first read at the June meeting and a motion to suspend the rules for a second reading passed unanimously. The bill was read for a second time and passed unanimously.
New Route 66 sign
Aldermen heard a bill requesting the installation of a new Historic Route 66 neon pole sign in front of the existing Holiday Inn at 10709 Watson Road, at the intersection with Lindbergh Boulevard.
At the May Board of Aldermen meeting, it approved an ordinance allowing for and outlining the regulations for Historic Route 66 neon pole signs in the city. Signs may be placed in the city on property in non-residential districts adjacent to the former Route 66 on Lindbergh or Watson.
The proposed sign at the Holiday Inn is roughly 34 feet tall with a sign area of 179 square feet, and was previously at the Chase Park Plaza hotel in St. Louis city.
The bill was read for the first time at the June 13 meeting, and a motion was made by Ward 2 Alderman Marie Davis to suspend the rules for a second reading.
“The sooner we get the sign, the sooner we can have it all open,” Davis said.
Davis previously served on the Foundation for Sunset Hills. Ward 3 Alderman Randy Epperson was concerned about the potential conflict of interest of Davis voting for the neon sign, however, the petitioner for the sign’s installation is the Sunset Hills Historical Society, not The Foundation for Sunset Hills. Davis did not serve on the historical society and is no longer with the foundation.
The motion to suspend the rules for a second reading failed by a vote of 5-3, with Davis, Ward 2 Alderman Casey Wong, Ward 4 Alderman Lindsay Hof, and Ward 1 Aldermen Ann McMunn and Brian Fernandez in favor, while Epperson, Ward 3 Alderman Cathy Friedmann, and Ward 4 Alderman Fred Daues were opposed.
The bill will be read for a second time at the board’s July 11 meeting.
Police SUV purchases
The board also passed a resolution approving a contract for the purchase of three marked police SUVs, along with the associated emergency equipment, vehicle graphics and installations.
The new cars will cost $139,245, although an insurance payment for a recently-totaled department vehicle will cover $35,527.50, making the total expense $103,717.50. The police department had budgeted $87,000 for two new SUVs, one marked and one unmarked, but a third SUV is now needed after the recent accident.
The resolution passed unanimously.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Ward 2 Alderman Marie Davis served on this Sunset Hills Historical Society. This is not the case. She served on The Foundation for Sunset Hills, a separate entity from the historical society. The historical society is the petitioner pursuing the Route 66 neon sign.
