ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The developer behind a 500-plus home subdivision in rural St. Charles County says if he can’t get the project built here, he may ask officials to alter the boundary of neighboring O’Fallon so the project sits there instead.
The developer wants to build the 556-home, 356-acre project in unincorporated St. Charles County, but neighbors have pushed back on the plan because of concerns over crowded lots and the development’s effect on a nearby conservation area. And the planning and zoning commission on Wednesday recommended the St. Charles County Council reject the developer’s request to rezone the land, off Highway DD, to allow for more dense housing.
So an attorney for the developer said he may ask O’Fallon to annex the land instead.
“We do not want to put this development in O’Fallon. We want to be in the county with this development,†said Brad Goss, a real estate attorney who spoke on behalf of the developer, KM Investment Group IV, at Wednesday’s St. Charles County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
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But Goss said the pushback from neighbors means his client’s next move will likely be to ask O’Fallon, which has less restrictive zoning laws, to include the land in its city boundary instead.
The earliest annexation talks could occur is July 6, which is the tentative next meeting date of the O’Fallon Planning & Zoning Commission. The St. Charles County Council is expected to vote on the rezoning request at its July 31 meeting. The council could still approve the request despite the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation.
Neighbors of the planned redevelopment, called “Tall Tree,†have expressed concerns about traffic congestion, soil contamination and potential environmental impacts on the nearby August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. The subdivision, which would include all single-family homes, would be the largest housing development built in unincorporated St. Charles County in recent years.
More than 20 residents spoke at Wednesday’s commission meeting, and nearly all were opposed.
And they say they’ll show up in O’Fallon, too, to stop any annexation efforts.
“This development has galvanized people in our neighborhood,†said Steven Farber, of New Melle, at Wednesday’s meeting. “We are coming together to fight this.â€
Farber added that neighbors aren’t necessarily opposed to the land being developed. They just don’t want the houses to be built on such small lots.
O’Fallon resident Tom Regan, who described the development as a “disaster in the making†in its current form, was one of several speakers who said the development needed to be redesigned so the homes were on larger lots, as outlined in the county’s 2030 master plan.
The master plan states that portions of the proposed Tall Tree property should be developed into low-density housing of one to four houses per acre and rural residential housing of one unit per 3 acres — less dense housing than sought by developers.
“Don’t rezone it,†Farber said. “Make them redo their plans to fit the plan that you created.â€
Goss countered that the neighborhood has changed since the adoption of the county’s 2030 master plan.
“The Duckett Creek Sanitary Sewer District building a new plant has opened this whole area up to development,†Goss said. The new sanitary treatment plant, which is under construction, will be able to treat 2.5 million gallons of sewer waste per day when operational, which changes how much housing the area can support.
Goss said the treatment plant can provide sanitary sewer service to 18,000 acres, potentially opening vast swaths of rural St. Charles County to more dense housing developments.
Other critics noted that the development would have an adverse effect on wildlife and the environment.
“Most people want to see the moon, the stars, the planets, all the things in the night sky that you can’t see in the city,†said Amy White, who volunteers with the astronomy site at Broemmelsiek Park, which is next to to the proposed development. “I realize that this is a tiny sliver in the grand scheme of things, but light pollution from this development will all but ruin what we have at the astronomy site.â€
The site, White said, is regularly visited by school classes, scouting troops, church groups, and others.
Goss pledged that developers would do a light study to ensure that as little light pollution as possible would spill over into Broemmelsiek Park.
Voting in support of the rezoning request were Zoning Commission Chair Paul Ellis and Zoning Commissioner Tim Baker, who also serves on the St. Charles County Council.
Baker said he was worried that by denying the rezoning request, the county would lose the ability to have oversight of the development.
“The city of O’Fallon does not care about our master plan. They want the growth. They want the houses,†Baker said. “If we approve this, then we keep this growth from heading further south on Highway DD.â€
Nate De Luca, the president of a nearby homeowners’ association opposed to the proposed development’s density, said he thinks O’Fallon residents will be sympathetic to the neighbors’ concerns.
“I have not spoken to a person who is in favor of this development, and I’ve already been to two homeowner association meetings,†De Luca said.