Legislation to rezone nearly 58 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 270 and Missouri Route 30 for the construction of 78 single-family homes recently was considered by the Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen.
First reading of the legislation, requested by McBride and Son Homes, was conducted last week by aldermen. The second and final reading of the legislation will be considered by the Board of Aldermen when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 10, at City Hall, 3939 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
McBride and Son Homes President John Eilermann Jr. addressed the board June 8, first seeking a zoning change to R-2 Residential from R-1 Residential for the 57.7-acre site. The company also is seeking a zoning change to PD-R Planned Development Residential from R-2 Residential for the same 57.7 acres.
In addition, McBride and Son submitted a preliminary development plan to construct 78 homes for the 57.7-acre site.
Eilermann described to aldermen some of the plans the company has in store for the site. If McBride and Son Homes see its requests come to fruition, the cost of the homes, featuring side-entry garages, would range from $650,000 to $1.2 million.
Tree preservation is key in the plan his company is submitting, Eilermann told aldermen, emphasizing that 45 percent of the existing trees will remain if the company’s request gained approval. Retaining the existing trees would make for impressive landscaping along Route 30.
“We’re all aware of the history of the site,” Eilermann told aldermen. “We’ve been before the board before regarding this land and we learned after the last time that a residential site is preferred over a commercial one. We’ve worked with a majority of the nearby residents and listened to what they’ve said.”
During a public hearing on McBride’s proposal at the June 8 meeting, Roger Wilke, who owns property adjacent to the proposed McBride site, expressed his support for the proposal, noting that he and other residents have opposed other development proposals for the site.
“It’s our quality of life that is at stake. We’ve held a number of meetings and this issue has dealt us a lot of heartache,” Wilke said. “We’ve been fighting this for nearly three years and continually ask ourselves the question of whether or not we should move now before something we don’t want comes in. I know neighbors who have not done home improvement projects because they worry that whatever is built on the land will sink the value of their homes.”
In April, Mayor James Hobbs, some members of the Board of Aldermen and representatives from McBride and Son met about 20 to 25 residents who live adjacent to the site. As a result of that meeting, Wilke said he believed the general consensus of residents was that if the property was to be developed, adding a few more homes would be welcome if the alternative was something undesirable.
“I would rather see surrounding homes than a lighted parking lot or noise drowning out the sound of my children playing outside. What it comes down to is asking ourselves if the extra homes are worth torturing ourselves with thoughts of what could be if we don’t approve this plan. This is why we are asking the board to approve the proposal so we can have a certainty,” Wilke told aldermen.
At one point during Wilke’s comments, someone in the audience yelled out that it would have been nice if he was invited to the meetings to which Wilke referred.
After waiting for his turn to speak, the man identified himself as Matthew Merriman, who owns land that adjoins the property being sought by McBride.
Noting that he has tried to do the best for his property and improve it, Merriman said of the land in question, “There is no reason to rezone that property. It’s a rotten piece of property and it doesn’t need houses. I’m not against developing it per se, but everyone who owns near it should have known what they were getting into and that this could happen. I did not like how the neighborhood voice on the issue was declared as unanimous, when I am part of the neighborhood and I don’t feel the same way.”
Ultimately, the two ordinances to approve the rezoning requests were read once and will be considered for final approval in August because Ward 4 Alderman A. Ron Kaemmerer will not be able to attend the July meeting and believes the full board should be present.
A resolution approving McBride’s preliminary development plan is contingent upon the granting of the rezoning requests and also will be considered in August.
“It’s obvious that the residents have many different opinions on the issue. Whatever the case, I’m not in favor of the land becoming commercial and I would like to see as much of the green space remain as possible,” Hobbs said.
