The day is
almost here, September 23rd, when the City of St Charles council
members will vote on the rezoning of the 92 acres next to Boschertown Road and
Island Harbor Drive. This vote
changes the property from mixed-use zoning to single family zoning.
Come to the Town Hall on Sunday, the
21st, at 7 p.m., to hear progress reports and ask your questions.
Here’s a brief
synopsis on the progress to date:
1. Created a petition to encourage the Planning and Zoning
Commission (P&Z) to vote against the zoning changes. Signed by almost 900 resident Newts as
well as the UCBA businesses in New Town! Filled the auditorium at Lindenwood with Newts and
passionate representatives who spoke eloquently against this zoning
change. The Planning and Zoning Commission sent the proposal to the City Council
with a recommendation of non-approval! SUCCESS! Thanks
to all who participated in that meeting.
2. Encouraged Newts to attend the City
Council meeting held on September 2nd. Again, Newts rallied with huge support and filled the
Chambers! That evening instead of
gaining support from the Council members, we lost support. More Council members that night signed
their name onto the document advocating passage, even though P&Z had
recommended and voted to keep the original zoning!
3. A group of Newts then regrouped to
strategize on the next move(s). Until
this group could form a strategy, these Newts decided to keep the group small
in numbers.
4. Searched for an attorney to guide
concerning any legalities on affecting rezoning/new urbanism issues. Mr Gary Feder, of Husch-Blackwell, was
instrumental in winning a similar zoning issue in Dardenne Prairie. A small group of Newts donated monies
for his retainer.
5. We anticipated convincing the Orchard
Farm School Board to ‘go it alone’ with asking for rezoning versus marrying the
zoning with a new housing development.
The Board, while some members were sympathetic to the request, overall
voted not to withdraw from the current zoning request.
6. One of the ‘finds’ after many hours
of researching City documents is the City Comprehensive Plan of 2002, with an
update in 2012. This document
speaks about ‘Smart Code’ being utilized in the New Town
at St. Charles development and the Streets of St. Charles. Mentions that The
City should continue to seek ways to incorporate form-based code in the Zoning
Ordinance and encourage its use for major developments and redevelopments.
7.
Wide media coverage was vigorously discussed. Two spokesmen were elected to speak and ensure our message
was positive and we supported the
city's commitment to planned development within New Town and the city of St.
Charles. The message is we will be disappointed if the zoning is changed.
8. A twitter and Facebook campaign has started and supplements our fliers.
This Facebook page provides a repository of information to interested citizens
of St. Charles.
9. Newts developed a branding architecture that links New Town and the St.
Charles community. This has resulted in merging our key messages into the flier
we see today.
The flier on Benefits of Mixed-Use Zoning is posted on this
web page. We encourage you to
forward to any friends in the City of St Charles.
DON’T FORGET TO JOIN
US ON SUNDAY NIGHT, 7 p.m., AT THE TOWN HALL FOR DISCUSSION!!
